I welcome this debate today, called by Darren Millar, to mark the seventieth anniversary of the accession. It's a simple one-line motion, and sometimes the simplest are the most effective. The motion reads:

'To propose that the Senedd:'— our Senedd—

'Extends its warmest congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne.'

And I would suggest, respectfully, that this is not an occasion to debate the merits or otherwise of the monarchy or to posit alternatives, or for fashionable, modern cynicism of all institutions in public life. Those are for another time and another place. Today's debate is simply to note the remarkable service of an individual who, for seventy years, has put her individual role and a mission of public service above all else, and, indeed, her sacrifice much else to that singular mission of being the constitutional head of the United Kingdom. That, of itself, by itself, is worthy of our noting.

We all here have accepted a role in the glare of public life, but we volunteered. In doing so, we made a conscious choice, knowing that if it became too much for ourselves or our families, we could also make the choice, difficult as it may be, to step back out of the limelight and pursue a different path—that is, if the electorate haven't made that choice for us in the meantime. But, I think what most people would accept is that for a young Princess Elizabeth of York, born into the royal family, there was subsequently little choice, faced with what she would have perceived as a duty—a duty to serve her country often in the most difficult times imaginable for that country, and often difficult for her personally and very publicly as a daughter, a mother and so so.

It's not difficult to see why the respect from the wider public has grown, because of some of the characteristics she has come to demonstrate at the most difficult of times. These characteristics are not unique to her, and, in her quiet private moments, she might also acknowledge that, like all of us, she may have fallen short now and then in small ways. But they are also some of the characteristics we would like to see in ourselves more consistently, and in all our public leaders too, especially those in the highest offices of state. And I'll mention two of those characteristics in particular, because there's merit in doing so as we look back on 70 years of Queen Elizabeth's role as head of state, and we also look now to current tempestuous times in public life. Those two characteristics are selflessness and the focus on service to others. And also leadership by example, and setting the standards in public life that really do matter to our democracy and our respect for the way we're governed and for who governs us. 

When we look to our national figures in public life at any moment in time, at any point in history, we realise that even the best of them, the best of us, have feet of clay. But we expect—in fact, we demand—that to have respect from the public, that they try and live up to these ideals of selflessness and leadership by example. The very privilege of high position brings with it the duty to respect that position, not to abuse that position, and to treat the public with respect too. And if they fail to maintain these characteristics consistently, or fail to accept when they've stumbled and fallen short, or, worse, they try to fool the public, then the public will rightly be unforgiving; they are never fools. And we've seen this throughout history and we'll no doubt see it again.

So, I simply close by noting that Queen Elizabeth II has served seven long decades in the most prominent position in public life in the UK, with the attention of not just the public on this little island off the north-west shores of the European continent, but of public, press and commentariat from the world upon her every move and every utterance. She has witnessed and been often part, one step removed as the constitutional head of state though never indifferent, of some of the most serious constitutional, diplomatic, political and personal crises imaginable and military conflict and civil strike here and far overseas, and yet, still, she commands the respect of the overwhelming majority of the citizens—and I use that term of 'citizens' advisedly in a constitutional monarchy—of these isles. I suggest that it's not least because, whilst we all have those feet of clay, those two enduring characteristics of selflessness and leadership and a willingness to acknowledge when things go wrong have meant that the respect for the Queen herself has grown and grown, as every year and as every decade have passed. Perhaps there are lessons for all of us there and for all our leaders in public life who, in elected roles, hope to maintain their positions of privilege and of public service. We all congratulate Her Majesty the Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne.