As someone who, back in 1977, joined the fancy-dress parade in our local village to celebrate the Silver Jubilee—I won't tell you what I was dressed up as—[Interruption.]—little did I think that, in 2022, I'd be standing with a suit and tie on reflecting on a reign of 70 years that has endeared Her Majesty the Queen to every sector of society, I would suggest. I appreciate in a democracy there are republicans and there are monarchists, but no-one can really say that the Queen hasn't earned the respect of this country for the public duty and public service that she has done throughout her entire reign. And it is a fact, as the First Minister touched on, that she has had 14 Prime Ministers serve herself, there have been 13 American Presidents—only one President has not met her; that's Lyndon Johnson—and 10 French Presidents have met Her Majesty the Queen. She has undertaken 152 state visits. There have been five Popes in her time, and in the time that I've been in this Senedd, she has come on four occasions to the official opening of the Senedd.

Many Members will recognise that I wasn't here in October when she came to open the Senedd for this current term of the Senedd's mandate, but watching on television, to see her face and the pleasure she was genuinely getting—and I think the Presiding Officer might endorse this—the genuine pleasure that she was getting by going around meeting not just Members, but the community groups that had assembled upstairs—that wasn't an act, that was genuine warmth and pleasure at being here in Wales and being here at the home of Welsh democracy, to open it for its term of office. And I think that's something we can be immensely proud of, that we have a monarch that recognises that the country does change and the monarchy changes with the country to be relevant. 

It is fact that when the Queen was born in 1926, she was not the person who was the heir, she was not the natural choice to go through and become the monarch, but through the abdication of 1937, her whole life and her family's life were changed beyond belief. The war years saw her take active service with the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and ultimately then, after a short, brief time with her husband in Malta, the poor health of her father—King George VI, obviously—ended up with the premature death of His Majesty and the Queen becoming the monarch in 1952.

We look back at an era when that type of news would have to have been relayed by the telegraph, rather than a quick press of a button and the internet, or picking up your phone and getting news at the click of a switch. We also see the steam trains bombing around in the old black-and-white films and we now have electric trains. We also see the world at a time when it was a big thing to fly round the world. Today the world has opened up to every man, woman and child, if they so wish to go around it, and ultimately we are pushing the boundaries into space. And it is important to reflect that all this has happened in a reign of 70 years.

It is worth reflecting on the fact that the Queen has held Wales deeply in her heart, in particular the patronage that she has shown to the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, to the Welsh Rugby Union, and numerous charities and organisations, of which she has helped raise their profile, and shown keen interest in those organisations. And as the First Minister touched on, the tragedy of Aberfan was just one tragedy amongst others that she has identified herself with and shown a keen interest in the way those communities have healed, never forgetting the hurt of those accidents and tragedies that has befallen the communities, wherever they may be in Wales.

It is also worth reflecting on her strong connection to the armed forces, as commander in chief, and, obviously, Wales has played its active part in sending more, proportionately, than its population into those armed forces, whether it be the army, the navy or the RAF, and the strong affiliation that many people feel with the royal family who have served in our armed forces, from whatever communities they might come from. And as one of the Members this afternoon touched on, and the Member for Clwyd West highlighted, one of the long-lasting traits of this Jubilee will be Wrexham becoming a city, and it's something that we can identify with as another celebratory note, with all the other cities that have been identified in various other Jubilees, such as the Golden Jubilee, the Silver Jubilee and obviously the Platinum Jubilee that we're celebrating in 2022.

It's also worth reflecting that faith is a major part of the Queen's make-up, and while she is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, she does recognise that the country that was the 1950s United Kingdom is not the 2022 country, and we are a multifaith society, which is something that she and others celebrate greatly. And it's this make-up of the modern Britain that we celebrate every day.

For me, something that stands out very clearly in the recent COVID crisis was Her Majesty's address to the country in April 2020, when she did say, 'We will meet again.' Ultimately, at that moment, when there was real, real darkness, and people were looking over the precipice back in April 2020, she spoke genuinely and movingly of her belief that this country would come through that crisis and we would see better times. Thankfully, we have come through the crisis and we are seeing better times, but we do not forget those who lost loved ones and the massive sacrifices that many, many have had to endure.

It is also a fact that the royal family themselves have had to endure many tragedies, and many, many intrusions into their lives. But we do believe passionately that the Queen and the experience that she has gained over the 70 years has held what's best about Wales and what's best about Britain in every decision she has made for this country, our united country, standing tall in the world.

I join the First Minister in endorsing the motion on the order paper this afternoon, and I know full well that the celebratory weekend that is coming up will be marked in many corners of this country, not just here in Wales, not just here in the United Kingdom, but across the Commonwealth of nations that she heads up and leads up with such pride and passion. And I, on behalf of my group and the party, have no hesitation in commending the motion that's before the Parliament today.