As those who have visited my office, or had the misfortune of watching my contributions virtually during the pandemic, will be able to attest, I have two photographs of Her Majesty the Queen in my office. They're on display in my office alongside other treasured photographs of my family. The reason for that is because the Queen felt like a member of my family, frankly. My mum is named after the Queen. Her name's Elizabeth, or Liz, as her friends like to call her. She was born in 1952, which, of course, is the year in which the Queen took the throne. But the fact that the Queen was constantly on the television and we were constantly reading about her life—and we'd have the ups and downs in family life—made it feel as though she was part of our home, that we had a close association with her—that personal connection that other Members of the Senedd have spoken of.

Yes, of course, she spoke to the nation in times of national crisis and uncertainty, including during the pandemic, and she always brought those words of comfort and encouragement. Like other families in this Chamber, and millions of people around the world, every Christmas we would sit as a family and watch Her Majesty the Queen address the nation in her Christmas broadcasts. So, the news that the Queen had passed away felt like a huge personal blow to me and to many people, no doubt, in this Chamber. And of course, it was a huge personal blow to many people in my own constituency, who've been in touch in order to express—and to ask me to express on their behalf—their deepest condolences to King Charles III and his family on their behalf.

I can remember the very first time I saw the Queen in the flesh. It's quite a thrill, isn't it, when it hasn't happened before. It was during the Golden Jubilee tour, and the Queen was due to arrive in Eirias Park at the stadium, and I was given a ticket—I think I was the deputy mayor or something in Towyn and Kinmel Bay—or the mayor couldn't make it and he'd passed the ticket on. I turned up to this place, and there were thousands of people in the stadium. We were all waiting for the royal couple to arrive—Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh—and there was a compère, if you like, for the event, who was getting us all to do Mexican waves. It got to a point where, as is sometimes the case, there had been a bit of a delay. So, he was trying to string this thing out, getting us to do more and more Mexican waves. But, eventually, the hush came, because news got to us all that Her Majesty the Queen and her car had turned into the park. There was silence, just for a brief moment, before the crowd erupted with cheers because the Queen had arrived. And that excitement was exactly the same every time I ever saw the Queen.