The issue about being called at this point in the debate is finding something original to say, but I will do what others have done and reflect on my own personal reflections and memories of Her Majesty. Particularly, in this Chamber in 2016, I was sitting probably where Jack Sargeant is sitting now, directly opposite the Chief Executive, which is where the Queen was sitting, and she was looking directly at me. I have to say, Llywydd, I feel uncomfortable when you look directly at me. [Laughter.] At that point in time, I wasn't sure whether she had a frown on her face—I wasn't sure whether I had upset her, and I was thinking, 'Oh my God, I've upset her—it's probably because I'm wearing a red tie'. But, at a certain point during the course of the session, that smile broke out, and she did actually give me—and I'm not making this up—a reassuring smile. So, I could rest easy for the rest of that session, and think, 'One thing I haven't done is upset the Queen'. And I don't know about you, Llywydd, but I may have upset you in the past. [Laughter.]

There are those of us in this Chamber who have particular political views—those who are in favour of the status quo, who wish to see the status quo continuing, and those of us who wish to see a challenge to the current democratic arrangements of this nation. But, what we've seen in the Chamber today has been those who have those different views seen reflected in the head of state their views too. I think the leader of Plaid Cymru made a rather pointed speech, which reflected some views that may not be reflected by those of the leader of the opposition, who saw in the Queen his own political perspectives. I think that is a gift of the head of state: to be able to do that and to be able to be a truly apolitical head of state in whom we can see ourselves reflected and, in this Chamber, unite ourselves in admiration.

That involved a huge a sacrifice of her life—her personal life—through the course of those 96 years. In the very last days of her service, she was in service to the country; we saw those pictures at Balmoral two days before she died. As others have mentioned their own family, I was taken back to my grandmother's death at Caerphilly miners, and she was active until the day before she died. I remember the family gathering around—I was there with my parents—and she passed away in Caerphilly miners hospital. The difference was that we, as a family then, had time to grieve in private and in peace, and the King does not have that luxury. The next days for the King are ones of work and duty, and they will not stop until his final days. I think the King can take comfort from the regular visits he made to his mother during her last days, but at the same time, he can take comfort in the condolences that have been offered in this Chamber today. He has a very public role; it's incredibly difficult to carry through the legacy of his mother, but we can support that through what we've said here in this Chamber.

I do just want to think about the King and some of the visits he's made to my constituency. He's visited the Caerphilly miners hospital, and I did manage to tell him that I was born there. We did have a conversation about it, and I've got to say that he was very genuine and a very warm person, and I think he is well suited to the role he is now in. He has those challenges, although he did alarm us at one point when he started walking off down St Martin's Road on his own, without any police protection; indeed, a couple had walked past him without realising who he was. I think that that will change now that he is King.

His duty now, his job, is to demonstrate the same thing that his mother did: that when we see him, we see our own views reflected, but not in a way that others see our views reflected—that they are universal, that he is a politically impartial head of state. That will be the challenge for the future of our democratic country. For those of us who want to see change, and those of us who wish to see status quo, what happens next will depend upon that. But I think that we can be united today in saying, 'God save the King'.