It is an honour to be able to stand here and speak on behalf of the people of my region. Our thoughts and prayers are very much with His Majesty the King and the royal family as we mourn the passing of the greatest and longest serving monarch the world has seen, Queen Elizabeth II.

For most of us, Queen Elizabeth II is the only monarch that any of us have known. She has always been there, a constant and consistent guiding light through bad times and good. Many people have been confused over the past few days about how strong their grief has been and are only now realising the impact and huge role that our Queen has had in all of our lives. It’s only when we face the reality of loss that we truly understand what has gone.

Queen Elizabeth II was a truly remarkable individual who completely dedicated her life to serving us, the British people, those of the Commonwealth and overseas territories. Her devotion was epitomised in the famous speech in Cape Town in South Africa, where she said,

'I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service, and the service of our great imperial family, to which we all belong.'

And she achieved that, and I, for one—and, I know, everyone here—am enormously proud that Elizabeth II was our Queen. Even this Tuesday, of this week, we saw the Queen do as she's always done, at 96 years of age, and fulfil her duties with the strength, the grace and honour that she'd become world renowned for, by having an audience in person with her new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, illustrating the depth of her devotion to duty. Elizabeth II's devotion to duty was always palpably obvious throughout her reign. At the age of 19, she enlisted during world war two to serve in the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, and this was just the beginning of a life of commitment to our country and our people. Her biggest duty, of course, then started at the mere tender age of just 25. At 23, when I was elected here, I felt the weight of responsibility of office, but the enormity and magnitude of responsibility on her young shoulders is hard to fathom. She not only handled it, she stood strong and steadfast, upholding and promoting all that is great about our country for 70 years.

I and, I'm sure, so many are glad that the Queen saw in her Platinum Jubilee this year, with celebrations in my region and beyond fit for a Queen who's done such an incredible amount for our country over these years. I was delighted to share those celebrations with my own children and be able to explain to them the depth of gratitude that we owed the Queen and why. As the longest serving monarch in British history, the Queen invited 15 Prime Ministers to form a Government. At her coronation, the Commonwealth had eight member states; today, there are now 56. It’s incredible. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth II modernised the monarchy, adapting to the times and turning it into the much-loved institution that it is today, with enormous global reach. We have all seen this from the speeches and the actions of the countries around the world since her death, and it has been befitting of Elizabeth the great.

It wasn't just her sense of duty, stabilising influence and wise counsel that defined her; her wit, humour and caring nature also came to personify her reign. And the Queen constantly surprised, as we all saw with that tea with Paddington and the James Bond escapades, bringing a warmth to the role that only served to further strengthen the monarchy and its place in our modern world.

And what an exceptional role model she was to women and girls—to me and to girls all over the world—and a strong role model for all of us. It has been an honour to have met the Queen on multiple occasions. I feel tremendously lucky and I will cherish it forever, remembering her wise words to me and that twinkle in her eye. God bless the Queen. May she now join her husband, rest in peace and rise in glory. My thoughts and the thoughts of the residents of south-east Wales and of our nation are now with His Majesty the King and the royal family as they mourn the loss of their dear mother and grandmother. God save the King.