1. Motion of condolence and tributes to Her Majesty The Queen

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:00 pm on 11 September 2022.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 5:00, 11 September 2022

Thank you, all, for your warm words and reflections on a life lived long and well. Many of you have alluded to the Queen's official openings of this Senedd. I recall the sixth opening in particular, which turned out to be her last visit to Wales. I remember that day with particular fondness. She was on fine form that day, undertaking her official duty with the usual aplomb, smiling, talking to Members, as we've heard, and especially interested in discussing with the many COVID champions from all over Wales. She wore a suit of peachy pink that day. I had on a dress with a dash of peachy pink too. We matched perfectly, apparently. And you've no idea how many people have asked me quite seriously whether we'd pre-arranged our wardrobe choices that day, as if I was in a secret WhatsApp group with the monarch. However, I'll never quite know whether the Queen noticed that day that I was wearing odd shoes. That was by mistake, by the way, not as some act of republican defiance. Neither am I sure that day whether she noticed that in one line-up she almost missed one Member completely because the curtsy was so low, or that another Member turned up in more than one line-up. If the Queen did notice these things, she kept smiling. 

As the Queen was about to leave, I ended up in a discussion with her and the now Queen Consort. It was described apparently by a live tv commentator as 'a Dyffryn Teifi Merched y Wawr huddle', whilst, in fact, we were discussing the lack of world leader attendance at COP26. I can share that with you because that conversation was overheard and ended up, as Adam Price said, as a front-page story around the world the next day: the Queen sharing her view on the subject of the day, tackling climate change. However, I won't share with you today my very last conversation with the monarch as we ascended in the lift. But I'm reminded of it as I look around this Chamber at the 60 Members here present and I think of what lies ahead for this Senedd. Suffice it to say she was interested in our future.