States Minutes 9th April 2002

THE STATES assembled on Tuesday, 9th April 2002 at 9.30 a.m. under

the Presidency of the Bailiff ,

Sir Philip Bailhache .

All members were present with the exception of -

S enat or Jean Amy Le Maistre - out of the Island

S enat or Patricia Ann Bailhache - out of the Island

S enat or Terence Augustine Le Sueur - out of the Island

I m ogen Stephanie Nicholls, Deputy of Grouville - ill

C e lia Joyce Scott Warr en, Deputy of St. Saviour - out of the Island

Prayers

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother – tributes

THE STATES assembled to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and observed a minute's silence in her memory.

The Bailiff , on behalf of members, expressed their sympathy, and paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, in the following terms -

" M  embers have gathered this morning to pay tribute to the memory of Her Majesty The Queen Mother, a remarkable woman who earned the affection and respect of millions and who was our Queen between 1936 and 1952. As I speak, tens of thousands are gathering in the vicinity of Westminster for the funeral later this morning at which the Island will be represented by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor and the Deputy Bailiff and their respective wives. Our short service of thanksgiving in the Town Church which will follow this meeting will be but a humble prelude to the solemn and stately ceremony in Westminster Abbey. But I think that The Queen Mother, who did not lack the common touch, would have appreciated the notion that even in this small dependency of the Crown many ordinary people would want to honour her memory in this way and on this day.

P ar liaments and legislatures throughout the Commonwealth have convened to honour The Queen Mother

in recent days and it is right that in Jersey the States Assembly should do likewise. The Crown is our link with the United Kingdom and we have reason to be thankful that at a crucial time in our history and that of the British nation there was a Queen endowed with unusual personal courage and charisma. She was a consort fit for a King. Despite the cynicism of some commentators, I do not believe that thousands of people in the East End of London at the time of the Blitz would have turned out to cheer a Queen with whom they did not identify as being in sympathy and empathy with them. The reaction of Jersey people in June 1945, a few short weeks after the Liberation, was exactly the same when, according to the contemporary report, as the King and Queen set foot in the Island, storms of cheers broke out from the huge crowd, cheers which continued all along the route of the Royal procession.

I t must have been an unspeakable sadness for The Queen Mother when, half a century ago, she found

herself a widow. Yet that half-century has not been a period of introversion or withdrawal. On the contrary she carved out for herself a different life full of positive contributions to the spirit of the nation. She became the nation's favourite grand-mother and, in time, the nation's favourite great grand-mother.

I t was Walter Bagehot, the Victorian polymath, who, in 1867, wrote of the monarchy - "Above all things our royalty is to be reverenced, and if you begin to poke about it you cannot reverence it .... its mystery is

its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic". Some may believe those sentiments to be old-fashioned but it is, I think, true that The Queen Mother was magic and that she did not allow the harsh glare of

daylight to sully it. The downside of maintaining a royal reserve is, of course, that your people do not have the

opportunity of learning about all the strengths of your character. It was only in the aftermath of her death, from the moving tribute of Prince Charles and from other tributes, that the full extent of The Queen Mother's personality, her sense of humour and her sense of fun has emerged. There were, of course, flashes of insight during each of her subsequent visits to Jersey in 1963, 1975 and 1984. She must have known what a photo-opportunity she was giving the JEP photographer when, at the age of 84, she grasped the pool cue at Maufant Youth Club and, with what appears to have been practised ease, put away a deft red in the middle pocket; and to be fair to the photographer, he didn't miss his shot either.

T he gentle smile, the relaxed informality, and the graciousness of The Queen Mother are attributes that

we will not forget. Nor should we forget the commitment to service displayed in a thousand different ways which endured throughout her long and productive life. For all of us in this Chamber who aspire to serve our community she was an example and an inspiration to be treasured in the memory. The hearts of this community go out to The Queen and to the members of the Royal Family as The Queen Mother is laid to rest this morning."

Senator Pierre François Horsfall, O.B.E., on behalf of the Senators, paid tribute in the following terms -

" S ir, I am honoured to have been asked to pay tribute to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. In settling to my task of composing a tribute for this special sitting of the States, I felt daunted by the fact that so many have been paid by so many distinguished people at so many special events in her honour, in so many different Parliaments, in and on all the different media, locally, nationally and internationally. Now, including a moving one from you Sir.

T ha t I felt daunted is undoubtedly true but this feeling did not last long. It disappeared with the realisation

that nobody else could have died at the glorious age of 101 and provoked a fraction of the spontaneous tributes that have been paid, by people in all walks of life.

T his measure of the esteem with which the late Queen Mother was held is in itself the greatest

compliment that could possibly be paid, for only a very remarkable and well loved person could provoke such a reaction.

Y ou Sir, have already mentioned many aspects of the life of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother,

including her four visits to Jersey and I shall not cover these aspects again. However, I did meet Her Majesty on one occasion in Jersey during one of those visits, when I was presented by the late Bailiff Sir Frank Ereaut.

A s a relatively young Member of this House I was rather nervous but as many have said she immediately

put people at their ease, was utterly charming and kind and had a strong sense of humour. All of this was demonstrated in the twinkling of an eye as we talked and joked about one of her racehorses. Much to the bemusement of a rather anxious looking Sir Frank Ereaut the conversation became very animated.

T hi s sense of fun was amply demonstrated throughout that particular visit, as already referred to by you

Sir.

I n watching television I have seen and heard people say that while it is sad that The Queen Mother has

died, it was the end of a long and fulfilled life and at the age of 101 had to be expected. There has, at times, been an inference that perhaps the general reaction to The Queen Mother's death has been a little disproportionate.

W hat these people fail to realise is that it is the age of The Queen Mother at 101 that makes it all the more

poignant. This is because it is not only the passing of a person, a much loved and admired person but it is also the passing of an era that was epitomised by that person, together with the realisation that the era, now passed, can never ever occur again with the World as it is now.

T he Queen Mother spanned that era, contributed to it and left her personal mark upon it. She was

undoubtedly a remarkable person whose life covered the entire 20th Century.

S i r, Jersey has strong links to the Crown and these links go back nearly 1,000 years. We are all very

proud of this fact and it is this that makes this special sitting and the church service that follows all the more

appropriate and meaningful.

T r ibutes have been paid by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, who is attending the funeral today,

by you Sir and by many others, young and old. However, I wish to end by citing the greatest tribute of them all. To visualise it, one only has to think of the thousands of ordinary people, queuing for miles, taking 7 hours to reach Westminster Hall in the middle of the night, in order to pay their last respects to a much loved person.

T hat remarkable scene Sir, is the greatest tribute of them all, it outshines any words so far spoken and

could only have been brought about by a very very remarkable person to whom we pay heartfelt tribute today."

The Connétable of Grouville , on behalf of the Connétable s, paid tribute in the following terms -

" O n behalf of the Connétable s I can only concur with what you, Sir, and Senator Horsfall have already stated, and on behalf of the Connétable s, I wish to pass on our heartfelt condolences to Her Majesty The Queen and all of the Royal family."

Deputy Harry Hall ewell Baudains of St. Clement , on behalf of the Deputies, paid tribute in the following terms -

" C an I, on behalf of my fellow Deputies, endorse everything that has been said about Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Looking back over her life it is clear the way that she lived, and the example from which we can all learn a great deal, provide a wonderful inspiration to everyone."

THE STATES then adjourned. THE STATES rose at 9.53 a.m.

M.N . D E L A H A Y E

Deputy Greffier of the States.