Scarborough and Whitby MP pays tribute to Queen ahead of funeral

Sir Robert Goodwill has been paying his respects

Author: Karen LiuPublished 18th Sep 2022

Ahead of the Queen's funeral tomorrow, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby has been paying tribute to Her Late Majesty.

Sir Robert Goodwill said: "The Queen has been part of our nation's life and in many ways part of our own personal, family lives for many, many years. When we had the Jubilee earlier this year I remember saying 'I just can't wait for the 100th birthday for Her Majesty.' We just expected she'd live forever.

"Every single word I've heard said about the Queen from people who've worked with her, people who've engaged with her, or people who've never met her must respected her from afar have all been absolutely ringing true. She's served this nation very well and incidentally I think she's passed on the monarchy to the next generation in a very, very sound way.

"I met her on two or three occasions and she was always charming and full of grace. It must have been very hard for her sometimes to bite her lip and not say what she really thought, I think she probably left that to her husband the Duke of Edinburgh sometimes. She carried herself with grace and integrity and everyone who knew of her would respect her and understand this is a passing of an era.

"I was very fortunate to be appointed as a member of the Privy Council. I did get to kiss the Queen's hand as I kneeled on a stool and read out an oath that members of the Privy Council read out. There were only about 10 people in the room and it was a very intimate meeting and at the end of the formal meeting there was a bit of a chat."

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