Her Majesty the Queen's 80th Birthday
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-4240, in the name of Jack McConnell, on the Queen's 80th birthday.
I invite Parliament to join me in congratulating Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her 80th birthday and in extending our warm wishes to Her Majesty at this special time.
In recent weeks, much has been said and written about the Queen. Many will have gained new insights into her life and been struck by her contribution to Scotland, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Her Majesty's affinity with Scotland is well known and she has our thanks for her years of commitment to us. The Queen has been a strong and visible friend of devolution since 1999. She has supported our new and evolving constitutional relationship within the United Kingdom and has shown a real interest in our deliberations.
Our Queen addressed our Parliament in session in Aberdeen in 2002, in addition to opening the institution in 1999 and, of course, this building in 2004. Knowing that the Queen has held weekly audiences with 10 Prime Ministers, we knew that we were in the presence of someone who knew a thing or two about politics and change.
Much has changed since 1926, the year of the Queen's birth. That was a time of mass unemployment—it was the year of the general strike—Britain was still an imperial power, the national health service had not yet been created and the welfare state was still a dream. Broadcasting was in its infancy and the technological and communications changes that we have seen in the past 80 years were beyond all but the most visionary writers of science fiction.
In many countries, rulers and heads of state have been unable to live with major social and constitutional change. It is a mark of Her Majesty that she has ensured that the monarchy has adapted to and embraced change, while remaining a symbol of national unity throughout. With wisdom and good sense, combining tradition and modernity in a manner from which we can all learn, she has overseen the transition from colonialism to Commonwealth, from want to welfare and from a centralised state to a devolved one.
We know that Her Majesty has taken a genuine and personal interest in the life of Scotland. From childhood on, spending significant amounts of time in Scotland has been part of the Queen's year, whether on Deeside, in Holyrood Palace or on the hundreds of visits that she has made throughout the land.
The Queen made her state entry into Scotland on 23 June 1953. When she left five days later, 100,000 Scots gathered at midnight on the hillsides of Holyrood park to sing, "Will ye no come back again?" Ever since, the Queen has indeed come back again. I know that the thousands of Scots who have been welcomed into Holyrood over the years, either for ceremonial occasions or for the annual garden party, will have been touched—as I have been—by her warmth, intelligence and good humour.
Of course, the Queen contributes to Scottish life in other ways too, by supporting Scottish organisations and charities, including the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Highland Show and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Her Majesty's life has been all about public service. People often do not realise how many miles the Queen travels up and down the land, or how many places she visits and people she meets. To each place and each person, the Queen brings pleasure and provides memories that are never forgotten.
The Queen has experienced joy in her life but, as we know, she has also seen her fair share of tragedy and sorrow. However, even when dealing with those deeply personal tragedies in the gaze of the public eye, the Queen has always shown fortitude and dignity.
During her reign, the Queen has undertaken 256 official overseas visits to 129 different countries. In Melbourne recently, I saw that she continues to inspire people across the Commonwealth of nations and to be a symbol of unity and continuity in changing times. The Queen's personal commitment is one of the reasons why the Commonwealth continues to thrive. It is in part because of the Commonwealth that we in Scotland can forge relationships with Malawi and other countries.
It is no secret that views differ in this chamber and this land regarding constitutional arrangements, but I hope that we can unite in recognition of goals that we share—commitment to public service, friendship between nations and recognition of valour, endeavour and excellence.
This Friday, when people around the world celebrate this landmark birthday for our Queen, we in Scotland should add our voices. Her Majesty has Scotland in her heart. For her decades of dedication to duty, for her service to our country, and for the way in which she continues to touch the lives of thousands of Scots and others around the world, we send our warm congratulations and best wishes on this happy occasion.
I move,
That the Parliament congratulates Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her 80th birthday.
Before I speak in support of the motion in the First Minister's name, I am sure that Parliament will be interested to know that my colleague Alasdair Morgan shares a birthday with Her Majesty the Queen. Mr Morgan is keen that I emphasise to Parliament that, although he is not 80—or so he says—he would be happy for any member to lodge a motion of congratulation, but that there is absolutely no need for anyone to fly the union jack in his honour.
As the First Minister has said, there are many different views between the parties, and within them, inside and outside the Parliament, on the future of the monarchy as an institution. In my view, that matter should ultimately be decided by the Scottish people. However, those different views should not prevent any of us from wishing the Queen a very happy and healthy 80th birthday. There is no doubt that she has performed her role over many years with great dignity and commitment. As a result, there is a great deal of public affection for her. Her visits to Scotland in general and to this Parliament in particular have been appreciated by many people across Scotland.
An 80th birthday is a significant milestone in anyone's life. I notice that today the Queen is beginning her birthday celebrations with a lunch for others who share her birthday. That is an appropriate reminder that the Queen is a member of a proud generation—a generation that, during the second world war, and in the difficult years immediately afterwards, made sacrifices and shared experiences that, thankfully, few of us in our generation can even begin to imagine.
As we wish the Queen a happy birthday and send her our warm congratulations, we should take the opportunity to pay tribute to all those who will reach their 80th birthday this year, or would have reached it, had they still been alive. After all, it is thanks to them and the rest of their generation that we today enjoy the privileges and the freedoms that we do.
If I had been around on 21 April 1926—and I sometimes feel as if I was—I would probably have paid no particular attention to the arrival of a baby daughter to the Duke and Duchess of York. Apart from giving the pleasure that greets any birth, the event might not have seemed especially auspicious. However, such are the unpredictable quirks of times and events that the baby not only was to grow up as Princess Elizabeth, but was to find that her father was required to take on the role of monarch as King George VI when she was only 10; was to experience the second world war; and was to lose her father, whom she loved dearly, when she was 25, which required her to succeed to the throne. For anyone, that would be a challenging series of events to confront at a young age.
My first awareness of the Queen was when I was taken at the age of three to a fireworks display to celebrate the coronation. It was not a positive introduction to the monarchy: I did not know what a coronation was, and the bangs and flashes of the fireworks so alarmed me that a screaming three-year-old had to be taken home.
I am wiser now. Many years later, I look at a woman who has become an icon for selfless public service and unwavering commitment to her sense of duty as a monarch. Interestingly, in these judgmental and often abrasive times, the Queen defies being labelled and pigeonholed, which is a remarkable achievement.
In what is unarguably the greatest republic of the world, the United States of America, interest in the Queen is apparently insatiable, and admiration and respect for her are unbounded. That perception is not born out of some Walt Disney fantasy centring around a diamond-encrusted heroine; it is based firmly on the recognition of someone who, in the face of national and personal challenges, has never faltered in her duty to Britain and the Commonwealth. This is a woman who, in her 54 years as Queen, has held audiences with 10 British Prime Ministers. Her grasp of national and international affairs is astonishing, and her shrewdness is impressive. Our current Prime Minister, Mr Blair, has paid tribute to those qualities.
I am aware of the different views in the chamber about the monarchy, but one does not need to be a royalist to admire the capacity of this extraordinary woman to do so well what she does, and the extent to which she does it, at the age of 79. There are those who aspire to make a contribution to public life who are many years her junior but who would whimper at doing a fraction of what she does. She is in a league of her own when it comes to public service.
I salute this remarkable woman and congratulate her on the occasion of her 80th birthday this coming Friday. With pleasure, I support the motion.
The Queen's 80th birthday is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the contribution that Her Majesty has made to Scotland and to this nation. I well remember, 40 years ago, standing at the side of North Deeside Road, waiting with hundreds of others for the arrival of the Queen in her car. We waited and then waved at her as she made the journey to Balmoral Castle. She is very much loved not just on royal Deeside, in the area of Ballater and Balmoral, but throughout the north-east and across Scotland. Thirty-three years later, in 1999, I felt proud, pleased and privileged at the official opening of the Scottish Parliament, when all of us were there as members of the new Scottish Parliament.
I also remember welcoming the Queen to Aberdeen, where she addressed the meeting of the Scottish Parliament on 28 May 2002. That visit was symbolic not just of her continued interest in the work of the Scottish Parliament, but of the work that she has done and continues to do for so many communities throughout Scotland. Her itinerary that day in Aberdeen was instructive. Although her speech in the chamber was the centrepiece of the day and grabbed the headlines, it was just a small part of her work on that occasion. Her visit captured the imagination and attention of a whole new generation of schoolboys and schoolgirls who lined the streets to welcome her to Aberdeen, and her attendance at Duthie park made the day for many young people who participated in a showcase of Aberdeen's excellence in culture, education and business. She enjoyed music, sport and drama displays from local youth groups. The golden jubilee celebrations provided a focus across Scotland for a huge range of activities and events designed to spark the imagination and capture the attention of young people.
Last year, the Queen officially opened the Royal Aberdeen children's hospital, following in the footsteps of her father and mother who, as the Duke and Duchess of York, had opened the new buildings at Aberdeen royal infirmary in 1936. This year marks the 70th anniversary of that royal visit; it is also 70 years since the dramatic events that happened just a few weeks after the opening of the hospital—events that shaped the Queen's and our nation's future. The Queen's 2005 visit also provided a focus for some of the excellent work that was being done in the city, and she met young people who had, in many cases, spent too much of their early lives in hospital.
The Queen undertakes many activities that do not make the headlines. Indeed, there are many things that people do not know about her. I must confess to having been unaware that she retains ownership of all sturgeons in the United Kingdom, including Scotland. I am assured that that applies only to "Fishes Royal".
The Queen's work for and with the young people of Scotland often goes unnoticed by the national media, but her involvement and that of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in events and activities across Scotland does much to spark the enthusiasm of children across the country.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, which does much to foster new skills, responsibilities, knowledge and, in many cases, lasting friendships among young people aged between 14 and 25. Between 17,000 and 20,000 young people throughout Scotland participate in the award scheme and the number of new entrants continues to grow.
This week is a chance to go beyond the national headlines in considering the achievements of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. In particular, it offers us the opportunity to reflect on the lead that she has taken in devoting so much time and energy to Scotland's young people. Her investment of faith, time and resources in our young people sets an example that we should all seek to follow. I commend the motion to Parliament and wish Her Majesty a very happy 80th birthday on Friday.
I thank the First Minister for giving us the opportunity to extend birthday greetings to Her Majesty the Queen. My party's position, to which I subscribe, on the relevance of a monarch with a heritable position, as opposed to an elected head of state, is well known. However, this is not the occasion to debate that issue.
I recall celebrating the birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 4 August 1946. My naval officer father took me across Scapa flow in a small boat to a destroyer that was gaily decked from stem to stern with signal flags fluttering in the Orkney wind. We were piped aboard and in the wardroom I cut a huge cake. It was my sixth birthday, and in my innocence I thought that it was all for me: a presumption of childhood.
That little memory serves to remind us that on Friday, many thousands of women and rather fewer men in Scotland will also celebrate their 80th birthdays, and I wish them a happy birthday as well.
I am happy to have this opportunity to echo the First Minister's sentiments—so well expressed—and wish the Queen a very happy 80th birthday on Friday.
Anyone who reaches the age of 80 is entirely entitled to a birthday card, a big cake with all the candles and best wishes, especially if they come from where I come from because it would mean that they have defied the grim reaper and the statistics. I would like the Parliament to note that the fact that the Queen has reached the age of 80, and that her mother was more than 100, proves the benefits of a lifetime of free meals.
Why are we taking time out in Parliament to wish the Queen a happy birthday? Those wishes could have been conveyed for 32 pence through Her Majesty's Royal Mail if the First Minister was so minded.
We should not pretend that sending the Queen the good wishes of the Parliament on her birthday means that the chamber is stuffed full of royalists. Those who claim to be republicans, or maybe even democrats—there are many MSPs in the chamber who claim that—might be in the majority. However, a person cannot be a democrat and defend hereditary privilege that is based on power and wealth; we cannot do both. There are people here who should have the courage of their convictions and should not be cowardly.
It is a pity that our amendment, suggesting that the Queen consider taking a very comfortable retirement, was not taken up. Surely the Parliament is not insisting that she should work beyond the age of 80. It is time to debate the monarchy's role in a modern democratic Scotland so that we can have a serious discussion of the issue. Those MSPs who are silent today but who claim to be republicans and democrats could then come out from behind the Queen's petticoats and take part in that discussion.
I am delighted to be awarded this occasion's free ball and give my personal support to the motion. We debate the motion today because the majority decision of the Parliamentary Bureau was that the order of business in the Parliament today should include the motion that is before us.
Whatever people think of constitutional monarchy—I speak as a fully signed-up supporter of the institution—we should wish our monarch a happy 80th birthday, for she has carried out her task with dignity, discretion and considerable skill. One need only look back to 1953 to realise how much Britain has changed since she came to the throne. Britain is now more open and more multicultural, with greater opportunities for each successive generation. While Governments have come and gone and while great social tensions have arisen from that social change, our monarch has been a unifying force for people from all walks of life, classes and backgrounds.
Her Majesty's sense of duty marks her out as a monarch for all Britain's people, whatever their gender, race, faith, sexuality or age. For that, she deserves our respect and, I believe, this Parliament's happy returns.
I will allow a pause so that those members who wish to leave before the next item of business may do so.