The Presentation of a Motion of Condolence to His Majesty The King

Your Majesties, Senedd Members, guests.

On the Senedd's behalf, I wish to extend the warmest of welcomes to His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Consort on your first visit to the Senedd since the sad passing of the Queen. We offer our sincere condolences to you and your family.

We welcome Your Majesties to our Senedd today and we offer our sincerest condolences on the sad death of your mother, the Queen. We know that so many of the people we represent have been saddened, some shaken, by her loss and they hold you and your family in their hearts and prayers at this time.

As we meet here today to offer our motion of condolence, it is poignant for us to think that the Queen's final visit to Wales was merely 11 months ago at the official opening of our sixth Senedd. The Queen was on fine form that day. Many Members shared their anecdotes of that visit when we met to pay tribute to the Queen and discussed our motion of condolence in the Senedd on Sunday. And as she left us that day, 11 months ago, I hope that Her Majesty carried with her the beaming smile of Ffion Gwyther, the last person she met that day in Wales, the young actor from Furnace in Llanelli, who smiled broadly as she handed the Queen a posy.

The stories and tributes paid by Members to the Queen when we convened on Sunday were warm and witty. As you may imagine, there were many mentions of corgis—her constant, lifelong Welsh companions. 'Corgi', a Welsh word—literally, 'small dog'. And, of course, the Members here representing Pembrokeshire were particularly keen to champion her preference for the Pembrokeshire corgi. And the Member for Ceredigion—me—was silent and ever so slightly jealous of the Queen's choice of the Pembrokeshire corgi over the Cardiganshire corgi.

The Queen was with us for each of the Senedd's six official openings, and on each occasion she commented on the development of our powers and our work on behalf of the people of Wales. She respected the Senedd as an expression of the democratic will of the people of Wales.

The Queen was with us in 1999 for the opening of our first fledgling Assembly. She shared our journey of devolution. She partook in each of our six openings, commenting each time on the development of our powers and becoming a national parliament, Senedd Cymru. The Queen respected this Parliament because she respected the democratic choices of the people of Wales. She saw us come of age and was interested in our next steps.

From Glyndŵr’s first Senedd of the fifteenth century in Machynlleth to the one in which we are gathered today, our story is old but our democracy is young and ambitious. It is my sincere hope that the modern relationship between this country, this Senedd and the royal family will be rooted in respect and mutual understanding.

The story of our land, our nation, is long, but the story of our Senedd is new and modern. Our eyes turn to the future, and our co-operation with you, the King, and the royal family, I firmly believe, will reflect this.

As we remember today the Queen's enduring commitment to our Parliament, we also look forward to the King's future association with the Senedd and our work on behalf of the people of Wales.

I now invite the First Minister to present the motion of condolence to His Majesty the King.

Llywydd, Your Majesties. Earlier this week, for the first time in our still brief history, the Senedd met on a Sunday. We did so to agree the motion of condolence we convey this afternoon. As a young Parliament, so much of what we do in the Senedd, we do for the very first time. Sadly, marking the death of Queen Elizabeth II was just such a moment. It was an occasion where we heard a wide range of reflections.

Personal reflections, Llywydd, as you said, often focusing on the Queen's many visits to the Senedd, her encounters and her conversations with Members here. Historical reflections, focusing on the many changes that have taken place in Wales over the last 70 years. And constitutional reflections too, emphasising the commitment shown by the Queen to this democratic institution and its place in a devolved United Kingdom.

Many of the contributions were sombre; they reflected a sense of grief, of loss and of national significance. But just as many were human stories of a life devoted to service and to duty, but imbued by that keen sense of interest that the Queen always showed in the people she met and in all those things that, in our case, make Wales what it is in the twenty-first century. We know, because we saw it here in this Chamber less than a year ago.

Today, there is a sense of transition in Wales. This morning, we came together in a service of reflection at Llandaff cathedral, to look back over a reign unrivalled in its length and its reach. Later today, people in Wales will have their chance to meet the new King at Cardiff castle for the first time. The start of a new era.

Now, we welcome the King to the Senedd, not by any means for the first time, but for what we hope will be the first of many such visits in the future. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome the Prince of Wales here for his first visit. But today, we pass on this motion of condolence from the Senedd to the King and the Queen Consort. We welcome him as he receives the motion of condolence that we agreed on Sunday that this Senedd expresses its deep sadness at the death of Her Majesty the Queen and offers its sincere condolences to His Majesty the King and other members of the royal family.

Presiding Officer, First Minister, Members of the Senedd, heartfelt thanks for your kind words.

I am deeply grateful for the addresses of condolence that so movingly paid tribute to our late sovereign, my beloved mother, the Queen.

I know that the Senedd and the people of Wales share my sadness.

Through all the years of her reign, the land of Wales could not have been closer to my mother’s heart.

Wales had a special place in her heart.

I know she took immense pride in your many great achievements—even as she also felt with you deeply in time of sorrow. It must surely be counted the greatest privilege to belong to a land that could inspire such devotion. I am resolved to honour that selfless example, in the spirit of the words by which I have always tried to live my own life: Ich Dien, I Serve. Gwasanaethaf.

It was a privilege to be Prince of Wales for so long. Now, my son William will bear the title. He has a deep love for Wales.

I take up my new duties with immense gratitude for the privilege of having been able to serve as Prince of Wales. That ancient title, dating from the time of those great Welsh rulers, like Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, whose memory is still rightly honoured, I now pass to my son William, whose love for this corner of the earth is made all the greater by the years he himself has spent here.

Ladies and gentlemen, like my beloved mother before me, I know we all share a love for this special land.

Having visited the Senedd regularly since it was founded, and having heard your heartfelt words today, I know we all share the deepest commitment to the welfare of the people of this land and that we will all continue to work together to that end.

Thank you, Your Majesty, for your words to the Senedd and to Wales. You and your family will be in our hearts over the next few days. The Queen's final words to us in this Chamber were also your first words to us in this Chamber today. Her words, in Welsh: 'Diolch o galon', heartfelt thanks. To the Queen, therefore, our heartfelt thanks for a lifetime's service.

Heartfelt thanks to Queen Elizabeth II for a lifetime's service, undertaken with dignity and grace. May she now rest in peace.

That brings our proceedings to a close for today.