WARM tributes to The Queen have been made by Evesham and Pershore’s MPs and the first citizens of both towns.
Evesham’s MP Nigel Huddleston hailed the monarch and said her 70-year-reign ‘touched the lives of millions of people in this country and around the world’.
Both Mr Huddleston and West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin were in the House of Commons as MPs paid their respects with a number swearing a new oath of allegiance to King Charles III
“We are incredibly grateful for her decades of devoted service to us, her people. She epitomised duty, dignity and grace,” Mr Huddleston said.
“Her Majesty will be greatly missed. She was, and will continue to be, an inspiration to us all.
“During her seventy-year reign, The Queen touched the lives of millions of people in this country and around the world.”
His thoughts were echoed by Mayor of Evesham Coun Mark Goodge who said he was ‘profoundly saddened at The Queen’s death.
“I know this loss will be felt deeply among our community here in Evesham, and across our county and our country. Her death is not just that of another public figure, but of someone who has been central to our way of life,” he said.
“As Mayor, some of my proudest moments earlier this year were attending the many Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the town and elsewhere.
“And now one of my saddest moments as Mayor was to lower the town’s flag to half-mast as the first official act to mark her passing.”
Pershore’s MP Harriett Baldwin said: “I was greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. She has worked tirelessly her whole life in the service of our country and our Commonwealth.
“Our family of nations has benefitted from her knowledge and experience guiding successive Governments and 15 different Prime Ministers. Our loss is immeasurable – one of the wisest women in the world has left us.
“As MPs say daily in our prayers in the House of Commons: ‘May she attain everlasting joy and felicity through Jesus Christ our Lord’.
“Long live the King.”
Mayor of Pershore, Coun Matthew Winfield, said: “The people of Pershore are united in grief at the passing of our beloved sovereign, HM Queen Elizabeth II.
“In an indecorous age, she demonstrated what dignity really means. She upheld the finest traditions of public service, and in so doing, enjoyed the deep affection and gratitude of her people.
“Hers was a majestic reign, and as we mourn her passing, we pledge our allegiance to her successor. God save the King.”
