Senate Pays Tribute to The Queen

The Senate paid tribute to Her Majesty, The Queen, during its sitting at Gordon House on Friday (September 9).

The Queen, Britain’s longest-reigning Monarch, demised peacefully at her home in Scotland on Thursday (September 8), at age 96.

She ascended to the Throne in 1952 following the death of her father, King George Vl, and was crowned on June 6, 1953.

During her reign, The Queen made six visits to Jamaica, the first being in November 1953 as the newly appointed Head of State.

Senate President, Hon. Tom Tavares-Finson, in his tribute, said The Queen made an indelible mark on the history of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and the world.

He shared that many Jamaicans have fond memories of interacting with her on her many visits to the island and expressed his deepest condolences to members of the Royal Family.

“On the last occasion, [when] she visited and addressed the Chamber, she ended her presentation with the following… ‘I wish you well as you face the challenges of the present and the future, and I pray God’s blessing upon all of you as you seek to build a brighter tomorrow’. Those were her wishes, and we continue to cling to the sentiment attached in those words,” he said.

“I will, through the British High Commissioner [to Jamaica], extend to the members of the Royal Family, our deepest condolences on the passing of Her Majesty,” Senator Tavares-Finson added.

Leader of Government Business in the Upper House and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson-Smith, who also expressed condolences to the Royal family, said The Queen lived a life of service to the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the territories of the Commonwealth.

She further stated that The Monarch’s reign was marked by grace, poise, and charm.

“Always exercising the dignity befitting her, [The Queen] was a continuous source of quiet strength and a stabilising force throughout many epochs, as the world evolved during her seven decades on the throne,” she said.

Mrs. Johnson-Smith said The Queen, during her sixth and final visit to Jamaica, spoke highly of Jamaica’s Parliament, hailing the body for protecting the rights of citizens through effective legislations.

“She addressed a joint sitting of our Parliament, which she described as the first of the independent parliaments of the Caribbean. Her Majesty, in that address, also observed that this Parliament has been, and I quote, … ‘One of the significant institutions for the fashioning and strengthening of our democratic society, creating many important laws to protect the rights of citizens and to promote Jamaica’s effective participation in the global economy through international trade’,” she said.

Opposition Senator, Donna Scott-Mottley, hailed The Queen as a dedicated and confident leader whose life was “embedded in her sense of duty.”

“She started at a very young age when she joined the army as a truck mechanic. That is a most unusual occupation for someone third in line to the throne. At the age of 21, when she promised to dedicate her life to the Commonwealth, whether that life be long or short, she made a promise which she intended to keep, and The Queen has championed the development of the Commonwealth from a small group of seven countries to a family of 56,” she said.