AN inspiration for future generations is how MP Mel Stride described Queen Elizabeth II to the House of Commons.

Although the Central Devon MP was not attending the Queen’s funeral service today, he was present for the Accession Council as a former Leader of the House of Commons and he also filed past Her Majesty’s coffin in Westminster Hall as part of the receiving party.

He spoke in the Commons to pay tribute to the Queen (which can be watched at www.melstridemp.com/queenelizabeth.

Mr Stride said: I’ rise to pay tribute to a very remarkable and wonderful lady, not just on my behalf but on behalf of the constituents of Central Devon.

‘Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch, passionate head of the Commonwealth for which she did so much. Loved and admired and of course she was recognised throughout the world.

‘A life that spanned so much. When she came to the throne of course, World War Two was a very fresh memory – there was sill rationing, man had yet to walk upon the Moon.

‘She reigned through Suez, the Cuban Missile Crisis, she saw the Beatles, a solitary World Cup football victory, she saw the Concorde fly.

‘She witnessed industrial unrest on an industrial scale and within her own family of course she suffered great personal tragedy.

‘She was there alongside us for the dawn of a new millennium.

‘She joined James Bond, as we know, for the opening of the London Olympics – and Paddington for the Jubilee.

‘And she said of the Lionesses and their recent triumph: “You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today and for future generations”.

‘That could equally be said for her.

‘Elizabeth, as we have heard, has always been here. She has always been a part of our lives, a part of our world and perhaps in essence that is why she will be so sorely missed.

‘She was certainly with us in Devon and the West country. She would have known my constituency well along with no doubt the constituencies of all of us in this House.

‘She was a frequent visitor to the South West, as recently as the G7 Summit where she for the first time met President Biden, one of 13 Presidents of the United States with whom she was to make an acquaintance – All of them since Harry S Truman with the exception of Lyndon Johnson.

‘When she was 13 she accompanied her family, including her father King George VI, to the Brittannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and she was to remember this as the first time she met a then young cadet and her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.

Now that is something of which Devon can be particularly proud.

‘And as Queen she returned to Dartmouth with Prince Philip of course before the Coronation.

‘Many of us have shared today our personal reflections of the contact that we have had with Her Majesty. Mine came from being the Controller of the Royal Household in our Whips office and also, briefly, as Lord President of the Council.

‘My impression of her in the small number of meetings that I had with her was that she was sharp, that she was kindly, that she was humorous as she had that twinkle in her eye and indeed before I went in to see her for the first time equerry turned to me and to put me at ease I think told me a little anecdote about an ambassador who had gone in to see her for the first time. On approaching her his phone, to his horror had sprung into life and started ringing.

‘He looked panicked and after he’d turned it off she turned to him and said ‘Perhaps you should have answered it, it might have been somebody important!’

‘I thought that perhaps Her Majesty could be a little mischievous on occasions.

‘I didn’t know her well enough to be sure of that but I was certain of the fact that she could be great fun. That was something that shone through when you met her and wise of course, based on her huge experience of life in the world.

‘And just as everybody told me, she was somebody who put you at your ease… Somebody it was good to be with. She made you feel special.

‘It was the honour of my life to have spent just that little time with her.

‘Queen Elizabeth thank you, you gave us all so much.

‘Rest in peace. God save the King.’