Goodbye, gracious Queen! Along with so many of the men, women and children in the UK and beyond, members of the Labour Party are grieving.

Our leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has put it like this: “Today, we mourn the passing of a remarkable sovereign. It is a deep, private loss for the Royal Family and all our first thoughts are with them at this time. The nation shares in their grief. Queen Elizabeth II created a special, personal relationship with us all, a relationship based on service and devotion to her country. For the vast majority of us, the late Queen has been simply the Queen, the only Queen, above all else, our Queen.

“As we mourn her loss, we should also treasure her life. Our longest-serving and greatest ever monarch. Above the clashes of politics, she stood not for what the nation fought over, but what it agreed upon. In crisis, she reassured us. Reminding us that we are all part of something that stretches back through time.

“A symbol of the best of us. I saw it for myself when I led the Crown Prosecution Service. And the obvious love the late Queen displayed for Britain, the British people gave back in return. That is why there is such an outpouring of grief across the nation today, as there is across the Commonwealth to which the late Queen was so devoted.

“For seventy years, Queen Elizabeth II stood as the head of our country. But, in spirit, she stood amongst us.”

Sir Keir is not the only one who has expressed our responses to the sad news. A little friend of mine, eight years old, was worried about who would now send out birthday cards to anyone turning 100. His sister, aged six, was also very sad indeed. She put it simply: “She was a lovely Queen.” These two responses show us how Queen Elizabeth II has touched our lives; and why we will miss her. I think she might well have suggested that we take seriously the call for us to commit ourselves to making our land a decent, fair place to live

“Till we have built Jerusalem,

In England’s green and pleasant Land.”

Let’s do it!

Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II. A life of exemplary public service, a life of duty and a life well lived. You have been the one constant in most of our lives, always there, always calm, always reassuring. You will be missed by so many.