Shannon pays respects at Westminster during HM Queen ELizabeth II’s funeral
Strangford MP Jim Shannon said he was ‘overwhelmed’ at the mountain of cards and gifts left in Green Park and Buckingham Palace following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Mr Shannon said: “It was my absolute honour and privilege to travel to London to pay my respects to Her Majesty last week.
“I had determined to go over when my office assistant Naomi booked annual leave and purchased a flight to go over and pay her respects to Her Majesty.
“We went together and indeed met with many others from Northern Ireland who were of the same mind and paid our respects as Naomi left her poem in Green Park with thousands of other tributes.
“We then went to Buckingham palace and took a moment there before we headed to Westminster Hall to pay our respects.
“I feel that I know Westminster Hall well and run between the halls to get to debates very often and yet there was something incredibly different about the space. It didn’t feel the same.
“There was an awesome, universal quiet that had descended – it felt very reverent. Whilst I was aware of others around me in some kind of way, in another I felt that it was simply me and that beautifully adorned solitary coffin with the state emblems glittering in the darkness.
“It felt as if a blanket was wrapped around me excluding me from everyone else and the emotion of saying goodbye to My Queen – whom I had served in uniform and in the House of Commons for many years – was very raw.
“It was so strange to be a part of the corporate grief and yet to also feel so isolated in my own feelings.
“I felt this emotion at the various community events that I attended culminating in Conway Square on Sunday evening as hundreds of people attended in an act of respect and remembrance for a Queen that we all adored.
“As I sat at home with my wife Sandra on Monday watching the funeral, those emotions were at the surface once more as we watched the removal of the Sceptre, Orb and Crown and watched as a new chapter in the history of this great nations began as we sang God Save the King.
“I do believe that our Monarchy will continue to thrive if we learn the lesson of the Queen’s Secret – putting God first and the rest of service, devotion and duty that come as fruits of that relationship.
“I am praying that our King and Royal family in their grief know the very real presence of God and his influence on their lives.
Shannon delivers oath in Ulster Scots to pledge allegiance to King Charles III at Westminster
Jim Shannon MP Strangford has given his oath of allegiance to King Charles III.
He daid: “I can vividly remember the first time I gave my oath to Queen Elizabeth as a member of parliament and the absolute honour that I felt in representing the people of Strangford.
“And I felt that same honour 12 years later as I gave my oath to King Charles. The oath felt strangely familiar and yet different as I renewed my vow to the monarchy and yet did not utter the name of my Queen.
“Yet it was with steadfast loyalty and allegiance that I recited the oath in Ulster Scots, my mother tongue, to my King.
“The Ulster Scots language is a beautiful language and I am proud of my history and heritage and thankful to the speaker for allowing me to deliver the oath in the language that so many of my constituents speak and understand.”
Mr Shannon said: “As we navigate a world without Elizabeth the Great, I remain proud to be British and serve the House of Windsor under King Charles III.
“And I am proud to serve the people of Strangford in the greatest seat of democracy, the United Kingdom, in the world.”
