Suffolk County Council Chairman releases statement following the death of Her Majesty The Queen

On behalf of my fellow councillors and officers of Suffolk County Council, I would like to express our deepest sympathies to His Majesty The King, and the entire Royal Family, at the sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen. It is impossible for any of us to remember a time when Her Majesty was not a part of the fabric of our lives. To me, the decades of unbroken, faultless and consistent public service stand as Her Majesty's greatest legacy. When you look back on her reign which saw so much change for this country, so many scientific and cultural advancements, so much peril and challenge, throughout it all there was always a calming, steadfast constant - Her Majesty The Queen. The loss of Her Majesty will of course be felt across the world, not only in the other nations where she was Queen, but also in the wider Commonwealth and beyond. Her Majesty visited Suffolk many times, often with her beloved Husband, The Duke of Edinburgh. On every occasion, come rain or shine, the people of Suffolk came out of their homes to welcome her with much love and affection. We remember especially her first visit to Suffolk in July of 1961 when she sailed on the Royal Yacht Britannia into Shotley at HMS Ganges, drove through Suffolk to open the Civic College in Ipswich and on to see the plans for the Cathedral extensions in Bury St Edmunds. Again, in July 1977, she toured the county celebrating her Silver Jubilee - entertained by Morris dancers and a specially commissioned composition by Benjamin Britten. Most recently in April 2009, where she distributed Maundy money at Bury St Edmunds Cathedral, she said: Our sense of what it is to be British derives as much from the treasured towns, villages and coastline of East Anglia as it does from the great cities like London or Birmingham. I know the people of Suffolk will want to pay their own personal tributes to Her Majesty. Therefore, books of condolence are being opened across the county, in addition to an online book of condolence which is now available on Suffolk County Council’s website. As a mark of our respect, flags on all council buildings are being flown at half-mast as we join with the country, and the whole world, in mourning the loss of Her Majesty.