Farewell Message from the Grand President General the Lord Richards OF Herstmonceux
ROYAL COMMONWEALTH EX-SERVICES LEAGUE
HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
It was with great sadness that we received the news today of the death of our Patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I have written on behalf of our Trustees, Council Members, Member Organisations and Headquarters staff to express our deepest sympathy to His Majesty King Charles III and members of The Royal Family.
Grand President General the Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO DL
Between 1952 and 2022 we could not have been more fortunate that Her Majesty chose to be our Patron. For 70 years she remained committed to those Commonwealth veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and to their widows. Her Majesty showed a continuous, and personal interest, in the Charity throughout, receiving regular updates on the issues affecting the veterans and widows in our care.
The League was formed in February 1921 at the Empire Conference held in Cape Town and attended by Earl Haig and General Smuts. The United Kingdom with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa are the Founder Members. The object of the League is to ensure that no man or woman who served the Crown should be without help if in need.
Past and present members of our Family of Nations were all greatly honoured to have received the support, influence and companionship of Her Majesty for 70 of our 101 years of existence. There is no doubt that her engagement has contributed significantly to our longevity and tens of thousands of Commonwealth veterans and their widows have been lifted out of poverty, affording some dignity in the knowledge they have not been forgotten. She will be greatly missed by all our veterans and widows in Commonwealth countries across the world