Thanksgiving Service for HM The Queen

More than 1,000 people from across Norfolk paid tribute to HM The Queen at a special service at Norwich Cathedral. The Service of Thanksgiving and Commemoration for the Life and Reign of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second took place on Thursday 15 September.

Led by Norwich Cathedral Choir, the 1,000-strong congregation paid homage to Her Majesty by filling the 900-year-old Cathedral with heartfelt singing of well-known hymns such as Love Divine, All Loves Excelling and I Vow to Thee, My Country, and The Lord Mayor of Norwich and His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk were among those to give readings.

A recording of the service is available to watch below.

In his introduction, the Cathedral’s Acting Dean, The Revd Dr Peter Doll, said: “For seventy years, the simple knowledge of her presence as monarch has given a sense of security, calm and peace to this nation, to the world and in our own lives as citizens. In a life well lived, in times of great joy, and in moments of profound sorrow, the late Queen gave an example of godly life, inextinguishable faith, profound hope and real humility as she served the Commonwealth, this nation and her own family.”

The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, said it “has been the utter privilege of my life” to serve The Queen as Bishop of Norwich in these last few years, continuing a promise he first made as a Cub Scout aged eight.

Paying tribute to Her Majesty in his sermon, he said: “The Late Queen brought hope in her messages to those affected by disaster; reconciliation through small symbolic acts where there had been division; comfort where there were many tears; an attentive ear to those who spent time with her; an ability to adapt and evolve, yet maintain a mystery; and a keen eye for the going at the three forty at Epsom!

To conclude his sermon, the Bishop poignantly turned to the simple words famously spoken by Paddington Bear at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in June.

He said: “Another who lived life as a joyous adventure was an evacuee, a refugee, a one-time prisoner, who liked marmalade sandwiches and tried to have the very best manners at tea. He said, just three months ago and really on behalf of us all, “Thank you, Ma’am, for everything.”

Her late Majesty The Queen visited Norwich Cathedral several times.

Most recently The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh visited in May 2010 to officially open the new Refectory and Hostry. Her Majesty also visited the Cathedral on Maundy Thursday in April 1996 as part of the Cathedral’s 900th-anniversary celebrations and in April 1975 for the opening of the Cathedral’s then-visitor centre. Prior to becoming Queen, the then Princess Elizabeth visited Norwich Cathedral in 1951 as part of a tour of the city.

Statues of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were also installed in the Cloister in 2018 to mark the 65th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.