THE prime minister has paid tribute to the Queen on the occasion of her diamond jubilee, praising the institution of monarchy as something that can unify the nation.
David Cameron, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Britain this morning Britain would be less stable if it was a republic.
He said: “I think one of the great things that a monarch brings, and particularly a royal family and Her Majesty the Queen personally brings, is this sense of national unity and stability, someone who the whole country can identify with.
“It doesn't matter whether people are Labour or Conservative or Liberal Democrat or can’t bear any politicians.
“There's at the head of state someone who the whole country can revere and look up to, a great symbol of national unity, of continuity, that links British people with our institutions, with our history, with our relations with other countries, with the Commonwealth.
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“All of those things help to anchor us, so I think it's a great source of strength and stability, both now and into the future.”
Cameron and his wife Samantha will be among those watching the jubilee pageant pass through London this afternoon.
Asked whether Elizabeth II might ever abdicate in favour of grandson the Duke of Cambridge, he said:
“It's hard to think of ever her putting a foot wrong. And you get the sense with her that she will go on doing the amazing job she's done for this country as long as she possibly can and you never see any sign of her devotion getting any less.”