As Parliament restarts following the death of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth local MP Maria Miller has sworn the Parliamentary oath of allegiance to the new King.
Following the oath taking in Parliament today, Maria said, "The last two weeks have been full of mixed emotions for the nation, saying goodbye to the late Queen, remembering her long life of extraordinary service and duty; and looking towards the new King who has has already done so much for our country in his former role as Prince of Wales. In renewing my Parliamentary pledge of allegiance to King Charles, I will continue to do all I can to better the lives of the people of Basingstoke.
"Over the past 11 days the outpouring of love and respect for her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth here in Basingstoke has been deeply moving. The day after the late Queen's death I was privileged to pay tribute to her on behalf of residents in the House of Commons. From then on there have been a series of extraordinary events that most of us have never witnessed before: Our Mayor reading the Royal Proclamation announcing the death of her Majesty and the start of the reign of King Charles III from the steps of the old Town Hall; a meeting of both Houses of Parliament to hear King Charles III speak movingly about his mother; and her late Majesty lying in state in the ancient and historic Westminster Hall.
"Over the weekend before her late Majesty's funeral hundreds of local residents joined together to pay their respects in a series of community events and services culminating in a wonderful Civic Service led by our Mayor in St Michael's Church.
"May Her late Majesty rest in peace and long live King Charles III."