We join with the nation in mourning the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who was not only the longest reigning monarch in British history, but also a devoted Christian leader.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was patron of The Scottish Bible Society from 1952 and showed great support to the vision of the charity to make Bibles available to all people across the globe in a language they can understand.

The Queen’s faith was an integral part of her life, and of her reign. She prayed daily, attended church, and shared the good news of the Christian message in her annual televised Christmas Day addresses.

Scottish Bible Society Chairman, The Honourable Lord Arthurson, said: 

“We give thanks for The Queen, for Her Majesty’s long and unwavering support and service to the Scottish Bible Society. We were honoured when The Queen became our Patron in 1952 and have celebrated many moments including Her Majesty’s 90th Birthday in 2016 and her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year. We mourn, with the rest of the country, the loss of a remarkable public servant who was bold in communicating the trust she had in the Bible and the guidance she found in her Christian faith.”

Elaine Duncan, Chief Executive of Scottish Bible Society said:

“It has been a privilege to have Queen Elizabeth II as our Patron since her enthronement in 1952. Indeed, she has been our only Patron.

“As well as benefitting from her remarkable Christian leadership and example, she has also graced us with her presence and support in more specific ways. She visited Bible House in Edinburgh in 1991 and more recently provided us with the following words to encourage people to read the New Testament we produced when the Commonwealth Games came to Glasgow in 2014: ‘The New Testament is an important holy text for all people. It is about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that as you read this book you will find much that inspires me and the Christian church, in Scotland and throughout the world.’”

We join our prayers with those of many others around the world, asking that God will bring comfort to the royal family in their time of sadness and grief. We thank God for the Queen, for her remarkable life and for all that she has meant to us as our Patron and as a woman of the Bible.