Her Worship the Mayor, Ms Carmen Gomez GMD was honoured to be the Inspecting Officer at a Royal Gun Salute in celebration of the 74th birthday of Her Majesty, the Queen Consort, on 17th July 2023. Her Worship had the following words to say:
‘It is a huge honour for me to have been asked, so early in my tenure as Mayor of Gibraltar, to be the Inspecting Officer at this Royal Gun Salute in celebration of the 74th birthday of Her Majesty, the Queen Consort. You have executed it impeccably, as is always the case, and you should be immensely proud. As youngsters, my sister and I would have our work cut out, polishing the brass buckles and the regimental boots of our two brothers when they came home from the barracks, as they were very tired and needed to catch up on sleep. Since those days I have eagerly watched the progress of the Gibraltar Regiment and in 1999 felt extremely proud when our then Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, granted you the Royal title on Regimental Day. You have gone from strength to strength, to be the pride and joy of our community, and whilst Gibraltar mourned the loss of our beloved Queen, you can look back and reflect that you had the honour of guarding her at Buckingham Palace. You have defended our beloved City since 1939, a date in Gibraltar’s history that we must never forget and served in major theatres abroad. You are truly worthy of being referred to as our brave “barbarians” and I wish you continued success in all your endeavours to come. Being with Gibraltar’s very own soldiers on an occasion like this is truly special to me; an occasion I will never forget, and I hope it will represent the start of a continued association during my time as Mayor – the Gun Salute is a visible, and audible expression of who we are as a people, a manifestation of our British sovereignty, and as your civic representative you will always have my support.’
