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The State Opening of Parliament is always a grand affair.
Now that I am retired, I have been able to watch three of them, thanks to Boris Johnson. We had the first of the three after he erroneously prorogued Parliament in the autumn of 2019. The second followed the election in December that year and now there was today’s, on Tuesday, May 10.
In my April 29 post, I wondered whether the Queen would give the speech about the upcoming legislation (emphases mine):
The new session will begin on Tuesday, May 10, with the Queen’s Speech. One wonders if she will be there in person or delegate Prince Charles to deliver it for her.
I was not wrong:
ITV’s Royal Editor, Chris Ship, explains how this delegation works:
Even PARLY, which covers all things going on in the Palace of Westminster, missed that one:
The first photo was from the last State Opening of Parliament. Note the thrones. Today, Tuesday, May 10, the Queen’s throne was removed and Prince Charles read the speech from the Consort’s throne.
The Government writes the Queen’s Speech, even though it is read in the first person. As Charles was reading it, they changed ‘My Government’ to ‘Her Majesty’s Government’.
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived at the Palace of Westminster together:
Prince William arrived separately:
Although the Queen was not present, the usual regalia — showing the Head of State’s authority — arrived and were placed on the dais in the House of Lords after having been examined in the Robing Room:
Chris Ship, posted the following Twitter thread.
Black Rod — Sarah Clarke — walked behind Charles and Camilla for part of the procession:
Prince William followed. However, the crown, hat and maces were at the head of the procession:
Once the procession has finished, Black Rod goes to summon the House of Commons. This dates back to centuries ago when there was animosity between the Lords and the Commons. Black Rod used to have the Commons door slammed shut in his face after knocking the first time. That response was to show that MPs were in charge of making law rather than hereditary peers (as they were back then), but they leave that part out now:
The Speaker of the House of Commons and MPs then follow Black Rod out of the chamber to the House of Lords, where they stand in back to hear the Queen’s Speech.
Meanwhile, peers are comfortably seated and wearing their formal robes.
The following tweets are highlights from the Queen’s Speech:
And we can’t forget levelling up, which continues in the new session of Parliament:
Finally, there was a mention of this year’s Platinum Jubilee:
Afterwards, MPs return to the Commons for a week-long debate on the Queen’s Speech. The debate is known as the Humble Address. A different aspect of proposed legislation is discussed each day:
There are two other arcane traditions, also relating to ancient history when MPs were occasionally at serious loggerheads with the monarch:
On another historical note, the first image from the 19th century shows Queen Victoria in the old Palace of Westminster which burned down some years later. The second image shows the current one, built afterwards:
In closing, there are 38 proposed pieces of legislation for this session of Parliament. However, there is no obligation for the House of Commons to bring each one to fruition. Often, that does not happen.
Critics have complained that the Queen’s Speech was too vague, but the Government does not wish to be too prescriptive and be held to every jot and iota. This is particularly true of sensitive issues such as the Northern Ireland Protocol and other Brexit issues, which are part of a process.
As they say, a week is a long time in politics often driven by unforeseen events. Better too vague than too specific. Details of necessary legislation can be ironed out later in parliamentary debates.
Churchmouse Campanologist 