State Opening of Parliament in London
The State Opening of Parliament formally marks the beginning of a
session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
It includes a speech from the throne known as the Queen's Speech
(or King's Speech).
The event takes place in the House of Lords chamber on the first day of
a new session, which is usually in May or June, and traditionally in
November, but can occur at any time of year depending on the timing
of General Elections and parliamentary session start dates.
It takes place in front of both Houses of Parliament. The monarch,
wearing the Imperial State Crown, reads a speech that has been
prepared by his or her government outlining its plans for that
parliamentary year. In 1974, when two general elections were held,
there were two State Openings.
Queen Elizabeth II has opened every session of Parliament since her
accession in 1952, except in 1959, 1963, and 2022. In 1959 and 1963,
she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively
and those two sessions were opened by Lords Commissioners,
headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Geoffrey Fisher in 1959
and Michael Ramsey in 1963), empowered by the Queen.
The Lord Chancellor (Viscount Kilmuir in 1959 and Lord Dilhorne in 1963)
read the Queen's Speech on those occasions.
The Queen will also miss the 2022 State Opening, and her son
Charles, Prince of Wales will read the Queen's Speech on behalf of his mother.
The Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke of Cambridge will accompany him.
Is this perhaps the end of an era?
Traditions
Comptroller and Vice-Chamberlain of the Queen's Household (all
of whom are government whips) deliver ceremonial white staves to her.
MP (usually the Vice-Chamberlain) "prisoner" for the duration of the
state opening, by tradition as a surety for the safe return of the monarch.
ceremony, when they are released upon the safe return of the Queen.
they do remain under guard; originally, it guaranteed the safety of the
Sovereign as they entered a possibly hostile Parliament.
relationship with Parliament and was eventually beheaded in 1649
during the Civil War between the monarchy and Parliament.
used by the monarch as a ceremonial reminder of what can happen
to a monarch who attempts to interfere with Parliament.
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The speech
"Speech from the Throne" or the "Queen's Speech", outlining the
Government's agenda for the coming year. The speech is written by the
Prime Minister and their cabinet members, and reflects the legislative
agenda for which the Government seeks the agreement of both
Houses of Parliament.
House of Commons", with one significant exception that the monarch
says specifically, "Members of the House of Commons, estimates for
the public services will be laid before you", since the budget is
constitutionally reserved to the Commons.
implying neither approval nor disapproval of the proposals of Her Government:
the monarch makes constant reference to "My Government" when reading the
text. After listing the main bills to be introduced during the session,
the monarch states: "Other measures will be laid before you", thus leaving
the government scope to introduce bills not mentioned in the speech.
The monarch mentions any state visits that she intends to make and also
any planned state visits of foreign heads of state to the United Kingdom
during the parliamentary session. The monarch concludes the speech in saying:
of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels".
The departure
The monarch bows to both sides of the House of Peers and then leaves the
chamber, in the reverse order of the usual procession, before the Commons
bow again and return to their Chamber.
behind certain events. In this case they are funny and useful as well.
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