A State Opening of Parliament took place on 11 May 2021. [2] Queen Elizabeth II opened the second session of the 58th Parliament with the traditional Queen's Speech. The event was significant as it involved many restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. [3]
The parliament was elected at the 2019 general election. The Opening of Parliament was the Queen's first major royal duty since the death of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, which occurred one month before. [4] This would be the last state opening the Queen would personally attend prior to her death in September 2022, as the then-Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, acting as Counsellors of State, stood in for the ailing Monarch for the last State Opening of Parliament of her reign in May 2022.
The ceremony was different from usual protocol, being the first since the COVID-19 pandemic began. [5] Only 74 people were allowed in the House of Lords when the speech was read, with a further 34 MPs and peers sitting in the Royal Gallery. [6] The Queen travelled from Buckingham Palace in a Range Rover instead of the traditional carriage. [7]
There were expected to be between 25 and 30 bills mentioned in the speech, [8] including bills related to rent reform and employment. [9] BBC News reported that the speech would include measures on adult social care, Northern Ireland veterans, asylum reform, the English planning system, fixed-term parliaments, and building safety regulations. [10]
The following new bills were announced in the speech: [11]
Further legislation will also introduce the government's "New Plan for Immigration" and deal with legacy issues relating to Northern Ireland. [11]
The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill would repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, restoring the power of the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call a new election at the request of the prime minister, [12] while the Electoral Integrity Bill would introduce mandatory photo identification for voters at general elections, [13] as well as granting British nationals who have lived overseas for over 15 years the right to vote. [14] The Judicial Review Bill would allow courts to issue suspended quashing orders, giving the government time to correct errors before a quashing order comes into effect, and abolish the right to judicial review of Upper Tribunal decisions at the High Court of Justice. [15]
The Online Safety Bill would create a new statutory duty of care of online platforms towards their users, obliging them to remove both illegal and "legal but harmful" content, and empower Ofcom to block access to particular websites. In addition, the bill would prohibit social media networks from removing certain forms of user-submitted political content or discriminating against particular political viewpoints. [16]
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill would impose requirements for universities and students' unions to protect freedom of speech, allowing speakers to seek compensation for no-platforming, empowering the Office for Students to levy fines on infringing institutions, and creating a new ombudsman charged with monitoring cases of no-platforming and academic dismissals. [17]
In addition, the following bills were carried over from the 2019–21 legislative session: [18]
The Queen travelled from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster. [19] She was joined by her son Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. [20] The MP Marcus Jones was taken in the opposite direction as 'hostage' for the duration. [21]
The consort's throne was absent from the House of Lords during the event due to COVID-19 restrictions: though the Queen's consort Prince Philip had died on 9 April 2021, the throne was expected to be returned and occupied by Prince Charles at future State Openings. [22]
Members of Parliament debated the speech in the House of Commons afterwards. [23] A debate also took place in the House of Lords. Lord Lebedev made his maiden speech. [24]
On 19 May the motion on the address was passed by a vote of 367–264, with the Democratic Unionist Party supporting the government. [25]
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers which occupy the building. The palace is the centre of political life in the United Kingdom; "Westminster" has become a metonym for the UK Parliament and the British Government, and the Westminster system of government commemorates the name of the palace. The clock bell in the Elizabeth Tower of the palace, nicknamed Big Ben, is a landmark of London and the United Kingdom in general. The Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British Constitution. The term may also refer to the role of the royal family within the UK's broader political structure. The current monarch is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened. The address sets forth the government's priorities for its legislative agenda, for which the cooperation of the legislature is sought. The speech is often accompanied by formal ceremony. It is often held annually, although in some places it may occur more or less frequently, whenever a new session of the legislature is opened.
The royal standards of the United Kingdom presently refer to either of two similar flags used by King Charles III in his capacity as sovereign of the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. Two versions of the flag exist, one for use within Scotland and the other for use elsewhere.
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His Majesty's "gracious speech from the throne", which is read by the monarch but written by HM Government. In the speech the monarch gives notice of forthcoming state visits, before setting out the government's legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. No business of either House of Parliament can proceed until the Sovereign’s speech has been delivered.
The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as monarch and an opportunity for her to officially and personally thank her people for their loyalty.
Edward Young, Baron Young of Old Windsor, is a British courtier who served as Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 2017 to 2023. In this role, he was the senior operational member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. Young was recruited to the Royal Household in 2004, serving as Queen Elizabeth II's assistant and then as deputy private secretary until his promotion to private secretary in 2017. After the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, Young served as joint principal private secretary to King Charles III until he stepped down in May 2023.
The monarchy of Jamaica is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Jamaica. The current Jamaican monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Jamaican Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Jamaica and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of the Jamaican state. However, the monarch is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states over the course of her lifetime and remained the monarch of 15 realms by the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch or female monarch, and the second longest verified reign of any monarch of a sovereign state in history.
In the UK and certain other Commonwealth countries, King's Consent is a parliamentary convention under which Crown consent is sought whenever a proposed parliamentary bill will affect the Crown's own prerogatives or interests. Prince's Consent is a similar doctrine, under which consent of the Prince of Wales must be obtained for matters relating to the Duchy of Cornwall. King's or Prince's Consent must be obtained early in the legislative process, generally before parliament may debate or vote on a bill. In modern times, following the tenets of constitutional monarchy, consent is granted or withheld as advised by government.
The finances of the British royal family come from a number of sources. The British government supports the monarch and some of his family financially by means of the Sovereign Grant, which is intended to meet the costs of the sovereign's official expenditures. This includes the costs of the upkeep of the various royal residences, staffing, travel and state visits, public engagements, and official entertainment. Other sources of income include revenues from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, income from assets of other trusts, income from private investments, and a parliamentary annuity.
Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work is a fly on the wall documentary TV series made by the BBC and RDF Media which follows the British Royal Family over the course of a year.
On 30 March 2002 at 15:15 GMT, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, widow to King George VI and mother to Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 101 at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The death of the Queen Mother set in motion Operation Tay Bridge, a plan detailing procedures including the dissemination of information, national mourning, and her funeral. Representatives of nations and groups around the world sent condolences to the Queen, the British people, and citizens of the Commonwealth. Flowers and messages of condolence were left by the public at royal residences, with members of the royal family publicly paying tribute to the Queen Mother in the days after her death. Her funeral, held on 9 April 2002 at Westminster Abbey in London, attracted 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom and cost £5.4 million.
Operation London Bridge was the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. The plan included the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral. The plan was created as early as the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in September 2022.
On 28 August 2019, the Parliament of the United Kingdom was ordered to be prorogued by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the Conservative prime minister, Boris Johnson – advice which was later ruled unlawful. The prorogation, or suspension, of Parliament was to be effective from some point between 9 and 12 September 2019 and would last until the State Opening of Parliament on 14 October 2019. As a consequence, Parliament was suspended between 10 September and 24 September 2019. Since Parliament was to be prorogued for five weeks and reconvene just 17 days before the United Kingdom's scheduled departure from the European Union on 31 October 2019, the move was seen by many opposition politicians and political commentators as a controversial and unconstitutional attempt by the prime minister to avoid parliamentary scrutiny of the Government's Brexit plans in the final weeks leading up to Brexit. Johnson and his Government defended the prorogation of Parliament as a routine political process that ordinarily follows the selection of a new prime minister and would allow the Government to refocus on a legislative agenda.
A list of events relating to politics and government in the United Kingdom during 2022.
A State Opening of the Parliament of the United Kingdom took place on 10 May 2022. Charles, Prince of Wales, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, opened the third session of the 58th Parliament on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II with the traditional Queen's Speech. It was the first State Opening at which two Counsellors of State acted on behalf of the monarch.
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
The coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, took place on Saturday, 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022 upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. It was the first coronation held since Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 nearly 70 years prior.
A State Opening of the Parliament of the United Kingdom took place on 7 November 2023 when King Charles III opened the fourth session of the 58th Parliament, which is expected to be the last before the next general election. Charles III delivered the King's Speech, his first as monarch, and set out the UK government's legislative programme for the following parliamentary session.
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