King Charles First State Opening Of Parliament

Today, for the first time since his accession to the throne and the first time in seven decades, His Majesty King Charles III, accompanied Her Majesty the Queen, was at the Palace of Westminster today to deliver his first King’s Speech for a new session of Parliament, thus opening Parliament and setting out the government’s intentions for the next year.

Their Majesties traveled in procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster in the Gold State Coach, escorted by a Sovereign’s Escort of The Household Cavalry, under the command of Major William Charlesworth, The Blues and Royals, and were received at the Sovereign’s Entrance by the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain.

Royal Salutes were fired in Green Park by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, under the command of Major John Baileff, and from the Tower of London Saluting Battery by the Honourable Artillery Company, under the command of Major Matthew Aldridge. The Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State were conveyed previously to the House of Lords in a Carriage Procession, escorted by a Regalia Escort of the Household Cavalry.

On arrival at the Palace of Westminster, he used the Sovereign’s Entrance, before entering the robing room, where he donned ceremonial items with long historical ties with the ceremony. These include the opulent Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State.

The last time the Imperial State Crown was worn for the opening of Parliament was in 2016, when it was worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Camilla wore her Coronation dress, which features intricate embroidery work to reflect Her Majesty’s passions and interests, and the Diamond Diadem today.

This is the first King’s Speech in 70 years and in his speech, Their Majesties The King and Queen sat upon the Thrones during the State Opening of Parliament, as King Charles III paid tribute to his mother and the late-Queen’s “legacy of service and devotion”, and he also set out the government’s legislative agenda for the new session.

The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Household and the Pages of Honour to The King (Nicholas Barclay, Ralph Tollemache, Charles van Cutsem and Lord Oliver Cholmondeley) and the Pages of Honour to The Queen (William Keswick and Arthur Elliott) were in attendance at the Palace of Westminster.

The Princess Royal attended today’s State Opening of Parliament as the King’s Gold Stick in Waiting. Anne carried out the same role for The King’s Coronation. The role is a purely ceremonial one these days, but in centuries past Gold Stick was a bodyguard of The Monarchs.