Parliamentary Ceremony

As Head of State, it is the duty of The Queen to formally open each new session of Parliament, and the State Opening of Parliament is the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar. The Queen’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster is escorted by the Household Cavalry, while her Crown travels in its own Royal Coach in the procession ahead of the Queen. Once the Queen arrives through the Sovereign’s Entrance to the Palace, she is escorted to the Robing Room, where she puts on the Imperial State Crown and parliamentary robe. A procession then leads through the Royal Gallery to the Chamber of the House of Lords, where the Queen takes the Throne and delivers the Queen’s Speech. The Speech contains an outline of the Government’s policies and proposed new legislation for the new parliamentary session, and although the Queen reads the Speech, the content is written by the government and approved by the Cabinet. Her Majesty the Queen has only missed two State Opening of Parliament ceremonies during her sixty-year reign. The first time was in 1959 when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and the second in 1963 when she was expecting Prince Edward.