STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT

In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an event that marks the commencement of a session of
the Parliament of the United Kingdom and that includes a Speech from the Throne. In many other countries, a
similar speech from the throne is given by their head of state to their national legislature at or near the opening of a
new legislative session.

The State Opening takes place in the House of Lords Chamber, and before 2011, was usually held in November or
December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembled. In 1974, when two general
elections were held, there were two State Openings.
However, from 2012 onwards the ceremony will take place in May. This is owing to the introduction in 2011 of fixed
term parliaments of five years in length, with parliamentary elections being subsequently held in the May of every
year divisible by five, with the next such election being scheduled for 2015. The 2012 ceremony took place on 9 May
2012.

The current Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, has opened every session of the Westminster Parliament since her
accession except in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, respectively.
These two sessions were opened by Lords Commissioners, headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Geoffrey
Fisher in 1959, and Michael Ramsey in 1963), empowered by Her Majesty. The Lord Chancellor (The Viscount
Kilmuir in 1959, The Lord Dilhorne in 1963) read the Queen's Speech on those occasions.

Preparation
The State Opening is a lavish ceremony. First, the cellars of the Palace of Westminster are searched by the Yeomen
of the Guard in order to prevent a modern-day Gunpowder Plot. The Plot of 1605 involved a failed attempt
by English Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant King James I and aristocracy. Since
that year, the cellars have been searched, recently for the sake of form only.

The peers assemble in the House of Lords wearing their robes. They are joined by senior representatives of the
judiciary and members of the diplomatic corps. Peeresses also attend and are seated in the chamber. The Commons
assemble in their own chamber, wearing ordinary day dress, and begin the day, as any other, with prayers.

Before the monarch departs her residence, the Crown takes a member of the House of Commons to Buckingham
Palace as a ceremonial hostage. This is to guarantee the safety of the Sovereign as she enters a possibly hostile
Parliament. The hostage is released upon the safe return of the Queen. This tradition stems from the time of Charles
I, who had a contentious relationship with Parliament and was eventually beheaded in 1649 at the conclusion of a
civil war between the monarchy and Parliament. In 1642 Charles I stormed into the House of Commons in an
unsuccessful attempt to arrest five of its members for treason. Since that time no British monarch has been
permitted to enter the House of Commons, which is why the opening is conducted in the House of Lords.

Before the arrival of the sovereign the Imperial State Crown is carried to the Palace of Westminster in its own State
Coach. From the Victoria Tower, the Crown is passed by the Queen's Bargemaster to the Comptroller of the Lord
Chamberlain's office. It is then carried, along with the Great Sword of State and the Cap of Maintenance, to be
displayed in the Royal Gallery.

Arrival of the Sovereign and assembly of Parliament

The Queen arrives at the Palace of Westminster in a horse-drawn coach, entering through Sovereign's Entrance
under the Victoria Tower. Traditionally, members of the armed forces line the procession route from Buckingham
Palace to the Palace of Westminster. The Royal Standard is hoisted to replace the Union Flag upon the Sovereign's
entrance and remains whilst she is in attendance. Then, after she takes on the Parliament Robe of State[2]
and Imperial State Crown in the Robing Chamber, the Queen proceeds through the Royal Gallery to the House of
Lords, usually accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and immediately preceded by the Lord Great Chamberlain and
the Earl Marshal, and by one peer (usually the Leader of the House of Lords) carrying the Cap of Maintenance on a
white rod, and another peer (generally a retired senior military officer) carrying the Great Sword of State. Once on
the throne, the Queen, wearing the Imperial State Crown, instructs the House by saying, "My Lords, pray be seated".

Motioned by the Monarch, the Lord Great Chamberlain raises his wand of office to signal to the Gentleman Usher of
the Black Rod (known as Black Rod), who is charged with summoning the House of Commons and has been waiting
in the Commons lobby. Black Rod turns and, under the escort of the Doorkeeper of the House of Lords and an
inspector of police (who orders "Hats off, Strangers!" to all persons along the way), approaches the doors to the
Chamber of the Commons. The doors are slammed in his face upon his approach – symbolising the independence of
the Commons and its right to debate without the presence of the Queen's Representative. On 4 January 1642, King
Charles I entered the House of Commons to arrest five members. So angered were MPs at this breach of
parliamentary privilege that they slammed to doors of the chamber in the faces of the King's men. When Charles
finally entered the House of Commons, the Speaker, William Lenthall, refused to reveal the location of the wanted
men, famously saying: "May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but
as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here."

This incident lead to the English Civil War and no monarch has entered the House of Commons since. Every year this
event is commemorated during the State Opening of Parliament when Black Rod tries to enter the Commons, the
door is slammed in his face to symbolise the independence of the elected House of Commons from the monarchy.
He then strikes three times with his staff (the Black Rod), and is then admitted. At the bar, Black Rod bows to the
speaker before proceeding to the dispatch box and issuing the command of the monarch that the Commons attend,
in the following formula:

"Mr (or Madam) Speaker, the Queen commands this honourable House [pauses to bow to both sides of the House]
to attend Her Majesty immediately in the House of Peers."

By unofficial tradition, in recent years this has been greeted with a sarcastic comment by republican Labour
MP Dennis Skinner.

The Speaker proceeds to attend the summons at once. The Serjeant-at-Arms picks up the ceremonial mace and, with
the Speaker and Black Rod, leads the Members of the House of Commons as they walk, in pairs, towards the House
of Lords. By custom, the members saunter, with much discussion and joking, rather than formally process. The Prime
Minister and the Leader of the Opposition usually walk side by side, leading the two lines of MPs. The Commons
then arrive at the Bar of the House of Lords (no person who is not a member of the Upper House may pass the Bar
unbidden when it is in session; a similar rule applies to the Commons), where they bow to The Queen. They remain
at the Bar for the speech.

Delivery of the speech

The Queen reads a prepared speech, known as the "Speech from the Throne" or the "Queen's Speech", outlining her
Government's agenda for the coming year. The speech is not written by the Queen, but rather by the Cabinet, and
reflects the legislative agenda for which they seek the agreement of both Houses of Parliament. It is traditionally
written on goatskin vellum, and presented for Her Majesty to read by the Lord Chancellor. Traditionally, rather than
turning their back on Her Majesty, The Lord Chancellor walked backwards down the steps of the throne. However,
since the time of Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor has been permitted to turn his back on The Queen and walk down
the steps forwards.

The whole speech is addressed to "My Lords and Members of the House of Commons", with one significant
exception that Her Majesty 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.

The Queen reads the entire speech in a neutral tone, implying neither approval nor disapproval of the proposals of
Her Majesty's Government: the Queen makes constant reference to "My Government" when reading the text. After
listing the main bills to be introduced during the session, the Queen states: "other measures will be laid before you",
thus leaving the Government scope to introduce bills not mentioned in the speech. The Queen 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 Queen concludes the speech saying:

"My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your
counsels".

Following the speech, The Queen leaves the chamber before the Commons bow again and return to their Chamber.
Traditionally, the members of both Houses of Parliament listen to the Queen's Speech respectfully, neither
applauding nor showing dissent towards the speech's contents before it is debated in each House. This silence,
however, was broken in 1998, when the Queen announced the Government's plan of abolishing the right
of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords. A few Labour members of the House of Commons cried "yes" and
"hear", prompting several of the Lords to shout "no" and "shame". The Queen continued delivering her speech
without any pause, ignoring the intervention. The conduct of those who interrupted the speech was highly criticised
at the time.

Debate on the speech

After the Queen leaves, each Chamber proceeds to the consideration of an "Address in Reply to Her Majesty's
Gracious Speech." But first, each House considers a bill pro forma to symbolise their right to deliberate
independently of the monarch. In the House of Lords, the bill is called the Select Vestries Bill, while the Commons
equivalent is the Outlawries Bill. The Bills are considered for the sake of form only, and do not make any actual
progress. The consideration of the address in reply to the Throne Speech is the occasion for a debate on the
Government's agenda. The debate on the Address in Reply is spread over several days. On each day, a different
topic, such as foreign affairs or finance, is considered. The debate provides an indication of the views of Parliament
regarding the government's agenda.

Significance
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremony loaded with historical ritual and symbolic significance for the
governance of the United Kingdom. In one place are assembled the members of all three branches of government, of
which the Monarch is the nominal head in each case: the Crown-in-Parliament, (Her Majesty, together with the
House of Commons and the House of Lords), constitutes the legislature; Her Majesty's Ministers (who are members
of one or other House) constitute the executive; Her Majesty's Judges, although not members of either House, are
summoned to attend and represent the judiciary. Therefore, the State Opening demonstrates the governance of the
United Kingdom but also the separation of powers. The importance of international relations is also represented
through the presence in the Chamber of the Corps Diplomatique.

Origins
The Opening of Parliament began out of practical necessity. By the late fourteenth century, the means by which the
King gathered his nobles and representatives of the Commons had begun to follow an established pattern. First of
all, Peers' names were checked against the list of those who had been summoned, and representatives of the
Commons were checked against the sheriffs' election returns. The Peers were robed and sat in the Painted
Chamber at Westminster; the Commons were summoned, and stood at the Bar (threshold) of the Chamber. A
speech or sermon was then given (usually by the Lord Chancellor) explaining why Parliament had been summoned,
after which the Lords and Commons went separately to discuss the business in hand. The monarch normally
presided, not only for the Opening but also for the deliberations which followed (unless prevented by illness or other
pressing matters).

In the Tudor period, the modern structure of Parliament began to emerge, and the monarch no longer attended
during normal proceedings. For this reason, the State Opening took on greater symbolic significance as an occasion
for the full constitution of the State (Monarch, Lords and Commons) to be seen. In this period, the parliamentary
gathering began to be preceded by an open-air State Procession (which often attracted large numbers of onlookers):
the Monarch, together with Household retinue, would proceed in State from whichever royal residence was being
used, first to Westminster Abbey for a service (usually a Mass of the Holy Ghost, prior to the Reformation), and
thence on foot (accompanied by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in their robes) to the Palace of Westminster for
the Opening itself.

A contemporary illustration of the 1523 State Opening shows a remarkable visual similarity between State Openings
of the 16th and 21st centuries. In both cases, the monarch sits on a throne before the Cloth of Estate, crowned and
wearing a crimson robe of state; the Cap of Maintenance and Sword of State are borne by peers standing before the
monarch on the left and right respectively; the Lord Great Chamberlain stands alongside, bearing his white wand of
office. Members of the Royal retinue are arrayed behind the King (top right). In the main body of the Chamber, the
Bishops are seated on benches to the King's right wearing their parliamentary robes, and the Lords Temporal are
seated on the other benches (among them the Duke of Norfolk, carrying his baton as Earl Marshal of England). The
judges (red-robed and coifed) are on the woolsacks in the centre, and behind them are the clerks (with quills and
inkpots). At the bottom of the picture members of the House of Commons can be seen at the Bar to the House, with
the Speaker in the centre, wearing his black and gold robe of state.
Since that time the ceremonial has evolved, but not dramatically. Mitred Abbots (who are to be seen, black-robed, in
the 1523 illustration) were removed from Parliament at the time of the Reformation. In 1679 neither the procession
nor the Abbey service took place, due to fears of a Popish Plot; although the procession was subsequently restored,
the service in the Abbey was not. The monarch's role in the proceedings changed over time: early on, the monarch
would say some introductory words, before calling upon the Lord Chancellor (or Lord Keeper) to address the
assembly. James I, however, was accustomed to speak at greater length himself, and sometimes dispensed with the
Chancellor's services as spokesman. This varying pattern continued in subsequent reigns (and during the
Commonwealth, when Cromwell gave the speech), but from 1679 onwards it became the norm for the monarch
alone to speak. Since then, the monarch (if present) has almost invariably given the speech, with the exception of
George I (whose command of English was poor) and Victoria (after the death of Prince Albert). A dramatic change
was occasioned by the destruction of the old Palace of Westminster by fire in 1834; however, the new palace was
designed with the ceremonial of the State Opening very much in mind. The opportunity for members of the public to
witness this symbolic demonstration of the constitutional relationship of Queen-in-Parliament increased markedly in
1958 when the entire State Opening of Parliament was filmed for the first time.