What is the ceremony?
As part of the official period of mourning, King Charles and Camilla, the queen’s consort, will arrive at the Palace of Westminster to receive speeches from both houses of parliament on the queen’s death. The ceremony will take place on Monday at 10.30. The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the Speaker of the Lords, Lord John McFall of Alcluith, will give greetings on behalf of MPs and peers. Charles will then reply to the address.
Who will attend?
MPs and peers are expected to attend Westminster Hall for the launch, with members of the legislatures of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales also in attendance. There will be processions before the ceremony for both the Speakers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons in Westminster Hall.
Will this be the first time Charles will address parliament?
No, Charles stepped in for his mother at the last State Opening of Parliament where she read the Queen’s Speech, due to her ill health.
What happened when Elizabeth II became queen?
Elizabeth, then 25, was in Kenya when she heard of the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. Her succession to the throne was declared in an accession council, similar to that which had just taken place for King Charles. attended by members of the privy council and councilors of the City of London. It was nine months later when Elizabeth II attended her first State Opening of Parliament, on 4 November 1952, when she read and signed the Declaration of Accession and made her first Queen’s Speech in Parliament. This took place before her coronation and was her first major state event. He made the speech from the throne in the chamber of the House of Lords. Elizabeth attended almost every state opening of parliament, except when she was in the latter stages of her pregnancy with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. She also missed the last State Opening due to her health, which was attended by Charles and Prince William in her place.
