Charles III Delivers First King's Speech in 72 years. First Opening of Parliament in His Reign

Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the first State Opening of Parliament in His Majesty's reign today, November 7, just seven days before the King's 75th birthday on November 14. Their Majesties wore their court regalia and rode on the Diamond Jubilee coach, originally created for Queen Elizabeth II.

We've seen so many "firsts" in this ceremonial event. The first in the Carolinian era (the name of the reign of a monarch named Charles), the first King's Speech delivered in 72 years, and Queen Camilla wore for the first time the King George IV Diadem, traditionally worn only by the Queen regnant and Queen consorts since the reign of King William IV. And the first such an event for Rishi Sunak as British Prime Minister  - and hopefully not his last.

His Majesty King Charles III delivers his first King's Speech

Full display of Pomp and Pageantry

After four long years, Britain saw again a full display of pomp and pageantry at the State Opening of Parliament. The last time that the public witnessed such customary royal pageantry was in October 2019, which was the last time that Queen Elizabeth II wore a crown (although not the Imperial State Crown but the George IV Diadem - the one worn by Camilla today).

The last time that Queen Elizabeth II wore a tiara to the State Opening of Parliament, October 2019

The first ceremony of the day is steeped in tradition dating back to the 17th century - a search of the cellars for explosives in the Houses of Parliament conducted by the members of the Yeomen of the Guard (a ceremonial group of bodyguards of the King). A reference to Guy Fawkes' gunpowder plot in1605 to assassinate King James I. 

Yeomen of the Guard (King Charles III's ceremonial bodyguards). Photo credit: UK House of Lords

Another strange tradition that's still being practiced today during the State Opening of Parliament is the handover of a member of the parliament as a "hostage" to Buckingham Palace. This hostage will be kept in Buckingham Palace until the monarch can safely return.

This tradition dates back to the 17th century when the Parliament and the monarchy had a growing distrust, which ultimately cost the life of King Charles I.

Yeomen of the Guard (King Charles III's ceremonial bodyguards). Photo credit: UK House of Lords Instagram

Former Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick recalled the time he was the "government whip" during the Parliament Opening, and he was being handed over as a hostage to Buckingham Palace as part of the ceremony. He met the Lord Chamberlain and instead of being "kept", they watched together the State Opening of Parliament on TV.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the Diamond Jubilee coach

The Princess Royal travels in landau

To begin the day, King Charles and Queen Camilla traveled on a horse-drawn carriage, the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster. But the regalia that the King would use - the Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance, and the Great Sword of State - traveled in a separate horse-drawn carriage. 

The Princess Royal as the ceremony's Gold Stick-in-waiting also traveled on a separate landau. The carriage procession was accompanied by the members of the Royal Horse Artillery who mounted on their horses.

The King and Queen on their way to the Parliament

The best-known part of the ceremony was when Black Rod, a senior official in the House of Lords, knocked on the door to the House of Commons with her black ebony rod, only to see the door slammed in her face — this was meant to symbolize the House of Commons independence from the monarch.

Black Rod then banged on the door three times with her ceremonial staff and the door to the House of Commons chamber was finally opened. Lawmakers then emerged and followed Black Rod to the House of Lords to hear the monarch’s speech.

The King and Queen entered the chamber, wearing their full court regalia, with their entourage. Queen Camilla recycled her coronation dress while King Charles was in his military uniform. They donned their ceremonial robes over their outfits and their respective crowns - Imperial State Crown for His Majesty and George IV Diadem for the Queen.

According to The Royal Family's social media account, the first time the King attended the State Opening of Parliament was in 1970, alongside his sister, Princess Anne. 

In his first State Opening of Parliament today, The Princess Royal once again accompanied her brother, serving as the Gold Stick-in-Waiting, in her capacity as Colonel of The Blues and Royals - the King's Household Regiment.

The Prince of Wales was not in attendance as he is currently in Singapore for the third edition of the Earthshot Prize, the awarding ceremony is also tonight. Catherine, The Princess of Wales, is absent in these two events. She is staying in Adelaide Cottage in Berkshire to be with her three children.

Prince Charles in May 2022 delivered the last Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament. Prince William seated nearby

Last year in May, Prince Charles attended the State Opening of Parliament on behalf of his mother, the Queen, who had mobility issues at that time. The Prince of Wales was tasked to read the Queen's Speech. He was accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.

Last appearance of the Queen in person at the Opening of Parliament, May 2021

The last time that the late Queen Elizabeth II attended the State Opening of Parliament in person was in May 2021, during the pandemic. It was Her Majesty's first public appearance since the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on April 17, 2021. 

However, Her Majesty did not wear a ceremonial robe, she wore a lilac dress and a hat, and the Imperial State Crown was placed beside her. She was accompanied by Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The King and Queen arrive in the throne room of the House of Lords

The King's Speech

King Charles III delivered his first speech as the UK's reigning monarch, also the first King's Speech at the Opening of the Parliament in 72 years. The last King's Speech for the State Opening of the Parliament was delivered in November 1951 during the reign of his grandfather, King George VI.

King George VI was the subject of the award-winning film in 2010, The King's Speech, essaying his life as monarch and his stammering habit. 

Their Majesties seated in the gilded chairs in the House of Lords

Also known as the "Speech from the Throne", the King's speech is written by the government and highlights the upcoming legislation, government priorities for its legislative agenda, and planned state visits.

But the monarch in reality is just the messenger. The speech he delivered was entirely written by the government. The King's Speech significantly talked about the government policies and never so much about the King's advocacies.

So the environmentalist Charles III who made nature conservationism his lifelong advocacy, found himself reading something that was against his environmental principles - a bill that was out a new system for awarding oil and gas licenses annually. 

Under the current system, the licenses are awarded periodically, but the government says the new policy is important for energy security. 

Charles III delivers his first King's Speech

The environmentalist Charles read the words in a deadpan delivery as expected. Because as a monarch, he is supposed to be above politics. And he is there to deliver a speech. Environmental groups oppose the measure, saying that the United Kingdom should focus on renewables instead.

The speech includes announcing other legislative reforms, including the plan to ban smoking in public and offices to create a smoke-free generation.

King Charles III wears the Imperial State Crown

Queen Camilla wears the George IV Diadem

In present-day constitutional monarchies in Europe, the Crown Heads reign but they do not rule, unlike in Absolute Monarchy states. Though they are heads of state, their function is mainly ceremonial (except for the Principality of Liechtenstein where the Sovereign Prince still holds legislative powers), and running the government is under the prime minister. 

During her time as monarch, Queen Elizabeth II appeared almost mysterious to the public. Most of her personal views on social issues and specific advocacies were unknown to the public so her manner of delivery of the Queen's speech always appeared tough and hard to mirror if she was against or pro to certain legislative measures.

However, King Charles III is different. You can certainly spot the obvious if he is against or in favor of a certain policy, no matter how stoic his manner of speech delivery, because he has been very vocal with his views on certain social issues, he has advocacies that he is actively promoting such as environmental concerns, organic farming, sustainability, renewable energy, and nature conservationism.