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The King's speech

King Charles addresses the nation for the first time after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. In his speech he touched upon his ‘feelings of sorrow’ for his ‘beloved mother’ and his own faith.

Friday 9 September 2022 21:53, UK

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A Guide to the King’s Speech: Crown Jewels, Black Rod and a Mace

When King Charles unveils the U.K. government’s agenda in Parliament, he is surrounded by rituals that nod to hundreds of years of history.

By Megan Specia and Allison McCann

Reporting from London

A “hostage,” a search for explosives, heaps of royal jewels and a five-foot mace . Welcome to the reopening of Britain’s Parliament, replete with ancient traditions and elaborate rituals.

The restart of parliamentary business centers on a speech by King Charles III, a ceremonial duty in which he sets out the government’s agenda. Charles delivered his first King’s Speech last November , and he delivered the Queen’s Speech on behalf of his mother , Elizabeth II, in 2022, but Wednesday’s was the first heralding a new party’s time in power.

Despite the name, the speech is not written by the king, but by government officials. The monarch just reads it out.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which won a landslide victory in a general election earlier this month , announced more than 35 proposed pieces of legislation on issues including energy, transport and the makeup of the House of Lords.

The opening was rife with ceremony and symbolism, all of it steeped in history — with some elements dating back to the Middle Ages. Here is a guide.

A Gaslit Hunt for Explosives

Some elements of Parliament’s reopening take place behind the scenes, including a ceremonial search of the cellars of government buildings for explosives.

Before the king’s arrival, his guards, decked out in royal red, trek down to the cellars, gas lamps in hand. Based on historical precedent, the tradition is a nod to the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes and his Catholic collaborators to blow up Parliament and, with it, King James I, a Protestant.

Then there is the “hostage taking.”

A member of Parliament is ceremonially held hostage in Buckingham Palace while the king visits Westminster, just in case the lawmakers decide not to return him.

This is rooted in the 1600s, when the relationship between Parliament and the monarchy was particularly fraught under Charles I. (He was eventually beheaded at the end of a civil war.)

A Royal Entrance

The king travels from Buckingham Palace through the streets of London to the government buildings at Westminster in a horse-drawn carriage escorted by the Household Cavalry, who serve as his mounted bodyguards.

The Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Great Sword of State arrive in their own carriage.

The king pulls up to a special passageway — a looming archway known as the Sovereign’s Entrance — that’s reserved just for him.

The King’s Royal Threads

Then, it was time for a costume change. The monarch heads into the elaborate Robing Room and emerged wearing the Robe of State, an 18-foot red velvet cape. He also wears the Imperial State Crown, encrusted with 2,868 diamonds and hundreds of other jewels, including 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls.

Think bling.

It must be heavy. That may be part of the reason Charles’ mother, Elizabeth, took to wearing a smaller Diamond Diadem in some of her last appearances. She was an expert in opening Parliament, having conducted the ceremony dozens of times throughout her reign.

Slamming the Door in Black Rod’s Face

Sarah Clarke, the House of Lords official known as the Usher of the Black Rod, named for the black stick that she wields, is then sent from the Lords’ Chamber to summon the lawmakers in the House of Commons. She is the first woman to hold the position, taking it up in 2018.

On approach, the speaker of the House of Commons then — ceremoniously, of course — slams the door in her face.

Black Rod must then knock on the door three times. Some say this tradition, which dates from the English Civil War of the 1600s, symbolizes the House of Commons’s independence from the monarchy, although Erskine May, a 19th-century guide to Britain’s parliamentary proceedings, says the custom “is to allow the Commons to establish Black Rod’s identity.” After three strikes on the door, Black Rod is let in. She then leads a procession of lawmakers back to the House of Lords to listen to the king’s speech.

Accompanying her is the sergeant-at-arms, whose role dates from the 1400s, carrying the mace : a five-foot, silver-gilt ornamental staff that represents the royal authority of the crown and dates from at least 1559 .

The King’s Speech

Then it is time for the main event.

From a throne in the House of Lords, the king reads out the agenda and legislative policies of the government.

The Sovereign’s Throne — elaborately carved wood, gilded, set with crystals and upholstered in royal red velvet — was constructed and designed in 1847. It is based on a throne from 1308 that sits nearby in Westminster Abbey.

While the speech is rooted in tradition, its aftermath could be anything but routine, after the remarkable election victory by Labour ended 14 years of Conservative-led government.

The party is now leading the country at a moment of volatility both inside Britain and on the global stage, and faces considerable challenges after a period of intense instability.

Megan Specia reports on Britain, Ireland and the Ukraine war for The Times. She is based in London. More about Megan Specia

Allison McCann is a reporter and graphics editor, covering a range of topics, including abortion, gun violence, voting and, occasionally, women’s soccer. More about Allison McCann

Britain’s Charles III gives first King’s Speech as monarch

The ceremony could be the first and last chance for Conservative PM Rishi Sunak to pitch his legislative agenda to the public.

Britain’s King Charles III has delivered his first opening address of parliament since taking the throne, laying out the government’s policy priorities in areas spanning the economy, foreign policy and criminal justice.

The annual address – known as the King’s or Queen’s Speech – is a centuries-old tradition marking a new parliamentary session. The remarks are prepared by the government and read out by the monarch.

Charles became monarch when his mother died in September 2022 after a 70-year reign.

“It is mindful of the legacy of service and devotion to this country set by my beloved mother, the late queen, that I deliver this, the first King’s Speech in over 70 years,” Charles said in beginning the speech on Tuesday.

The ceremony could be the first and last time for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to make his legislative case to the people. His Conservative Party will face a tough test in a general election expected next year from the rival Labour Party, which is up in the polls and could unseat him.

Charles spoke of government initiatives to tame inflation, bolster energy security and protect consumers from hidden prices, outlining what Sunak hopes will be vote-winning reforms for the Conservatives.

The monarch also voiced strong backing for allies Ukraine and Israel in their ongoing wars. He denounced “barbaric acts of terrorism against the people of Israel” but said the United Kingdom would work to facilitate humanitarian aid for Gaza.

What was in the King’s Speech?

The 10-minute speech touched on a range of hot-button issues – from data protection to criminal sentences guidelines and tobacco regulations.

Several proposals were touted as “Brexit freedoms”, enabled by the UK’s exit from the European Union, such as less stringent data-protection rules.

The address touched on plans to hand out life sentences without parole to aggravated murderers as well as tougher penalties for serious sexual offenders.

The government also said it would proceed with efforts to cut back environmental regulations after Sunak lifted a moratorium on North Sea oil and gas extraction in July. A planned law would require new oil and gas drilling licenses in the North Sea to be awarded every year, which the government argues will protect jobs, cut Britain’s reliance on foreign fuel and increase energy security.

“My ministers’ focus is on increasing economic growth and safeguarding the health and security of the British people for generations to come,” the king said.

Few details were laid out in the economic proposals, but they featured plans to expand and regulate new economic sectors, such as artificial intelligence and self-driving cars, and a law to open Britain’s market to a group of Pacific Rim nations as part of a trade agreement known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the UK agreed to join in July.

There also was legislation to phase out all tobacco sales in England. Under the plan, anyone who was born on or after January 1, 2009, will never be allowed to legally buy cigarettes.

Several bills were carried over from the last session, including one to bolster protection for renters and a contentious plan to ban public bodies from imposing “politically motivated boycotts of foreign countries” – a law aimed at stopping boycotts of Israel.

General election

The speech, given a month after the two main Conservative and Labour parties held their annual conferences, is adding anticipation to an election campaign not yet formally under way.

The Labour Party currently enjoys a 20-point lead over the Conservatives ahead of voting that must be called by January 28, 2025.

Although a Tory defeat at the next election is far from a foregone conclusion, owing to their sizeable parliamentary majority, a loss would mean much of the legislation outlined in the King’s Speech never seeing the light of day.

“The problem for Sunak is he’s running out of time. The public are both bored and angry at Conservative governance,” said Richard Carr, an associate professor in public policy and strategy at Anglia Ruskin University.