The Royalist - PHOTO GALLERY: The State Opening of Parliament 2008

PHOTO GALLERY: The State Opening of Parliament 2008

Written by Joanne Leyland

Wednesday, 03 December 2008

There aren’t many octogenarians who are expected to brave the cold of a December morning by parading through the streets of London in a carriage.

Nevertheless, that was the fate which awaited the Queen and Prince Philip as the royal couple - 82 and 87 respectively - attended the annual State Opening of Parliament.

Accompanied in a separate carriage by the Princess Royal, who appeared in the uniform of the Blues and Royals of The Household Cavalry, the Queen and Prince Philip travelled to the House of Lords in the Irish State Coach for what was the latest ever State Opening of Parliament.

Bar a general election, the pomp and pageantry of the State Opening usually takes place in late October or early November.

As each year, the arrival of the Queen didn’t overly concern every 'loyal' Member of Parliament.

The notoriously anti-monarchist Labour MP Dennis Skinner always refuses to follow the rest of the Parliamentarians into the Lords.

Instead he sticks firmly by his principles by remaining in the Chamber of the Commons as the Queen delivers the speech in the 'other House' which is actually written by 'My Government'.

As each year, Skinner delivered his own unique riposte to the pomp and pageantry, proclaiming to a packed House of Commons following the arrival of Black Rod: "Any Tory moles at the Palace?"

This was reference to the shock arrest last week of Conservative MP Damian Green over the leaking of information to the Tory by an insider in the Home Office.

Now you’re here for the royal coverage rather than the politics so I won’t bore you with the minutiae of the Queen’s speech, but suffice to say the over-riding priority of the British government this coming parliamentary year is to "ensure the stability of the British economy through the global economic downturn", the Queen telling the nation: "My Government is committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times."

The State Opening is unique in that it is the only occasion outside the Coronation on which the monarch, who arrived at Parliament wearing the George IV Diadem, wears the Imperial State Crown.

As perhaps denoted by the lack of intonation in the Queen’s voice, this is the 57th time that Her Majesty has delivered a speech from the elected government.

While the State Opening usually sees the Queen announce details of forthcoming overseas tours by herself and Prince Philip, the only reference to royal engagements in this year’s address was the announcement that the monarch will welcome the President of Mexico on a State Visit to Britain in 2009.

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Name: Emily Elizabeth Windsor-Cragg

Comment:
I'd like to witness the formalities having more substance and less procession. The Queen's prerogatives are shrinking as we speak. She is supposed to be overseeing the Government to make sure it doesn't trample the people. And if the Government oversteps its boundary rights, she has the duty in her Reign to dissolve the Parliament and call for new elections. For the life of me, I can't understand why she hasn't done that in view of the surrender of national sovereignty over to the very cynical and mercenary "European Union." ... Well, at least Ireland has some backbone; they insisted upon a referendum, so the people could have a say in their futures.

EEWC

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Name: Carolyn	Comment: And what a magnificent sight it must be. Poor Queen must get sick of getting into all her kit, expecially in the cold of December, and going through the same routine. She and The Duke are real troopers, nothing short of death will stop them from doing their duty! An awesome pair!

Name: valmae	Comment: Apart from the serious matter of the programme of legislation from the Government, this is the closest that we ordinary citizens get to seeing the court as it must have been centuries ago.

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