Talk:State Opening of Parliament

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[edit] Old discussions

Just thought I'd mention that Queen's Speech is by far more common in everyday parlance than Speech from the Throne. Loganberry 12:08, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

In Canada, the term "Speech from the Throne" is still most commonly used. This is done by the Governor General though on almost all occasions.Canadian Mike

Is there such a thing as a State Closing of Parliament, does anyone know? Gryffindor 13:42, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
No there isn't, but there is the Dissolution of parliament. BTW, would it be worth noting in the article that The Queen didn't open Parliament in 1959 and 1963 as she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, respectively? Craigy (talk) 20:52, 1 January 2006 (UTC)
There is a closing - it is called "prorogation." Happened to catch one on TV (British Columbia's provincial legislature, based on Westminster). It was very informal, and the Lieutenant-Governor said, on leaving, something like, "tomorrow's speech should be a bit longer." Here's a link to that day's Hansard (scroll to the bottom for the Prorogation Address http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/38th2nd/H70213a.htm Jacques A55 17:29, 30 November 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Lord Speaker's role

Taken from Lord Speaker...

"The Lord Speaker will assume most of the duties that the Lord Chancellor used to have in relation to his Parliamentary role, including ceremonial duties such as the State Opening of Parliament."

Now that there has been a State Opening of Parliament since the first Lord Speaker was elected, what role did she play at the event? I'm pretty sure the Lord Chancellor handed the Queen the Speach. I didn't really see the Lord Speaker at all. David 21:35, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

The Lord Speaker didn't do very much at all. I saw her process through the royal gallery to meet the Queen, and she was in the procession to the House of Lords, but the Lord Chancellor did the rest. --Ibagli (Talk) 02:11, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Absent Sovereign?

"The current Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, has opened every session of the Westminster Parliament since her accession except in 1959 and 1963." - So what happened in these years? How did Parliament open? Rednaxela 21:45, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Royal Commissioners probably. David 23:20, 15 November 2006 (UTC)
Lord Commissioners, exercising a Royal Commission - just like at prorogation. Tc1415 08:49, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

This article would be improved if it had more detail of these exceptions, the actual names of the people who delivered the speeches, and other speeches that may have been missed by the sovereign for the last several centuries. A chart of exceptions in a simple format (like this one) would work here. NoSeptember 12:09, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Who would now open Parliament in her absents? I assume Prince Charles. Should this possibility be mentioned in the article, or is that 'crystal balling' a little. GoodDay 21:38, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] MPs waiting behind the bar

This year, Jack Straw delivered the speech as the first non-peer Lord Chancellor, breaking the rule that MPs are not allowed beyond the bar when the Lords is in session. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.167.155.139 (talk) 15:23, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

He is Lord Chancellor though and did his duties at the State Opening very well (even walking backwards - well done sir), so he was following, not breaking the rules! David 00:04, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not just Queen

This article needs to be redone, to show the UK monarchs can be female or male. For example, we should replace Queen, Her Majesty's government etc, with Monarch, His/Her Majesty's government etc. GoodDay (talk) 19:07, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

In the UK, the general convention is to use the gender of the current monarch, while simply using the initials HM, which can refer to either His or Her Majesty's whatever.. thus for example we have HM Treasury, which is referred to in speech as Her Majesty's Treasury, and will be referred to as His Majesty's when Charles ascends the throne. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 38.112.93.62 (talk) 13:33, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The above comment was made by me before I created an account. PrinceOfCanada (talk) 18:07, 5 May 2008 (UTC)