From the BBC:
“Queen hands over to Charles
and William for State Opening”
(State Opening of
Parliament, 2021)
The Queen has pulled out of this
year's State Opening of Parliament and the reading of the Queen's speech,
Buckingham Palace has announced. This will be the first time since 1963 that
the Queen will have missed this constitutional ceremony, which sets out the
government's legislative plans. Prince Charles will deliver the speech on
Tuesday for the Queen. The 96-year-old monarch has mobility problems and has
had to cancel a number of recent public appearances. Until Monday evening
Buckingham Palace had been saying the Queen hoped to attend, but has now
confirmed she will not go to the ceremony in Westminster, because of
"episodic mobility problems".
A statement said the Queen, in
consultation with her doctors, had reluctantly decided not to attend the State
Opening. Prince Charles and Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, have jointly
been given the authority to open Parliament on her behalf. The Imperial State
Crown will still be brought to Parliament - and the Queen's throne will remain
empty, with Prince Charles, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince
William expected to be seated in front of the assembled parliamentarians.
The Queen's absence follows her
missing events at Easter, including the Maundy Service, and the announcement
that she would not host royal garden parties this year. The thanksgiving
service for Prince Philip in March has been the only public event outside of
royal residences that she has attended so far this year. But it is understood
that the Queen is planning to go ahead with other appointments this week,
including regular meetings with the Prime Minister and Privy Council, held
virtually or by phone, and some private engagements. The State Opening of
Parliament marks the start of the parliamentary year, with the Queen's speech
setting out the agenda of the government and the laws that it wants to
introduce.
The speech is usually read out by
the monarch, as head of state, with the Queen only missing it twice during her
70-year reign, in 1959 and 1963, because of pregnancies. On those occasions the
speech was delivered by the Lord Chancellor, but the Prince of Wales will stand
in for the Queen this year. There have been adaptations of the State Opening in
recent years - with the Queen not wearing the heavy Imperial State Crown or
ceremonial robes and there was a more scaled-back ceremony last year because of
Covid restrictions. But this will mark the first time in 59 years that the
Queen will not have attended.Prince Charles will open Parliament with Prince
William in their capacities as "counsellors of state", allowing them
to undertake such official duties if the monarch is temporarily unwell. Two of
these counsellors have to be present to carry out this duty on behalf of the
head of state. There are four counsellors of state - the other two being Prince
Andrew, who has stepped down from royal duties, and Prince Harry, who is also
no longer carrying out royal duties and lives in the US. The authority for the
counsellors of state to open Parliament has been provided by a "Letters
Patent", issued by the Queen and enabling Prince Charles and Prince
William to carry out that role. A No 10 spokesman said: "The prime
minister fully respects the wishes of Her Majesty and is grateful to the Prince
of Wales for agreeing to deliver the speech on her behalf."
^ Sadly, it seems the UK, Canada
and the other Commonwealth Realm Countries needs to get used to the Queen not
attending different events and ceremonies. ^
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