Charles III today used the first King’s Speech for more than 70 years to pay a poignant tribute to his ‘beloved mother’ Queen Elizabeth II at the State Opening of Parliament.
Addressing MPs in the House of Lords this morning, he spoke of Her Majesty’s ‘legacy of service and devotion’ with his wife Queen Camilla next to him.
In paying tribute to his mother, the King, wearing the Imperial State Crown, was following in the footsteps of the Queen herself, who spoke warmly of her father when she opened Parliament for the first time in November 1952.
The last King’s Speech was in 1950 when King George spoke amid Britain’s involvement in the Korean War. He was too ill to open Parliament the following year and died in February 1952, with his eldest daughter Elizabeth ascending to the throne.
Having opened with a tribute to his mother today, the King spoke the words that were written for him and which laid out the Government’s policy programme.
The main measures in the King’s Speech, were:
- Whole life jail terms to be the norm for most serious offenders, but more short sentences will be suspended;
- The worst criminals will be ‘compelled’ to attend sentencing, although it is not spelled out how;
- Sharing naked images without consent is to be made a criminal offence;
- Mr Sunak promised to create a ‘smoke-free generation’ with a law banning children currently aged 14 or under from ever buying cigarettes;
- Create an annual regime for licensing new oil and gas drilling the North Sea, something that has been rejected by Labour;
- Paving the way for driverless buses and delivery vans by 2035, including protecting passengers from being punished for crashes caused by computers;
- Curbing so-called ‘subscription traps’ that tie people into regular payments, and ‘drip pricing’ where companies bolt on costs to the up-front price they advertise;
- Public bodies will be prevented from taking part in BDS boycotts of Israel, as a law makes progress on creating an Holocaust Memorial.
Charles wore the Imperial State Crown, his lengthy crimson Robe of State and Admiral of the Fleet Royal Naval dress uniform, having travelled in a carriage procession from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords in the Diamond State Coach amid great royal fanfare. Charles wore the crown on his return journey to Buckingham Palace after his coronation.
Camilla, wearing the famous George IV State Diadem for the first time, chose to re-use her coronation gown, designed by Bruce Oldfield, for her first State Opening as a Queen consort.
The speech has been
Charles also announced plans for killers convicted of the most horrific murders to get whole life orders – meaning they will never be released – while rapists and other serious sexual offenders will not be let out early from prison sentences. However, that is balanced by introducing a ‘presumption’ that sentences of a year or less will be suspended.
It has been seven years since a monarch wore the Imperial State Crown at a State Opening, the last time being in 2016. Containing 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, five rubies, and 269 pearls, it weighs more than a kilogramme.
