At the State Opening of Parliament today, Charles III delivered the first King’s Speech in more than 70 years, paying a moving tribute to his “beloved mother,” Queen Elizabeth II.
He talked of Her Majesty’s ‘legacy of dedication and commitment’ to MPs in the House of Lords this morning, with his wife Queen Camilla next to him.
The King, wearing the Imperial State Crown, was following in the footsteps of the Queen, who spoke fondly of her father when she opened Parliament for the first time in November 1952.
The final King’s Speech was given by King George in 1950, during Britain’s engagement in the Korean War. He died in February 1952, too unwell to inaugurate Parliament the following year, and his eldest daughter Elizabeth ascended to the throne.
Having opened with a tribute to his mother today, the King spoke the words that were written for him and that 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 long red Robe of State, and Admiral of the Fleet Royal Naval dress uniform, after riding in the Diamond State Coach from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords amid considerable royal pomp. After his coronation, Charles wore the crown on his way back to Buckingham Palace.
Camilla elected to re-use her coronation gown, designed by Bruce Oldfield, for her first State Opening as Queen consort, donning the iconic George IV State Diadem for the first time.
Charles also revealed intentions to grant whole-life sentences to killers guilty of the most heinous crimes, meaning they will never be freed, while rapists and other violent sexual offenders will not be released from jail early. However, this is offset by instituting a ‘presumption’ that sentences of one year or less will be suspended.
The last time a monarch wore the Imperial State Crown at a State Opening was in 2016, which was seven years ago. It weighs more than a kilogramme and contains 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, five rubies, and 269 pearls.