TheState Opening of Parliament includes a State Procession, a formal display of theSovereign, dignified by a sizeable entourage made up ofGreat Officers of State and members of theRoyal Household. The State Procession is now confined to the interior of thePalace of Westminster, but in earlier centuries it followed an outdoor route to and fromWestminster Abbey.
The State Opening of Parliament is one of the few occasions when a State Procession is to be seen; theCoronation Procession is another.
An account ofHenry VII opening Parliament on 7 November 1485 includes a description of the processions which preceded it. By this time the pattern had become established whereby thePeers of the Realm would assemble at the Palace of Westminster (which was the King's principal residence). They would then go in procession on foot to nearby Westminster Abbey for Mass, prior to returning in procession to the Palace for the Opening of Parliament itself. (During the Mass, the 'Knights andBurgesses' who had been elected to represent the Commons would gather in the Parliament Chamber for a roll-call, overseen by theLord Steward who would leave the Abbey early for this purpose.)[1]
In due course, theheralds, who had the responsibility (under theEarl Marshal's direction) for marshalling the procession, began to keep detailed records of the event, the earliest of which dates fromHenry VIII's first Opening of Parliament in 1510. The 1512 account includes an illustration of the Procession depicting participants together with theirarmorial bearings. It shows theLords Spiritual at the front of the procession, accompanied by Heralds andGentleman Ushers; theSerjeants-at-Arms follow with their maces, just ahead ofGarter King of Arms. The King is preceded by theCap of Maintenance, borne by theLord High Constable and theSword of State, borne by his son. The King himself carries a sceptre and walks beneath a richly decorated canopy supported by four monks. His train-bearer is theLord Great Chamberlain (carrying his white wand of office), who is 'assisted by' theLord Chamberlain. TheLords Temporal follow, among whom can be seen the Lord Steward (with his white wand of office).
Change was necessitated after the Palace of Westminster was severely damaged by fire in 1514. In both 1523 and 1529, the Opening of Parliament took place inBridewell Palace, following a service in nearbyBlackfriars Church. At around this time, Westminster ceased to be a royal residence, becoming instead the fixed abode of Parliament itself. In 1536, the procession set off from the new royal residence ofWhitehall. Three years later, the King, Peers and attendants were to be seen riding in procession from Whitehall to the Abbey, in theirrobes and on horseback. This precedent was followed in subsequent years: QueenElizabeth I rode on occasion or else was carried in a horse-bornelitter (as had been her sister QueenMary I, a practice that would also be followed byQueen Anne over a century later). On occasion (and especially in times of plague) the King would travel by river from Whitehall to Westminster, using a State Barge.
For the 1679 State Opening, there was no procession and no service in the Abbey (for fear of aPopish Plot). The service was not reinstated, so subsequent processions went directly from thePalace of Whitehall to the Palace of Westminster. At about this time, the practice of all Peers taking part in the procession ceased (due in no small part to the increasing size of the Peerage). In 1698, Whitehall Palace burned down; thereafterSt James's became the usual point of departure. In the Georgian period,carriages began regularly to be used for the procession to Westminster (though this was not entirely new - both Elizabeth I (on occasion) andOliver Cromwell had used carriages to get to the State Opening). UnderGeorge IV, the Palace of Westminster was remodeled bySir John Soane to provide space for the carriages, a robing room, and a grand interior processional route to the House of Lords.
The Old Palace of Westminster was largely destroyed by fire in 1834. The new Palace was purpose built (among other things) to accommodate the ceremonial of a State Opening.[2] Thus in Victoria's reign, the long-established ceremonial of the State Opening was married to its now-familiar architectural setting ofBarry andPugin's grand parliamentary interiors. The pattern of events then was much as it is now: the monarch, members of the royal family and members of the Household arrive in a Carriage Procession from Buckingham Palace (preceded by the items of royalregalia with their attendants); after a time of preparation, the monarch proceeds in State from theKing's Robing Room, through theRoyal Gallery andPrince's Chamber, to the Throne in theHouse of Lords.
The Procession falls into four main sections:
The latter contingent includes a combination of royal officials and attendants, plus others who are there by virtue of holding honorary positions in the Royal Household (namely several Government Whips and the professional heads of the Armed Services).
The Prince and Princess of Wales, if present, would join the procession behind the King and Queen.[3]
As of 2023, the Procession is constituted as follows:
Occasionally one or two of the monarch's children have walked in the procession, behind the monarch and consort, and occupied positions on the dais either side of the throne (sometimes accompanied by their spouses).[Note 13][3]
Prior to the passing of theHouse of Lords Act 1999, members of the extended royal family who were Peers or Peeresses (including Dowagers) often used to attend the State Opening; they, however, were seated on the benches of the chamber and did not form part of the State Procession.
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On the morning of the State Opening, the King and Queen travel 'in State' from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, riding in astate coach and escorted by a Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalry.[4] Other carriages follow (namely theGlass Coach and threestate landaus), conveying members of the Royal Household who will later take part in the State Procession.
Earlier, a separate carriage procession (escorted by a Regalia Escort of the Household Cavalry) conveys the crown, the sword of state and the cap of maintenance (in one carriage), and the serjeants at arms with their maces (in another) by the same route to the Palace of Westminster.Royal Watermen accompany the procession, reminiscent of earlier times when the regalia was conveyed to the palace by river.
After the State Opening has concluded, the carriage processions return to Buckingham Palace.