State Opening of Parliament 1: 2002-2022


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The jewels Her Majesty The Queen are wearing as follows:
The Queen wears Queen Mary's pendant earrings with Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee necklace, which has been worn regularly during State Openings.
On her head, she wore the George IV State Diadem during the Procession to and from the Houses of Parliament; and the Imperial State Crown during the actual Queen's Speech.
About the dress, this is certainly not a new dress, but Her Majesty The Queen uses white, grey or gold for the State Opening, because it matches majesticly with the Robe. Imagine a yellow dress with the scarlet robe... it would make not the spectacular view as we had it yesterday.
 
She is, and always has been, a very astute woman. She realises the celebration of such 'State' events are all rooted in history, and she does her best to maintain the standard so that we are all able to appreciate the tradition and splendour of a history that goes back centuries and has survived!

That is why she can talk aout the current financial markets and their impact on those least able to manage whilst wearing the quintessential trappings of wealth and yet not be perceived as "out-of-touch".

Her appeal is both timeless and ageless. A Queen for all Seasons in fact!
 
I do wish Charles would attend like he used too...
 
:previous:
The Princess Royal can be seen in the procession immediately behind the Ladies in Waiting in the first Hello! pic from the above link.
 
Warren said:
:previous:
The Princess Royal can be seen in the procession immediately behind the Ladies in Waiting in the first Hello! pic from the above link.
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Warren (or anybody else???) - Do you know why the Princess Royal was part of the procession, when none of the other royals where?

Another stupid question: Do you know why were the two ladies-in-waiting given such prominent places in the House of Lords, as opposed to discretely being tucked away somewhere?
 
Jacknch said:
Ever since her coronation the Queen has always worn her robes of state with a white gown (or predominantly white with gold embroidery etc). White is the symbol of purity and very fitting for her high office. It is also a "colour" that goes best with her crimson robes of state otherwise it would look to colourful. I think the Queen is a traditionalist and is a great upholder of continuity so that the familiarity of the ceremony remains the same. Sudden changes or differences from the previous year such as wearing a blue or red dress might deflect from the solemnity of the occassion and people would comment on what she is wearing rather than her speech. Don't forget, the Queen has no interest in fashion as such and isn't the type to say "right I want something even more flamboyant than last year so lets go for green and pink stripes!".
Click to expand...

thank you so much for the explanation..
 
muriel said:
Warren (or anybody else???) - Do you know why the Princess Royal was part of the procession, when none of the other royals where?
Click to expand...
because she's the Colonel of the Blues and Royals, which makes her one of the Queen's Gold Sticks-in-Waiting, in other words her official/ceremonial bodyguards.
 
avgi said:
because she's the Colonel of the Blues and Royals, which makes her one of the Queen's Gold Sticks-in-Waiting, in other words her official/ceremonial bodyguards.
Click to expand...

Thank you, very useful.
 
muriel said:
Another stupid question: Do you know why were the two ladies-in-waiting given such prominent places in the House of Lords, as opposed to discretely being tucked away somewhere?
Click to expand...

This is an interesting question and at a guess I would say it is to ensure that any mishap with the Queen's gown or staterobes is dealt with and taken care of as quickly and discretely as possible. For instance, if the queen stood up and her robes (which are usually very securely held in place under her shoulders) detached itself, it wouldn't do for the pagebearers or anyone else to rush up and start trying to re-attach the train (someone would trip up and the crown would dislodge in a most inappropriate fashion)! The Queen's ladies-in-waiting who are fully trained in matters of the Queen's dress, would be alerted to the problem and would with incredible delicacy and gracefulness be there right on time to re-attach the offending garment without any loss of face or embarrassment. I think that's the reason why they are close at hand.
 
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was it just me or was the speech shorter this year than it used to be.
 
I was watching TV the other day and they mentioned that the only two times she's missed were when she was pregnant with Andrew and Edward (I'm guessing that would be 1959 and 1963?).
 
Yep. That's the only two she's missed.
 
Jacknch said:
This is an interesting question and at a guess I would say it is to ensure that any mishap with the Queen's gown or staterobes is dealt with and taken care of as quickly and discretely as possible. For instance, if the queen stood up and her robes (which are usually very securely held in place under her shoulders) detached itself, it wouldn't do for the pagebearers or anyone else to rush up and start trying to re-attach the train (someone would trip up and the crown would dislodge in a most inappropriate fashion)! The Queen's ladies-in-waiting who are fully trained in matters of the Queen's dress, would be alerted to the problem and would with incredible delicacy and gracefulness be there right on time to re-attach the offending garment without any loss of face or embarrassment. I think that's the reason why they are close at hand.
Click to expand...

By tradition the Ladies in Waiting are always in close attendance at this important occasion and can be seen standing exactly where they were this time.

HM does wear the same dress more than once for the State Opening. One famous one was plain white satin with draped gold fringes. Although last year was a white lace gown too, I think it was another one, because the points on the hem were sharper last year than this year.

Also, for several years, she arrived wearing a long silver & white "evening" coat, whereas now she seems to favour an elegant cream fur lined wrap.

Her jewellery does vary but usually involves large and important pieces. This year it was Q. Victoria's Jubilee necklace but last year was several diamond rivieres.
 
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Lovely. The Queen looking very majestic and graceful, as ever!
 
For anyone in the US wishing to watch the state opening, C-SPAN2 will be airing it, in its entirety, at 2:21PM Eastern. That's in a little less than two hours time.
 
I do love the fur lined wrap that she wore. Very nice.

Has anyone else noticed that Her Majesty's hair seems to sparkle for the State Opening of Parliament? I don't know if it's the Diadem, but it just has something extra special when Her Majesty opens her Parliament.
 
Hello!!
There will be a new thread for the 2009 State Opening of Parliament? or there is already one? I've not found it.
Thanks, guys!
 
I've changed the thread title to reflect the 2009 opening of Parliament.

HM Queen Elizabeth II will open Parliament on November 18th, 2009. Please feel free to post pictures, articles and questions regarding this year's opening as well past opening's here:flowers:

Zonk
British Forums Moderator
 
Thank Zonk! I'll be at Westminster on Wednesday! I'll try to take as many pictures as possible!
Can't waiiit!
 
For those members in the United States, C-SPAN2 will be airing the state opening at 5:30 AM Eastern time this Wednesday morning. For those without access to the channel on television, it is streamed online at this website. (Click on "Live TV/Radio" in the upper right, and there are three different formats for the live stream.)
 
John Bercow to drop Speaker's court dress for Queen's speech - Telegraph

Mr Bercow was the first Speaker to ditch the old-fashioned costume of ruffled shirts and tights to chair the House of Commons, wearing a business suit and tie under a simple black robe.

He has now announced that he will wear the Speaker's ornate black and gold state robe at Wednesday's ceremony to mark the beginning of the parliamentary year. But underneath he will wear a more modern black morning coat and a House of Commons tie.
 
Why is the Duke of Edinburgh always wearing his Order of the Thistle; as does The Princess Royal I believe during the State Opening of Parliament. The question has been asked on the royal website some years ago, but I don't know the answer. Could anyone help?
 
They are both wearing the collar of the Order of the Garter (as is the Queen after she puts on her robe). That's the large gold chain that's suspended from both shoulders. When you wear the collar of an order, you don't wear the sash of it.* The Order of the Thistle is the second most senior order they both have, so they wear its sash. I believe the collar is only worn on extremely formal occasions, though, so that's why they rarely wear it.

*In some lesser orders, I believe knights and dames grand cross only get one badge, and they have to attach it to whatever method of wearing it they are using.
 
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