The Queen's Speech 2016 The State Opening of Parliament

Good morning and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage

In her 91st year, the Queen will open the second session

and this is the 56th Parliament of the United Kingdom.

And this morning, we welcome viewers to C-Span in the United States.

I reckon it's about 5.30 in the morning in the eastern states,

It is, of course, a Conservative government beginning its second

though with a very small majority in the Commons,

a government not without its problems as it faces the forthcoming

We are focusing on a British tradition.

The next hour and a half, we'll spend enjoying

at the Government's new plans to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech.

With me to help that journey along, I'm joined

by the Conservative peer - and more importantly

for this morning - thriller writer, Michael Dobbs.

the historian, Professor Kate Williams of Reading University,

to welcome the former Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons,

Lawrence Ward, who retired last Autumn from his august post.

You retired from your post last autumn? I wish it was retirement but

I went to another job. You left it. Among those attending today, the

Prime Minister. He left Downing Street the short time ago. Here he

comes. The doors of Number Ten open. And the Prime Minister has actually

been the leader of the Conservative Party for 11 years now.

And we've also seen the arrival at Westminster of the Leader

He arrived at portcullis house on the embankment, times have changed

for Jeremy Corbyn. In 1998 he said the State Opening with all of its

pageantry underlines the hereditary monarchy and the hereditary House of

Lords but in the debate last month on the 90th birthday of the Queen he

made a very charming speech. Saying, about himself, as a relatively young

whippersnapper I'm fully in favour of a country having leaders of a

fine vintage. He said, talking today about a highly respected individual

who is 90. Comparing his own age, he said it proves you are never too

late to take up a new career and learn something else. It's going to

be quite an amazing day for Jeremy Corbyn to find himself at the State

Opening. Kate, if I could turn to you, the

91st year of the Queen, if monarchy was a symbol of continuity, the

Queen is that symbol? 90 years as you say, that is true. She has

engaged in this ceremony since 1952 apart from when she was pregnant and

in 2011 when the Government cancelled it. She has been here at

the State Opening every year that she possibly could, and provided

continuity right back to when the ceremony in this form was brought in

in 1852, and pretty much everyone has been here since except Victoria

who took time off after the death of Albert. Looking inside the Chamber

of the House of Lords now. They are dressed in their ermine. They don't

wear ermine read a apparently! One of the myths is that we are always

wearing a silken ermine is the of course this is the only day that we

wear the traditional uniform. Unless we are introducing a new peer in

which case we put on the robes but normally we are ordinary folks. That

is reassuring. There are 807 of you nowadays. Quite a lot of ordinary

folks in the House of Lords. It's too big? It is too big. We are

briefly looking at the Queens thrown on the left and the Duke of

Edinburgh's on the right. It is an inch shorter than the Queen's. And

the chairs designed for Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

That is the Earl Marshal. The master of ceremonies today. He is talking

to, on the right, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. And on the

left with the beard the Bishop of London. That is Lord Willits, a

conservative thinker, you might say. You can give me a few more names as

we go along. They're an new and old. You can see that we have got plenty

of young and vibrant life. We have plenty more women than the House of

Commons. Not surprising, there is 800 of you! Per capita, as a

proportion of the population. Going back to your earlier point, if it

were left to the House of Lords collectively now we would count our

numbers back quite sharply. Because there are too many and it makes it

very difficult to work properly, the facilities are not there to enable

us to work properly. And yet the numbers are piling up, 61 new peers

last year. People asked darting to retire. 25 peers retired. -- people

are starting to retire. When does it stop? It doesn't stop as long as the

Prime Minister insists on putting fresh people in. If we are to reduce

numbers it needs an element of self control on the part of party leaders

to stop backing the place with their friends. This is historically huge

for the House of Lords in terms of numbers? Used to be much smaller?

Yes, we have seen the cutback on hereditary peers to be replaced by

peers being made by political appointment. What we might see

today, I'm expecting to see some sort of restriction, a veto.

Following on from the statutory instrument. Lawrence, it is 10:30am

in the morning, if you were Serjeant of arms, what would you be doing? I

would probably be with the Speaker and other officials from the House

of Commons going through the business of the day. It is the State

Opening! We would be in our finery. When are you getting dressed?

7:30am. It's a long day. It's a different uniform forced eight

opening day? It is the same uniform with additional element. -- State

Opening day. The collar that he wears is sewn onto the shoulders at

7:30am. So that it does not slip off. It is a very long day, by this

time you already feel as though you've done a work. As Lawrence was

saying it has a party atmosphere, people are going there and

celebrating our traditions and all of these peers dressing up, it's the

only day we get dressed up and it is a bit like a fancy dress party, if I

can put it like that. As well as being a serious occasion. Thank you

very much. We will come back to you soon.

So we've seen the Lords and Ladies in their ermine and tiaras.

we'll see the Household Cavalry and Yeomen of the Guard assembled,

ready to welcome the royal party to Westminster,

But what kind of modern message might all this

vicar of St-Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London's Trafalgar Square.

The State Opening of Parliament demonstrates

The people vote, the parliament is elected.

Parliament proposes to make laws that the governing party doesn't

impose its will on the population, it does it in discussion and it asks

the Queen as the representative of the whole nation to deliver

to parliament a description of what it proposes to do,

Some people might think that's rather, well, I won't say naive,

but a rose-tinted view of our democracy as it

It is an aspirational view of our democracy, but actually,

When one party wins an election, it doesn't ride roughshod

The Queen presided over her first State Opening of Parliament in 1952

and she has attended all but two ceremonies since.

And that includes a scaled-down event in March 1974,

after the election of a minority Labour Government.

No carriages then, but what mattered was the meeting of the monarch,

Today, for the first time, this ceremony is being watched

not only by those who are present in this Chamber,

but by many millions of my subjects.

Peoples in other lands will also be able to witness this renewal

I do think that the British constitution, informally,

because there isn't a written one, has got something pretty special,

one is straightforward democracy, you know, a democracy

in which the majority rule, under certain constraints,

and there is protection for minorities, but also we preserve

that notion that there is a person, that our loyalty is not to an idea,

it's to a person, because we have seen in so many contexts

where loyalty to an idea can go badly wrong.

And I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the promises

she made at her coronation echo through her life.

These responsibilities mean everything to her,

She's almost laid down her life for the country in order to play

a role that we desperately need and seldom thank her for.

Kate Williams, one of the things that Sam Wells told me was, I was

talking to him before the interview, the Queen exercises her a thorough

tea not by opposing her well, by representing and articulating the

voice of the people. -- imposing her will. It sounds like a combo looted

description, do you believe that? ... She enables a democracy to

happen by being this figure at the top? And it has been vital to the

Queen that she is politically neutral, key part of her

constitutional lessons even to her as a young girl that she had to

remain outside of politics. Lots of monarchs have been meddling

excessively, but she has stayed out of politics and enabled the

Government to do what it wish without meddling. We have had

interesting words about the Chinese recently. Coming down the mall is

the regalia possession of the Crown and the cab of maintenance and Sword

of State. -- Cap of Maintenance. Behind that is the state car. With

the two maces brought by the Serjeant at Arms in Buckingham

Palace. We actually end up seeing, Lawrence, five maces this morning

but you are the Serjeant of arms, weren't you? I am indeed and I would

like to think the most important but of course that is not true. You are

known full-time as the Serjeant at Arms? That's right. One of the

things that struck me on State Opening day was my eyesight at

distance is not very good and I should really wear glasses but I was

too vain to do that. I remember the Crown, the glistening diamonds in

the crown from all that way back in the House of Commons. When it

catches the light it really does shine. It has already... It has

already been delivered by armed guard from the Tower of London. It's

in the carriage now and all being well, that is the Queen Alexandra

State coach on its way with the horses, Firework, Perth, Ensign and

Louis. What is the day job of the Serjeant at Arms? The day job is to

be responsible for security and access to the House of Commons and

it is working directly with the Speaker of the House of Commons to

ensure that the public can get in and there is over 1 million visitors

a year. And that Members can get around and the function can

continue. It's very difficult as a balancing act, allowing access to

the public but also keeping Members save so that business of the House

can continue. This is probably not something I should mention today but

it is that one of your thrillers is about the State Opening. Oh, yes.

And it doesn't go according to plan? It doesn't, state openings normally

go exceedingly well. Two or three years ago one page boy fainted. That

hadn't really happened before and you could see the tremor of fear

that was going through everybody, what do we do with him? Do we ignore

the poor thing? The Duchess of Cambridge came to the rescue and

indicated somebody should do something about the poor boy. He

will be living out on that for a while. And your blog, the Lord's

day? Yes, Lawrence was responsible for security. --

Look. Security is an exceedingly difficult problem for the Palace of

Westminster. Ten or 15 years ago when I wrote the book the security

was in my view something of a joke and needed real review and it has

been reviewed. I set my book with the old security system where the

State Opening was held hostage. Everybody in that room, you will

see, we have the monarchy, the Government, the opposition, the

Lords, the ambassadors and judges, everybody who matters is there. The

whole British establishment in one room. In those days we really needed

to take rather more care of security on that day than sending around a

few Yeomen of the Guard with their pikes to check for gunpowder.

The action of your book takes place in the House of Lords. You said they

can't find offices for you all? Yes, but the chamber is our main office.

Now, there is the diplomatic corps. They are sitting behind the bishops.

Go on, Michael. You are interested in the exercise of power. Others are

not interested in the content of the Queen's Speech. Not at all,. We are

talking about a drama series here, not a documentary. I had to write to

assure people that the house of cards is a work of entertainment.

Did you feel it was more or less accurate than you expected? I get

the idea occasionally that there are plenty of people in Parliament and a

swear who are auditioning furiously for parts in the next series. But

drama does remind you that we are looking here at the functions of

power, but at the end of the day, it comes down to people and

personalities. And we will be looking at a Queen's Speech today

which will set out the government's programme, but we know that

programme will be interfered with and affected, perhaps even

undermined by the way that after the Queen's Speech, different

personalities will lock horns, disagree and try to move the agenda

in a different direction. Kate Williams, you mentioned briefly

earlier that after all, this Queen has attended all but two openings of

Parliament, and only one non-State Opening of Parliament of the 63 she

has been to. But Queen Victoria had a long reign as well and she got out

of State Opening. She did. 1852 was the first one, because we had the

first ceremony of the Houses of Parliament in. Then Albert died ten

years later, so she declined to attend between 1862 and 1865, and

between them and her death she came seven times. Seven times in 35

years. That was fast maths! Yes, so she was a very infrequent attender,

unlike our own monarch. So someone else had to open it. The Lord

Chancellor read the speech. Did that damage the image of the monarchy? It

certainly did from 1862 until 1865, the idea that she was staying

because Albert had died and she was locking herself up in mourning. It

was a balance for her between playing the role of a morning wife

and also playing a constitutional role which demands that a monarch is

there at the State Opening and other events. It did create a search for

republicanism when Victoria was not seen not just at State Opening, but

in general. And when she did come, they expected that she would come

again. At the of her life, it was ill health. She was not in fantastic

health like our own monarch. It was not her greatest decision not to

attend. Another look at the regalia procession in The Queen Alexandra

State coach. There is a regalia escort of the Household Cavalry,

which is commanded by Tom Horton, who rides a 17 hand gelding which is

a veteran of these parades. This regalia procession, I think, is

pretty close now to the Palace of Westminster. It is just coming along

the side of Parliament Square. You can see the union Jacks on the

right. There is now a new crossing, so it makes it quite easy to cross

from the pavement onto Parliament Square itself, which previously was

rather difficult. The pavement has also been considerably widened in

front of new palace yard on the left. That is your end of the

building, Lawrence. It is indeed, and you will see some of the

ordinary bollards which are normally on the end of the road have been

removed to allow the carriages to go through. The preparations for this

started weeks ago. There would have been rehearsals at four in the

morning over the weekend, so that everybody knows exactly what they

are doing. It looks like a well oiled machine, but little things

happen around the edges which are not planned for. But it usually

works to the minute. Westminster Abbey on the right. And lined up,

the guard of honour, the 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards and

the Irish Guards Band to the right of the picture. They will present

arms as the crown goes by. Any second now, they will turn left

towards Victoria Tower and through the Sovereign's Entrance, our first

view of the Imperial State Crown Mati Sword of State and the Cap of

Maintenance. And when it arrives at the sovereign staircase, there is a

kind of juggling act to get the crown out of the carriage in an

attempt that no one drops it at the right person ends up with the crown

at the end of the procedure is spotted with it. The first person

who hands the crown out is the first person who ends up with the Crown at

the end of the process. Talking of crowns, Queen Victoria did not wear

it much, did she? No. This one dates from 1937 so Queen Victoria had a

different one. They were quite in chief. That is the right word. It

was a dinky Crown. This one is a full kilogram of stuff. But Victoria

found it uncomfortable and did not wear it. She also didn't like the

wearing of the ropes and the whole pomp. She refused to do it during

her jubilee is, much against the pleas of her ministers, who begged

her to put on the Crown and the ropes. But she was rather more

low-key in her desire for less pomp. But this monarch does. The barge

master is waiting to receive the Crown. The crown jewel, Martin

Swift, has taken the crown from the controller of the Lord Chamberlain

's office, who is now getting out of the carriage, Lieutenant Colonel Sir

Andrew Ford. The barge master appears to be wearing his barge

master's Mac! And the Crown at this stage is on a rather small cushion.

And then finally, from Sir Andrew Ford to the crown jewel to the barge

master, and back to Sir Andrew Ford. They have done this highly delicate

pass the parcel. I was lucky enough to go to the Tower of London earlier

this year. And although it looks splendid on the television picture,

nothing beats seeing it in real life in the Tower of London, because it

is so astonishingly sparkly. And it looks its most sparkly for this

moment, because it has been sparkled up. The crown itself is guided by

two of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Gentlemen at Arms.

And bringing up the rear, the two Serjeant at Arms from Buckingham

Palace. Sorry, Kate? The Crown has a stone from Edward the confessor's

ring, and it reminds us that this is the crown The Queen wears after she

is crowned. She only wears it at the State Opening and after she is

crowned. When she comes out of the coronation ceremony, this is what

she wears, so it embodies the constitutional monarchy. There are

monarchy is left in the world, but they are slightly reluctant crown

wearers, aren't they? We are the most enthusiastic Crown wearers of

all. The other monarchies are much more low-key in much of continental

Europe, in Holland and Norway and Sweden. We wear our crowns,

particularly because we have so many great stones that date back to the

13th century. They are great historic symbols. Let me ask a

question if I may. I have never understood, what is the Cap of

Maintenance? No one can tell me what it is for, where it comes from. We

will come back to that. We will watch Sir Andrew Ford, the

Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, carrying the

Crown on its condition up to the Royal Gallery and the Norman

staircase, lined by the brilliantly named staircase party of the

Household Cavalry, so-called because they are on the staircase. He will

deliver the Imperial State Crown to the Lord Great Chamberlain, the

Marquess of Cholmondeley. At that point, the guard of honour changes

to two Yeomen of the Guard, not beefeaters of the tower.

And the Lord Great Chamberlain has successfully taken delivery of the

Crown. You will see that in the Royal Gallery, everyone has stood

for the arrival of the Crown. And behind the Crown will be the Cap of

Maintenance and the Sword of State. They go into their positions,

waiting to be carried into the procession, carried by Lieutenant

Colonel Michael Vernon. The Sword of State was carried by Sir Kevin

Donoghue. Kate, time for a Cap of Maintenance explanation. As you say,

it is a key part of the regalia we see only in the State Opening of

Parliament. It does not get out many other times. No. It is essentially a

traditional part of it. Once we start questioning the regalia of

monarchy, they all might seem a bit questionable. There is a suggestion

that if the Crown was ever not available, we would use the Cap of

Maintenance. I thought it was a present from the Pope, and the one

we display is in memory of a Cap of Maintenance displayed by Henry VIII

because he received it from the Pope for good work. It rather fell out

between them later. The Pope does where a Cap of Maintenance of some

kind at the papal coronation, before they get the three tiered Crown. You

never know when you will need one. It is good to have one on hand.

Lawrence, at your end of the building, the rabble end, a lot of

people will think what Michael and Kate have been saying is a load of

mumbo jumbo. Maybe you do? I think everyone gets caught up in the

occasion. It is the day when the spotlight is on Parliament. It is a

day when everyone wears that finally, and as Michael was saying,

there was a bit of a party feel about the place. Actually, the

Commons does like a ceremony. It does. There is nothing members like

more than walking up to the House of Lords and being a bit noisy and a

bit disruptive, because the Lords are very well behaved and it is very

quiet when they arrive. They like to flex their muscles a bit and say, we

have arrived, here we are, and they like to be noticed. There is quite a

rush to get in. You lead the procession, together with the

Speaker, and a lot of people are hovering around, trying to get good

places in the House of Lords to hear the speech. It is one of the most

contentious elements. Lots of members attend for prayers. But some

members decided not to attend prayers because they want a good

spot. And then they try to leap into the convoy as it is on its way to

the House of Lords. You should be more bossy. There were

several conversations over the years about how to corral people going up

and one of the ideas was to have a rope so that Members could jump in.

They need roping off! Buckingham Palace and Her Majesty The Queen,

accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh in the uniform of the Lord high

Admiral of Great Britain. There is only one Lord Admiral and you're

looking at him. The Queen there, I think he is the only man to wear

this little coronet. They set off from Buckingham Palace in the

Diamond Jubilee carriage, in fact. Stunning piece of work. It took

eight years to build and I suppose we are in the world short of

carriage builders these days but it was built by a real enthusiasts. An

Australian originally but he worked a long time in Britain. This really

was very much his life 's work and although it did take a very long

time to build and was extremely expensive, by the end he had to

mortgage his house to pay for it. There, the carriage is drawn by what

everyone tells me called sixth-grades but I think they are

white horses. They have lovely names, Milford Haven, Storm,

Claudia, Meg, Tyrone. Isa speced the rain is really now quite heavy

outside. Kate, you arrived late. -- I suspect. It is pretty much British

weather outside, foggy and raining. I think we are going to have some

heavy showers today. Edward VIII only had one State Opening. That is

correct because we did not have him very long. It was the year of three

Kings, George V died and Edward VIII became Monaco in 1936 and not much

later he abdicated to marry Mrs Simpson. It was raining so much they

had to use cars. The Marquess of Cholmondley will take that into the

Robing Room. Lord Chamberlain's office can be dated to the 12th

century. Strictly speaking Lord Cholmondley is acting in the reign

of Elizabeth II because the family does it every other reign. They did

rather badly in the Edward VIII reign. They thought, oh dear, that's

it. It goes to another family after that. They have done better ever

since, they have had a very long reign. Since 1952. The next family

to inherit will be the Carrington family, Peter Carrington, Lord

Carrington, the Conservative peer, aged 97 now. Whether he does the

duty himself, I don't think so but maybe. Could be his son. He might

have to wait a while because this Queen is outliving everyone! Of

course it is, dare one say, nonsenses of the Constitution that

this is hereditary, but it works and if it works why bother looking for

other alternatives? Until 1965 the Lord Great Chamberlain was an actual

executive in the Palace of Westminster and took day-to-day part

in the management, and that is when the law was changed to give power to

the Serjeant at Arms and Black Rod in the House of Commons. You are

quite right. It did change. That's what makes the Serjeant at Arms role

and the role of Black Rod quite powerful. It is a huge amount of

responsibility because the buck stops with those roles. The Lord

Great Chamberlain now looks after the royal parts of the Palace, tell

us about the remaining royal bits of the Palace. There are many royal

parts and indeed his key role is to care for these Royal parts of the

Palace and it is a vital role which he does actually report to Her

Majesty on. She is his direct manager in that sense. Most of what

we see in the glittering bits of the day are the royal bits of the

Palace. The Normans their case, Royal Gallery. The Robing Room

itself. -- Norman Staircase. Job share with Westminster Hall? That's

right. You have to be very diplomatic with each other. Many

stakeholders. Stakeholders! Imagine the Lord Great Chamberlain of 1863

saying that he must consult with the other stakeholders! The great thing

about those parts of the Palace is that the Queen only comes in with

invitation and much of the ceremony is to show that things have changed

much since the civil war and the Queen is only now allowed in by

invitation and only when Parliament wishes to allow her, so that

underlines how it is a constitutional monarchy, as does the

tradition of the hostage MP. That hostage is Chris Hopkins. He is

watching telly at Buckingham Palace. This is the procession of the Prince

of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. They are in the Irish State coach.

It is pouring with rain. He is wearing the uniform of an and roll

book -- Admiral of the Fleet. They are in the Irish state coach which

is being pulled by their horses. And their horses, Cinderella and

Bermuda. Are they black or brown? They look very gorgeous. Only two

horses, actually. They are bay forces which apparently is the right

word for Brown. The outriders getting off the back of the coach,

they are tricky things to brake, and that is why the sand is there. They

have this sharp turn and then they have two brake right in the right

place. Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of

Cornwall emerges from the Irish State coach and the sash she is

wearing is of a Dame Commander of the Victorian order. An order of

chivalry that is in the personal gift of the Queen. She is met by the

Earl Marshal carrying his baton. The Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester,

Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and great Steward

of Scotland. His sash is a green sash of the order of the Thistle.

The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk will conduct the royal party

up the Norman Staircase, lines not only by the Household Cavalry but

the heralds and pursuivants, with their white staves of office. The

Earl Marshal is not wearing the duke's robes. He is fully intending

to get back to the House of Lords and will be taking the oath of

allegiance before long. In the next state of -- State Opening he will be

maybe wearing his duke's robes, but that is still a magnificent uniform,

lovely to see it. Together with the Lord Great Chamberlain he sits as of

right in the House of Lords regardless of the reforms. I was

just going to say that not traditional to traditional to CDF to

the throne coming to the State Opening and he first came in 2013.

-- to see the heir to the throne. Baroness D'Souza on her final State

Opening, she announced she would only do one term. And in fact

nominations will close tomorrow for those who want to be Lord Speaker,

are you putting yourself forward, Lord Dodds? I haven't yet decided to

throw my hat into the ring. You are not neutral enough! That's your

trouble. The Lord high Chancellor of Great Britain, Michael Gove. We are

likely to get quite a lot of bills concerning his department. He is the

220th Lord Chancellor, in the procession this morning. Richard

Heaton. The deputy Serjeant at Arms and Amy Regan, the Lord Chancellor's

private secretary, and most importantly because she is carrying

the speech, the Lord Chancellor's purse bearer. It is an enormous

purse and it's fair to say that she is not enormous, really quite tiny!

This is the scene at Horse Guards. You can see the seating laid out for

Trooping the Colour next month. It should be quite something,

celebrating the Queen's90th birthday. This is the procession of

the Queen and Duke that umbrella as they make their way to Westminster.

-- Juba you can see a tiny bit of fanfare in

the distance there. In the Royal Gallery, another part of the royal

part of the House of Lords, you can see it being lined by the Yeoman of

the guard. This is the bits of the Lord Chancellor's procession that

have no more to do at the moment, so they are walking back through the

Royal Gallery from where they came. A few moments ago. At this moment,

would you be watching it on the telly? Catching glimpses because

there are screens around the place. Coming to collect the Cap of

Maintenance and the sort of state is Field Marshal Lord Walker on the

left, and the Leader of the House of Lords and the privy Seal Baroness

Stowell of Beeston. They had underlings bringing the cap and

soared from Buckingham Palace but from now on they will be responsible

for them. They are stood by to receive them later on. On this

rather grey day, the Queen'sprocession makes its way to

Westminster. The funny thing would be a lovely sunny day and

people would get hot in their uniforms, well, 2014 was raining and

here we go again. I bet those uniforms don't stand up to much

rain? They don't and they are incredibly hot, particularly with

stiff collars. The House of Lords, because so many people are crammed

in there it gets very hot indeed. The November state openings were a

relief. This is Prince's Chamber which has never been seen in live

coverage before. This is the first time there has been a camera in the

Prince 's Chamber. These are the Gentlemen at Arms, standing there

because they are right behind the throne, the House of Lords is beyond

that wall on the right. They are stood there because they are the

closest guard to the sovereign. The Yeomen of the Guard are the oldest.

There is a bit of jealousy there. The captain of the Gentlemen at Arms

is the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords and he gets to wear a

fantastic uniform today. And it is Lord Taylor of Holbeach. That

standard, as you can see in the middle of your screen, will be

lowered with an almighty sort of Walter Raleigh style flourish as the

procession comes through. And the Queen'sprocession has made it to the

Cenotaph. In the Diamond Jubilee coach. As coaches go, it's pretty

modern? Electric windows. Going back further into history, there is a

Sovereign 's Escort of the Household Cavalry.

And the coachman are Mr Hargreaves, Kemp and McGregor. It is still

magnificent even though it is damp. Truly magnificent, we will never see

any kind of ceremony like this unless it is a coronation. This is

the most ceremonial moment we will see a harmonic engaging in apart

from the coronation. It is something very special and it obviously dates

back to 1852, but the ceremony itself goes back to the 17th-century

and beyond to the Middle Ages. The ball will be wondering what these

uniforms are, why is this setup like this simply to go and read a speech?

But it symbolises the constitutional monarchy. They have rather lost grip

of the ceremony because Queen Victoria didn't turn up and got a

bit lazy and hopeless and badly organised, didn't it? There was a

Royal commission to look at it, and get it properly set up by Edward

VII? Certainly Edward VII was a stickler for ceremony and he noticed

that because his mother hadn't shown up and also she wasn't very

interested in royal regalia, she was much more interested in the details

of what monarchy did, he was concerned that the monarchy was

losing respect and had to be reinvigorated at the start of the

20th-century and it was crucial to re-examine this and it's thanks to

him that we have the ceremony we have today.

I think we should maybe stick with those pictures as the carriage head

through into the Sovereign's Entrance.

We are going to see a bit of a change this year. There are six

horses drawing the carriage. Although the Earl Marshal

acknowledges The Queen, she goes by the sovereign staircase. And this is

where the great lift of state will come into play this year. As The

Queen arrives at the Palace of Westminster, when she steps out, the

Union Jack will be replaced by the sovereign standard. This year, the

Norman staircase, as many will sympathise, way too much for The

Queen and Prince Philip. Prince Philip is 95 in June. So there is a

little lift, and it comes out just to the left of your screen.

Actually, I discovered that it is one of the royal parts of the Palace

of Westminster, this lift. Many of us are surprised that The Queen has

not had to use a lift before and we are impressed that she has been

using the stairs for so long. It is absolutely amazing. And it is a

jolly long staircase. And very steep, especially when you are

wearing such heavy regalia. I tried this lift a couple of days ago. It

takes 15 seconds from the moment you press the right button. You did your

research! Very exacting research. 15 seconds from pressing the button to

the doors opening at this level here. But the time in the lift is

only six to seven seconds. The thing I should not be mentioning here is,

it is not noted for its reliability, this lift. The Lord Great

Chamberlain has successfully emerged from the lift, followed by The Queen

and Prince Philip. And I think there are all smiling because it went

well. Lawrence? There are some notoriety about the lift. A couple

of years ago, The Queen and Prince Philip and Black Rod got into the

lift to go down, and unfortunately, somebody in one of the floors above

pressed the call on the lift, so the lift went up instead and when it

opened, there were two cleaners waiting to get in. You can imagine

the shock on their faces when the door opened and there was The Queen

and Duke of Edinburgh and Black Rod! But they found it very amusing. It

worked this morning, and that the main thing. Actually, The Queen does

come to the Palace of Westminster at other times. Yes, for State Opening,

we have all the ritual, but she comes at other times. Probably a

couple of times a year. For what sort of thing? I last met her when

she wanted to look at her new window in Westminster Hall. There are the

two Serjeant at arms from Buckingham Palace. We have seen four of them so

far. But we have not seen the Serjeant at Arms. So she came to

look at the new window in Westminster Hall? Yes. And she has

held receptions in the Royal Gallery. And met staff. So she comes

a couple of times a year. And those are different occasions, informal.

There is Black Rod. The window we were talking about was paid for

privately, so it was a personal gift from us to Her Majesty. The

procession has arrived in the House of Lords. There are now in the world

gallery. The heralds are facing the Robing Room. The Queen is in the

Robing Room. It takes about nine minutes to put on the parliamentary

robe and the Imperial State Crown. This is an ancient ceremony, one

which Henry VIII himself might recognise at least parts of.

The man charged with organising things

inside the Palace of Westminster is the Duke of Norfolk,

who is Earl Marshal of England and in fact

England's premier Duke. I caught up with him a few days ago.

We've had the job of Earl Marshal since 1483.

We were given it along with the Dukedom of Norfolk

We lost it again at the bottle of Bosworth in 1485.

And throughout the whole of the 16th century,

It's actually been hereditary in my family since 1672,

It's all for love of Queen and country.

There is absolutely no pay, no re-claiming expenses or anything.

And indeed, things like the uniform cost quite a lot of money.

The Earl Marshall organises great state occasions

at the State Opening, overseeing 100 or so yeomen,

Until the early years of this century, one of its duties involved

walking backwards in front of the Queen.

There was actually a period in the early noughties

when we dumbed down somewhat and we stopped walking backwards

It was somewhat frustrating that I'd just mastered the art of walking

backwards by remembering the carpet pattern.

That's how you do it, to avoid walking into the pillar

I'd just mastered it when we decided to do away with it.

But now I don't think that will come back.

As ever, rehearsal and timing are key.

In 2015, the Queen arrived at Parliament

rather earlier than expected, and that meant Black Rod

being kept waiting while the Commons finished prayers.

I thought as I was processing down the Royal Gallery, oh my God,

But I think he had to wait for about a minute and a quarter.

But we try to make sure that we improvise and keep the show going.

Just imagine the moment, the trumpets, the fanfare.

The Queen is ready to come out of the Robing Room.

What do you do at that point and what are you thinking at that point?

I'm thinking about all the things that are going to happen

I'm hoping that prayers will have finished in the Commons and Black

I'm hoping that everybody is going to end up

in the right place on the throne, in the House of Lords.

I'm hoping that the Lord Chancellor will deliver the speech OK.

And I'm hoping that when, after the speech is over,

when we exit, that everyone will go through the right door.

I'm terribly keen, as everybody is, that it goes well, that it

Ceremonial and pageantry is something that we do very

We are known in the world over for this.

I think tourism is our second or third biggest industry.

So I certainly get nervous and I'm quite relieved when it's over.

We have got all that to come. Lawrence, Black Rod was actually

kept out of the Commons a couple of times in your tenure. What have you

got against him? He is known for being a bit erratic with his timing.

There is your successor, Kamal el Hajji. He lays the mace. He did that

very well. I bumped into him coming out of Westminster Underground

station. He is rarely looking forward to today. He loves -- he's

really looking forward to today. He loves the uniform. Black Rod set off

early, but The Queen dispatches him. I know you are being diplomatic

here. It is ironic, because a few weeks before, Black Rod was late for

a march in of the troops. The principal doorkeeper asked where he

was. We saw him from a distance, and they said, hurry up, Black Rod! And

just a few weeks later, he was early for banging on the door of the

Commons. On that occasion, the principal doorkeeper said to me, he

is on his way already. So I said, get him to wait! But I think he was

signalled early. Someone in the House of Lords, I will not say who,

was getting a bit impatient. So the Lord Great Chamberlain signalled for

Black Rod to go to the Commons, and we were still in the middle of

prayers, so we had to ask him to slow down. It is said that The Queen

doesn't like sitting on the throne fall that time, waiting for the

Commons to turn up. Anything she can do to speed up the process, she

will. It wasn't The Queen. And it ended up being far longer because of

the waiting. Kate, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl Marshal said

tourism is important and it is lovely for tourists, but there must

be more to the monarchy if it is to really fast, than that tourists like

it? Yes. A lot of tourists don't know much about the opening of

Parliament. I would not say tourists come just to watch this. They would

have to be hard-core ceremonial fans. We have our viewers today in

the United States. There are viewers, but this is not about

tourism, it is about underlining the fact that the monarch is the guest

of the house is of Parliament, the fact that the monarch is not there

to interfere. She has to read out the speech. She is the guest. She is

there at their discretion. It is not about the pomp, but to underline

that this is the most important thing that the monarch does, to

preside over the cost additional system. That is why she gets her

crown out. -- the constitutional system. It is the job of the Head of

State. It is much more important than the royal wedding. It might not

be seen as the most exciting, but this is the key moment which

underlines the relationship between state and monarch. Michael, at this

point, you will have been sitting in the House of Lords. You have to take

your seats quite early. You will have been there and our buy now. You

don't get dedicated seats. So there is a bit of a bunfight. The earlier

you get there, the better your seat. Can you save them for each other?

No, you can't. I remember arriving late a couple of years ago because I

was watching other parts of the ceremony. I found it exceedingly

difficult and had to sit on the floor for a while.

It is 11.28 am so we hope the Commons will have said their

prayers. Here is this magnificent procession, passing through the

world gallery. -- the Royal Gallery. It does look very mid-evil. --

medieval. It is a moment in which The Queen herself, when she was

preparing to be crowned, spent a lot of time ActiveSync for the fact that

she -- she would spent a lot of time practising. This reveals how far

back our monarchy goes. Let's enjoy it as it passes by.

The Sword of State reaches the Princess chamber. We have never seen

this before. -- the Prince's Chamber. We have only got three

pages. One seems to have dropped out already. They don't faint on parade,

but something happened. And in the House of Lords, everyone rises.

Kate, she may not be using the stairs, but this Queen is wearing

the crown. Victoria couldn't even get up the

stairs of St Paul's during her Diamond Jubilee. She stayed in her

carriage? Yes. Lords, be seated. She has surpassed Victoria as the

longest monarchy and she is doing her job brilliantly. I think she has

given the Lord Great Chamberlain did not -- the nod. He raises his wand.

Is he on time, Black Rod? Back Rod is a good friend of mine and he

works hard to get everything right here. Even with his eyesight, which

is very acute, he couldn't see the wand from that distance so there are

lights that go on that indicate it's time to set off. A bit of new

technology? Absolutely, cutting edge. Right, this is him going

through the Members lobby and you can see Keith Vaz, what is a prize,

lined up to get a good place in the House of Lords. And he approaches

the door of the House of Commons. Perfect. Open the doors! Who says

that? That will be the Sergeant. You did that last year? Yes. That is

your successor. Mr Speaker, the Queen commands that

this honourable House to attend Her Majesty immediately in the house of

Peers. Hands off the BBC! We will pass absolutely no comment on that

in the studio! Lord Skinner, not Lord Skinner but one day, Dennis

Skinner. Affectionately known as the beast of Bolsover. 84 years old,

with his contributory role to the State Opening. He now ceremoniously

since it out. John Bercow, the Speaker, the clerk of the House of

Commons, and the Prime Minister alongside Jeremy Corbyn. In his

first State Opening, Kamal El-Hajji. What were you hoping for in your

first State Opening? Just that I did not trip over. The hind him his

secretary and the chaplain of the House of Commons. -- behind him.

When you get to the Lords the mace is taken from you. They walk

backwards to collect it from your shoulder because it can't be in the

House of Lords at the same time as the Queen. We all wonder what the

Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn will say but they are not saying

much. The Prime Minister has broken the ice. He's doing the talking. I

wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy Corbyn found it a bit surprisingly

find himself at the State Opening of Parliament in this whole,

extraordinary royal engagement. Here they come. Being quite rabble like.

Yes. Do people still dress up, MPs, for the day? Some do, some wear

hats. That is normally where you see the good jewellery. It is a party

occasion for both Houses. The House of Lords has been reconfigured for

the day, the set out is not as it would be,

afterwards, some of the benches will be moved and taken out, so we can

pack in as many people as we can. I thought actually that the bar was

moved back, there is actually less rooms for the Commons and more for

the peers. That is one of the difficult things you have just seen,

all four of the key officials should arrive in line. There is not room to

do that through the doorway, so there is jockeying. Black Rod on the

left, the Speaker John Bercow, Serjeant at Arms Kamal El-Hajji, and

they take their positions at the front and the party leaders and the

Shadow Cabinet Members and other MPs are behind them. Earl Marshal now

looking not at the Queen but towards what is called the bar of the house

to see if he can get as many MPs in as possible. He signals the Lord

Chancellor to deliver the speech. You can see the galleries packed on

either side, the place is packed. My Lords and Members

of the House of Commons, My Government will use the

opportunity of a strengthening economy to deliver security for

working people, to increase life chances for the most disadvantaged,

and to strengthen national defences. My ministers will continue to bring

the public finances under control, so that Britain lives within its

means, and a move to a higher wage and lower welfare economy where work

is rewarded. To support the economic recovery and create jobs and more

apprenticeships, legislation will be introduced to ensure Britain has the

infrastructure that businesses need to grow. Measures will be brought

forward to create the right for every household to access high-speed

broadband. Legislation will be introduced to improve Britain's

competitiveness and make the United Kingdom a world leader in the

digital economy. My ministers will ensure the United Kingdom is at the

forefront of technology. For new forms of transport, including

autonomous and electric vehicles. To spread economic prosperity my

Government will continue to support the development of a northern

powerhouse. In England, further powers will be devolved to directly

elected mayors, including powers governing local bus services.

Legislation will also allow local authorities to retain business

rates, having them more freedom to invest in local communities. My

Government will support aspiration and promote homeownership through

its commitment to build 1 million new homes. Following last week 's

anti-corruption summit in London, legislation will be introduced to

tackle corruption, money-laundering, and tax evasion. My Government will

continue work to deliver NHS services over seven days of the week

in England. Legislation will be introduced to ensure that overseas

visitors pay for the health treatment that they receive at

public expense. New legislation will be introduced to tackle some of the

deepest social problems in society. And improve life chances. A bill

will be introduced to ensure that children can be adopted by new

families without delay. Improve the standard of social work, and

opportunities for young people in care in England. To tackle poverty

and the causes of deprivation, including family instability,

addiction and debt my Government will introduce new indicators for

measuring life chances. Legislation will be introduced to establish a

soft drinks industry levy to help tackle childhood obesity. Measures

will be introduced to help the lowest income families to save

through a new Help to Save scheme and to create a lifetime ISA to help

young people to save in the long-term. My Government will

continue to reform public services so they help the hardest to reach. A

bill will be brought forward to lay the foundations for educational

excellence in all schools, giving every child the best start in life.

There will also be a fairer balance between schools through the national

funding formula. To ensure that more people have the opportunity to

further their education, legislation will be introduced to support the

establishment of new universities and to promote choice and

competition across the higher education sector. My Government will

legislate to reform prisons and courts, to give individuals a second

chance. Prison governors will be given unprecedented freedom, and

they will be able to ensure prisoners receive better education.

Old and inefficient prisons will be closed and new institutions built,

where prisoners can be put to more effective work. Action will also be

taken to ensure a better mental health provision for individuals in

the criminal justice system. My Government will continue to work to

bring communities together and strengthen society. Legislation will

be introduced to prevent radicalisation, tackle extremism in

all its forms, and promote community integration. National citizens

service will be placed on a permanent statutory footing. My

Government will continue to safeguard national security, my

ministers will invest in Britain's Armed Forces, honouring the military

covenant, and meeting the Nato commitment to spend 2% of national

income on defence. They will also act to secure the long-term future

of Britain's nuclear deterrent. My Government will continue to play a

leading role in world affairs, using its global presence to tackle

climate change and address major international security, economic and

humanitarian challenges. My Government will continue to work to

resolve the conflict in Ukraine. It will play a leading role in the

campaign against Daesh and to support international efforts to

bring peace to Syria through a lasting political settlement.

Britain's commitment on international development spending

will also be honoured. Helping to deliver global stability, support

the sustainable development goals, and prevent new threats to national

security. Prince Philip and I look forward to welcoming his Excellency

the President of Colombia on a state visit in November. My Government

will continue with legislation to modernise the law governing the use

of oversight of investigatory Powers by law enforcement, security, and

intelligence agencies. Legislation will strengthen the capability and

accountability of the police service in England and Wales. My Government

will hold a referendum on membership of the European Union. Proposals

will be brought forward for a British Bill of Rights. My ministers

will uphold this sovereignty of Parliament and the primacy of the

House of Commons. My Government will continue to work in cooperation with

the devolved administrations, to implement the extensive new powers

in the Scotland Act and establish a strong and lasting devolution

settlement in Wales. My Government will work in Northern Ireland to

secure further progress in implementing the storm onto house

and Fresh Start Agreements. -- storm Estimates for the public services

will be laid before you. My Lords and Members of the House of Commons,

other measures will be laid before you. I pray that the blessing of

Almighty God may rest upon your counsels.

The speech successfully delivered by the Queen, the Lord Chancellor has

retrieved it. And three page boys come forward to collect the

Queen'strain and it's a heavy job for one of them because he is taking

the job for one that is missing. So, emerging through the Prince's

chamber, the royal procession makes its way back. A lovely site here of

the Prince's chamber, which we have not seen before. It is said that

they will hand in their access before they leave, which is wise

advice. Field Marshal Montgomery. He was a general till 2014. They had

given up making field marshals because the pension was too high

when they retired, but now they have changed it back again and they are

honorary Field Marshall. So I don't think they get the pay, but they do

get the bank. He was a former chief of defence staff. We talked about

tourism earlier, and of course, tourism is a huge part of what makes

this country but is. But it is possible on normal days for normal

members of the public to walk exactly the route that The Queen is

walking now, through the Royal Gallery, into the chamber itself. It

is a wonderful opportunity to see that extraordinary building from the

outside and at close quarters. The Royal Gallery is beautiful. Pictures

of the battle of Waterloo and Trafalgar line the two sites, and

when presidents of France come to address both houses, they are not

very easy to keep discreet, because there are enormous pictures. There

are wonderful. They were painted by an Irishman who fell out with the

palace authorities because they refused to pay him openly.

Apparently, in one of the murals, there is, in the rafters of the

destroyed farmhouse at Waterloo, supposedly a copy of his unpaid bill

that he put in. I can confirm that that uniform does cost thousands of

pounds. Here is your replacement, 4+1. At this point, would you be

thinking, this went to Kate? I think Kamal el Hajji will be thinking,

thank goodness that is out of the way. It is a huge relief when Her

Majesty is in the carriage and on her way back. She is not in the

carriage yet, she is in the Robing Room. It has been very good timing.

That is the fifth Mace we have seen today, carried by the primary

Serjeant at Arms of the Palace of Westminster. And the 41st. Now, you

laid the Mace on the table, that people don't stay, do they? So what

does it mean? It is one of those things that only happens on State

Opening day. The House is now suspended, and doorkeepers will keep

guard of the Mace. But the House will not come back until later today

to discuss the Queen's Speech. And before you discuss the Queen's

Speech, there is the first and only reading of that outlaw Bill, which

is essentially guarantees rights to persons arrested. It dates back to

the 12th or 13th century, but it has a purpose? It does have a purpose.

The Speaker will use the opportunity to address members and talk about

the importance of security and rights of access and all those kinds

of things. It is the one statement of the year where he will reinforce

those messages. And the Commons will return to their business first

before that of the sovereign. But it doesn't ever get beyond the first

reading, so we made there for this cover what happens at the end. The

Lords do it as well. They maintain their own independence. They have a

bill on select vestry is. I only discovered what those were in March,

and the parish church of Berwick-upon-Tweed. A select vestry

is not a very posh vestry. A select vestry was a kind of parish council.

It is not beautiful or nicely carpeted. Michael, if you rush back

into the Lords, you would get a first reading of the select vestry.

We are getting a lot of nice pictures in the Commons. You can see

the Sergeant standing up, using the opportunity to talk to members. I

didn't. I was out of their pretty sharpish! Having a quick Lucozade

somewhere. It is a party date, really. The members may be going off

to drink parties or get together with their friends, bringing guests

in for lunch. It is a wonderful party atmosphere, the State Opening.

But for MPs, is it important, Lawrence? It provides a framework.

It is the one date in the calendar that every thing hinges off. It is

also a good social occasion. Many members will bring their partners or

family to Parliament for the day. The Serjeant at Arms used to be

military people. What was your root? It was not military. I used to be

the postmaster at Parliament. I was in charge of the postal service, and

I kind of hung around and did lots of jobs. But it was after the

anthrax attacks in the US through the mail that I got more into the

security side of things. I was sent to Washington to find out how to

find anthrax in the post. After developing a male security solution

for Parliament, I was asked to manage the police contract. Then I

became the assistant Serjeant at Arms and then in 2012, I became

Serjeant at Arms. I worked my way up over 18 years.

Well, we've been joined in the studio by our parliamentary

Susan, what did you make of today's announcements?

Isn't it extraordinary for a start that you have all the gold and

glitter and the royalty, and as Lawrence was saying, the political

year usually hinges off the Queen's Speech as well. But less so this

year. If you can talk about that being a sideshow, in a way it is,

because the political focus is so much on the referendum next month.

If it is a vote to leave, a great deal of this will go by the board

because a great deal of the government's attention will be taken

up with making that happen. Some of us were surprised to have a Queen's

Speech right now. We thought it might have come after the

referendum. I think what David Cameron has wanted to do is

something that will not fight on the horses, that can bring people

together and is not too controversial. Nothing to see here?

Exactly, business as usual. Do you think any of the bills are fairly

uncontroversial. My heart always leaps when I see a bus services

Bill(!). I will come back to you, Susan, because The Queen has taken

off the Imperial State Crown and the Parliamentary rope, and she's

quitting the two captains of the bodyguard, Lord Taylor of Holbeach

and Lord Gardiner of Kimble. And they are political figures. The

Chief Whip of the House of Lords is on the right and the deputy Chief

Whip on the left in the foreground in military uniform. They are like

you Lawrence, they were not at all military. Chris Grayling is making a

joke about the speech. He is president of the Council. And she is

now turning to Lady stole on the left. Chris Grayling looks a bit

underdressed. And next to him, the Lord Chancellor. This is a quite

different gathering to what we normally see, because The Queen

normally comes out of the Robing Room and chats to a line of people

and then goes down the staircase. Here, we have a milling around on

this landing. There are busts on this landing of every Prime Minister

who was a member of the House of Lords. The last one is Lord Hume,

Alec Douglas Hume. I can't help noticing that the Lord Chancellor

and the Lord President are both Brexiteers in the great debate that

is going on. Luckily, we don't know the views of the Earl Marshal or the

Lord Great Chamberlain. And she's going to disappear. She is waiting

for the Duke of Edinburgh, who is chatting with the chiefs of defence

staff, and they disappear into what we shall call the gold lift of

state. It is actually quite heavily lined with brass, but mainly would,

and the really reassuring thing is that it has a little Speaker and

when you get stuck in the lift and Black Rod has run out of jokes to

tell you on the way down, you can call for help. Susan, the actual

bills. Why don't you pick out one or two? First David Cameron has written

recently that he wants the next four years to be a period of social

transformation in Britain, maybe getting back to his roots before he

became Prime Minister, the hug a would-be thing, as it was

characterised in the press. There are a number of social bills. There

is the children and social worker Bill. That will make it easier for

children to become formally adopted and taken on by a family. There is

more regulation for social workers as well. There will be an education

bill. That has run into trouble already. It was something David

Cameron had mentioned at Prime Minister's Questions a few weeks

ago. He said, I can give you one preview of the Queen's Speech, and

it will be this bill to make all schools in England academies. That

then run into trouble. It was one of the faster U-turns. It was. We may

come to why that has happened and why they might want to avoid that.

What about this Bill of Rights? So far, what we have her disability.

There will be a great deal of consultation about it.

want very much, for the British courts to be supreme in comparison

with the European Court of Justice. Is something happening? Her Majesty

The Queen, accompanied by the world you can Edinburgh, has got back into

the diamond jubilee carriage. And it emerges into the rain, I'm afraid to

say, of old palace yard. She is quite dry in that carriage and it is

a condition, but I hope they turned up the heating inside. It is May, so

of course, it is freezing cold and reining.

Susan, you were talking about the Bill of Rights. Let's come on to

what is perhaps the centrepiece of this. We may have to wait, because

emerging straightaway is Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

He has been attending State Opening for the last three years, but there

was a long period when he didn't? Yes, he began in 2013. In 2012

during the diamond jubilee, The Queen announced that she was going

to hand more of the foreign travel over to Charles and more of the

general duties as well. This is what we are seeing. The Queen is never

going to abdicate, but we are going to see Charles take on more of the

duties. In five or six years' time, he may be the one giving the speech.

This is quite an arduous performance. It may be that Charles

takes over in the future while The Queen is still our monarch. It is a

fundamental role to the constitutional Head of State. It is

a key role, and one of the last ones she will give up, because it

undermines the most important thing to her -- it underlines the most

important thing to her. She has set the bar for future monarch is very

high. Tell us more about the politics, on

the Bill of Rights, will it be tricky? It can't be tricky at the

moment because there is so little detail. In the speech, in the

background to the speech we have heard from the Government they have

said that it will be up for discussion and there will be plenty

of discussions. The idea clearly is to bring in as many people to heal

some of those wounds that the referendum campaign may have

created. What I think is the centrepiece is prison reform,

Michael Gove is very committed, the Justice Secretary and Lord

Chancellor, to prison reform, a very different Justice Secretary and Lord

Chancellor to Chris Grayling. What does he want to do? At the stroke of

12, tell us at the stroke of 12. I will do it in time with the bongs.

He will be giving prisons more autonomy like with academy schools.

It's all very well giving autonomy but jails are very overcrowded and

you have to look at sentencing and funding as well.

We will pause there for a Royal Salute, for Prince Charles, he only

gets half of the national anthem. As the Crown departs. You are a

Conservative peer, Michael, you are at civil war in the Conservative

Party at the moment. You have a long political memory and mine is

reasonable, wasn't like this in the 1975 referendum, there are two

Conservative parties and if you don't come together on what David

Cameron wants to do presently than it is hard to see you coming

together after the referendum? I would call it a debate rather than a

civil war but I understand why you are turning it like that. One

Members going back to 1975, the Labour Party itself was torn apart

so there is nothing new in politics. There will undoubtedly be a very

important period after the referendum where everybody

reassesses where we are. How long... Another month, five or six weeks, it

is not pleasant within the Conservative Party? The opposition

is from within their own side. Wouldn't you say, the role of the

actual legal opposition was almost left out while the Conservatives

battle on. Indeed. I think we have seen that in the whole of this last

Parliamentary year. It has looked a lot like the opposition came from

the Lords, 60 defeats in the House of Lords, but in fact the Government

doesn't have to pay much attention to those House of Lords defeats

because even with the small majority you should be able to overturn them.

Some Lords amendments go through in the end and they get a few

victories. They do. There is compromise. Where there is a

sticking point and the Government didn't want to compromise our ones

where Conservative MPs have also have their doubts and wanted to go

along with what the Lords have said. 61 defeats. Around 60. 61 defeats in

the House of Lords. I could not possibly completely view on detail

this morning! Two defeats in the House of Commons which was a turn-up

for the books three actually. We are even now! That is unusual for a

majority Government. It is and other defeats were staved off for example

on the academies issue, the child migrants issue. That's because with

a tiny majority you are limited in what you can do. Now the Crown, just

back into the carriage. Placed there by the crown

jeweller. The final act. The Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State

make their way back to Buckingham Palace. In the Queen Alexandra State

coach. The coach men are on board. A tap of the reins and they will be on

their way. The important memory that carriages do not pay the congestion

charge in central London. Because they are, in that sense, very

fuel-efficient. Nonpolluting. I will put it to you because it is not my

opinion, Lord Dodds, but you are skating over this internal battle in

the Conservative Party. You wouldn't expect me to make it worse than it

is. Go on! This is an historic vote and we have never had a vote which

is as meaningful as this referendum vote. It's not surprising that

people take it very seriously with great passion and you would expect a

bit of argy-bargy. I would not say it has gone too far but it is doing

damage to the Conservative Party and there will be a difficult and hugely

important job of reconciliation afterwards to put the party back

together again. One of the advantage of it being in June is that it gives

us time before the next election and in party political terms that is

important. Lovely passing shot of the Commons. Lawrence, you are above

party, but you have seen some of these battles in the first year of

the Conservative Government? You could see which way the wind was

blowing. What was it like in the Commons at times? Very difficult.

Passions run high. You know, people have very deep-seated opinions about

certain things and believe they are right. But I think it's important

for officials and particularly people like the Serjeant at Arms and

the Speaker, to try to rise above that and be impartial and have

friends and colleagues on all sides of the Chamber, and most importantly

to be seen to be impartial and that is what I tried to do and it can be

a tight rope because people always point the finger and say, you are

giving privileges to one side or another. You are judged at the end

of the day on your actions rather than on what you say, and it's

really important that you tried to keep within the framework of the

rules, but you know, also allow the House to express itself. A lovely

note of unity. Another State Opening, will we still see them in a

hundred years best mark I think we will and we will continue to see

them and some of the pomp and circumstance may be reduced in 50 or

a hundred years. But they have brought bits back. We have blinged

it up as the Duke of Norfolk was saying. We are waiting for the

Michael Dobbs lecture on that. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very

much. I think we have successfully covered

and enjoyed the pomp and the politics, so my grateful

thanks to historian Kate Williams, the former Serjeant at Arms

of the House of Commons, Lawrence Ward, and the thriller

writer Lord Dobbs. Thank you too to our parliamentary

correspondent Susan Hulme and thank The Queen and other members

of the royal family are heading back to the Palace, the Commons have

returned to their Place and as far as I can see from the pictures

on the screen, the peers are trying as fast as they can to get out

of the House of Lords, where they've Probably going towards their

refreshments. Join us at 2.30 this afternoon live

on BBC Parliament for our coverage of the Queen's Speech debate

in the House of Commons, where the Prime Minister

will commend the propositions put forward in the Speech this morning

and we'll hear what the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn,

has to say in his first speech It will be Jeremy Corbyn's first

outing as his role as Leader of the Opposition. Join us on BBC

Parliament for that live debate at 2:30pm. Thank you for watching this

morning. I hope you have all enjoyed it. Every good afternoon to you. --

a very good afternoon.