King Charles Wears a Crown for the First Time Since Coronation at First State Opening Parliament of Reign

King Charles is performing one of his duties as monarch for the first time.

The king, 74, opened parliament for the first time in his reign on Tuesday at the ceremonial opening of parliament. The event, which has a tradition, marks the official start of the parliamentary year, which sets the agenda for the government session.

The event began with the participation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster accompanied by the Household Cavalry. They traveled in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, the same coach they used on the day of the coronation for the coronation ceremony. The carriage was commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne in 2012.

Princess Anne, in the role of Gold Stick in Waiting, also traveled in the procession in the state of Landau.

The royal regalia — including the Imperial State Crown, Great Sword of State and Cap of Maintenance — traveled in their own carriage, Queen Alexandra’s State Carriage.

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According to tradition, King Charles entered the Palace of Westminster through the Sovereign’s Entrance under the Victoria Tower, then proceeded to the Robing Room, where he donned the State Robe of Parliament and the Imperial State Crown. The monarch then took part in a procession in which there were heralds, great state officers and members of the royal household.

King Charles delivered the King’s Speech during the ceremony. The speech was written by the government and contains an outline of its policies and proposed laws for the new parliamentary session.

Since Queen Elizabeth was the monarch and gave the Queen’s Speech, this was the first speech by a King in over 70 years.

King Charles wore the Imperial Crown for the last time at his coronation on May 6. Although he was officially crowned with the St Edward’s Crown, which is only used to crown a new king or queen during a coronation ceremony, he exchanged it for the Imperial State Crown towards the end of the service.

The Imperial State Crown, which dates back to the 1937 coronation of King George VI, is made of gold and decorated with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls and four rubies.

The imperial state crown is more often used on ceremonial occasions. Before his coronation, he was last seen at Queen Elizabeth’s coffin during her funeral in September.

King Charles and Queen Camilla attend the State Opening of Parliament on November 7, 2023.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

During her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth would wear a headdress during the State Opening of Parliament every year until her later years, when she opted for a brighter tiara or one of her signature wide-brimmed hats. Since the crown weighs over 2 lbs, it’s understandable why the late monarch made the change.

Queen Elizabeth spoke about the challenge of reading a speech at the Opening of Parliament as she tried to balance a heavy headdress in a documentary Coronation: “You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to look up. Because if you did, your neck would break—it would fall off. So there are some drawbacks to crowns, but otherwise, pretty important stuff.”

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King Charles and Queen Camilla attend the State Opening of Parliament on November 7, 2023.

JUSTIN TALLIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Although this will be the first State Opening of Parliament during King Charles’ reign, he first attended the State Opening of Parliament in 1970 and has appeared at the event several times accompanied by his mother.

He memorably stepped in for Queen Elizabeth at the event in May 2022. Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen, who died in September 2022 at the age of 96, would miss the event due to “episodic movement problems”. Charles introduced his mother for the first time and read the Queen’s Speech.

During the 11-minute speech, which outlined the administration’s aims, then-Prince Charles used the oft-repeated phrase “Her Majesty’s Government” instead of “My Government”, which Queen Elizabeth would have used had she been giving the speech.

Prince William supported his father at the event, attending the State Opening of Parliament for the first time, and Camilla also attended the ceremony at the Houses of Parliament in London.

By letters patent, Queen Elizabeth transferred her royal duty of opening the new session of Parliament to her son and grandson, which enabled them to hold this function together. Both acted as advisers of state, and two advisers of state must carry out any of the monarch’s constitutional duties.

In 2022, the Imperial State Crown was placed prominently on the table between Charles and William for the ceremony. Since he was not a monarch at the time, Charles did not wear it.

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Prince William, 41, did not attend the State Opening of Parliament this year because he was in Singapore for the Earthshot Awards ceremony. The Prince of Wales launched the 2020 Earthshot Prize to promote impactful approaches to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, with plans to award the prizes by 2030.

King Charles and Queen Camilla recently returned from their royal tour of Kenya. The visit marked their first trip to a Commonwealth country since King Charles ascended the throne.

King Charles and Queen Camilla at the State Opening of Parliament on 7 November 2023.

KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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Source: HIS Education