Prince Charlesmade history on May 10 when he delivered the Queen’s speech at the State Opening of Parliament as Her Majesty stepped down due to ‘episodic mobility problems’. One thing that was noted during the ceremony was that Prince Charles wasn’t sitting on the Queen’s throne. Here’s why:
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The State Opening of Parliament
It is the tradition at the State Opening of Parliament that the current monarch - the Queen - give a speech announcing the upcoming agenda of Parliament. Since the Queen couldn’t attend this year, her son, Prince Charles stepped in.
To allow this, the Queen had to issue a legal document, Letters Patent, in order for Prince Charles to give the speech and to have her grandson, Prince William as her Counsellor of State.
If you watched the ceremony, you would have noticed a few changes to the event and there is a specific reason why it was adapted.
Prince Charles isn’t the monarch
The reason why Prince Charles was not allowed to sit on the Queen’s throne to give the speech is that he is not the monarch. Indeed, the chair in which Her Majesty sits is reserved for the current monarch only reported Ok! Magazine.
Instead, Prince Charles sat on the throne dedicated to the consort, which is an inch shorter than the one dedicated to the monarch. The other difference that could be seen was the Queen’s Imperial Crown.
Her Majesty hasn’t worn the Imperial Crown physically in quite some time but despite her absence, the Crown was still present. The Crown was placed on a cushion on a table next to Prince Charles. The speech was altered slightly due to the fact that Prince Charles is not the ruling monarch yet.
During the speech, Prince Charles referred to the government as ‘Her Majesty’s government’ instead of ‘my government’.
Read more:
⋙ Kate Middleton wasn’t at the State Opening of Parliament, this is why
⋙ The Queen has appointed these roles to certain Royal Family members for her Platinum Jubilee
⋙ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to attend the Queen’s Jubilee with their children
