Britons given glimpse of their future with Charles as king
- Prince Charles delivered the state opening of the UK Parliament for the first time
- Britain’s 96-year-old queen has pulled out of several public events in recent months
The pomp and pageantry of the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London traditionally takes longer than the speech itself.
But for nine short minutes on Tuesday, Britons were given a glimpse of their future without Queen Elizabeth as head of state.
Ill health and old age forced the 96-year-old monarch to withdraw from outlining her government’s legislative agenda for only the third time since her reign began in 1952.
Instead it fell to her eldest son Prince Charles, 73, to deputise, in the most important state engagement yet in his record-breaking time as her heir.
When his mother dies, he will be king and opening parliament for a new session will be one of his most important constitutional duties as head of state.
Other than the last-minute change of personnel, there was little to distinguish the centuries-old ceremony from previous ones in the putative “mother of all parliaments”.