Buckingham Palace makes it known that, in agreement with her doctors, the queen agreed “with reluctance” to renounce her participation in the event that marks the beginning of the parliamentary session: in 70 years of reign, she was absent only two times
A step back in the air for weeks, that of the Queen Elizabethforced tomorrow to renounce the State Opening of Parliament, the appointment that did not miss even last year just a few weeks after the farewell to the beloved Filippo. Without the long and white ritual dress, in civilian clothes, with a hat, the queen in 2021 wanted to be there anyway. Now the choice is dictated by mobility problems that the sovereign has been living for months now. More and more often by leaning on a stickalthough in the last face-to-face meeting a few weeks ago with the Swiss President and Madam, welcomed at Windsor Castle, he had shown the world that he could do it even without.
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Tomorrow, however, the queen will forfeit. It will not be there because the mobility problems persist, the opening ceremony of the Parliament is long and tiring. And of course, the long weekend of June 2-5 is on the horizon with the solemn celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee. A milestone that the United Kingdom has been preparing for two years and for which Her Majesty is expected. It will therefore be up to the Prince Charles – at the Queen’s request – read the Queen’s Speech tomorrow in Westminster.
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In reality it is the program plan of its prime minister, in this case Boris Johnson. And alongside Charles there will not be Camilla (as for years Philip next to the queen), but Prince William. In a certain sense, therefore for the first time at the State Opening of Parliament in Westminster we will see two generations in a direct line of succession to the queen. One next to the other. The queen will not be there but the message is clear: the future is guaranteed.
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Fun fact: only Carlo will wear his Admiral of the Fleet uniform, in short, a uniform of (almost) commander in chief. William, perhaps in order not to generate doubts about the non-interchangeable role with his father, the morning suit.
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The crown? It will travel as it did last year, by car direct to the Houses of Parliament a step away from Westminster Abbey. To then parade in front of Charles and William along the solemn rooms of the Parliament building, which now incorporates the rooms of the oldest London palace: the Palace of Westminster. And keep watch throughout the queen’s speech ceremony.
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Obviously, for this unprecedented dynamic of “representation” of the monarchy to materialize in this way, the sovereign thus had to dispose of patents with Letters.
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In light of the many forfeits of the sovereign who turned 96 years old last April, for months the subject of his participation in the opening of Parliament, was on the table of the Royal Household and the government at 10 Downing Street. So much so that among the scenarios it seems that the hypothesis of entrusting the reading of the queen’s speech if not to Charles to the vice premier, Dominic Raab, was also made.
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As always, the queen, even in an emergency, was able to find the most unexpected but also the most reassuring solution: Carlo accompanied by his son William.
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Since she became queen in 1952, Elizabeth II inaugurated all the sessions of Parliament with only two exceptions: that of 1959 and that of 1963. In both cases, her absence was due to the pregnancies (in 1959 she was expecting Prince Andrew, Duke of York; in 1963 instead Prince Edward).
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And even a year ago, despite those who thought she would have waited 5 years like Queen Victoria after the death of her consort Alberto, she did not give up inaugurating the Parliament. With fewer Lords and fewer deputies, a reduced royal procession in the Lords Chamber and no guests or diplomats. No golden horse-drawn chariot escorted by the Household Cavalry, but a solid Range Rover (homage to the beloved Philip who wanted it for his funeral in Windsor). No long white dress or ermine cloak, the so-called Robe of State (the dress of the institutional role that the queen plays), but a civilian dress with a hat. And the symbol of royal power, the solemn Imperial state crown arrived by car, lying on a pillow, to the Houses of Parliament.
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A year ago, the British Parliament had not solemnly opened by Her Majesty since 2019. So much time had passed since Elizabeth II’s last time in the temple of British politics with all (or almost) that pageantry, in short, that ceremoniality of the great solemn ceremonies of the British monarchy. Almost, because in December 2019 – like 11 May 2021 – they were “small-scale openings”. But if in that case the reason was that already in the previous October the queen had solemnly inaugurated the Parliament, and in December 2019 Christmas was approaching, then the reason was the pandemic.
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Now as London returns to post-pandemic normalcy, Elizabeth’s health is changing the real plans. Until a few months ago, the sovereign has always carried out her institutional commitments, despite her age. But, especially in the last year, concerns about her health have become more pressing. Last October, Elisabetta was hospitalized after having participated in as many as 19 consecutive official engagements, some of which had forced her to stand for hours. Well-informed sources – like reconstructed our correspondent from London, Luigi Ippolito – they report that the sovereign does not suffer from particular diseases, but does suffer from some back pain and she has mobility problems that have recently forced her to resort to a stick“But the trouble is, she continued to behave like a seventy-year-old when she was long past ninety.”
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May 9, 2022 (change May 9, 2022 | 22:54)
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