Published: 11:57, 07 November 2023 | Updated: 12:10, 07 November 2023
The King opened Parliament on Tuesday for the first time as monarch with a return to the full pomp and ceremony of the occasion.
Charles donned the Imperial State Crown, his lengthy crimson Robe of State and Admiral of the Fleet Royal Naval dress uniform, having travelled in a carriage procession from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords in the Diamond State Coach.
Camilla, wearing the George IV State Diadem for the first time, chose to re-use her coronation gown for her first state opening as a Queen.
The King and Queen during the state opening of Parliament (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)Charles and Camilla, the then-Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, sitting by the late Queen as she delivered her Queen’s Speech during the state opening of Parliament in 2021 (Chris Jackson/PA)
It is the first state opening of Parliament by Charles as King, although he delivered the last Queen’s Speech of Elizabeth II’s reign in place of his mother last year.
Due to the late Queen’s long reign, it is the first King’s Speech since George VI opened Parliament in 1950.
The Yeoman of the Guard Ceremonial Search takes place. The Ceremonial Search represents the finding of gunpowder in the cellars of Parliament in the gunpowder plot of 1605 (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)Baroness Floella Benjamin and other members of the House of Lords await the start of proceedings in the House of Lords (Leon Neal/PA)Princess Antonia, Duchess of Wellington waits for the start of the state opening of Parliament (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)
Some 1,400 members of the armed forces were playing a part in the proceedings in the first full military ceremony for a state opening since before Covid.
Soldiers march along The Mall in London, ahead of the state opening of Parliament (James Manning/PA)Members of the armed forces on The Mall (James Manning/PA)Baroness Charlotte Owen chats to a colleague in the Lords (Leon Neal/PA)A member of the King’s Body Guards of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms arrives at a windy Palace of Westminster (Daniel Leal/PA)The King’s Guard march outside Buckingham Palace (James Manning/PA)A member of the King’s Guard (James Manning/PA)The chamber of the House of Lords fills up ahead of the King’s Speech (Leon Neal/PA)Charles and Camilla leave Buckingham Palace for the Palace of Westminster (James Manning/PA)
Some members of the public made their opposition to the monarchy clear in a demonstration outside the Palace of Westminster.
Anti-monarchy pressure group Republic protest outside the Palace of Westminster (Gareth Fuller/PA)The Imperial State Crown arrives at the Sovereign’s Entrance to the Palace of Westminster (Victoria Jones/PA)The Mace was carried in a horse-drawn carriage outside the Palace of Westminster (Daniel Leal/PA)Members of the Household Cavalry at the Norman Porch at the Palace of Westminster (Toby Melville/PA)The King and Queen arrive at the Sovereign’s Entrance to the Palace of Westminster (Victoria Jones/PA)The Princess Royal arriving at the Sovereign’s Entrance to the Palace of Westminster (Victoria Jones/PA)Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer walk through the Central Lobby at the Palace of Westminster ahead of the state opening of Parliament in the House of Lords (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
