Documents to download

Following the 2019 general election, the State Opening of Parliament on 19 December was held with “reduced ceremonial elements”.

The last time the state opening had featured reduced ceremonial elements was on 21 June 2017. It differed from normal state openings in a number of ways, including:

•       No horse-drawn carriages were used. Instead, the Queen and the Regalia of State were transported by cars.
•       The Queen wore a day dress and a hat, rather than the ceremonial robes.
•       There was a reduced royal procession.

The 2017 state opening marked the opening of the 2017–19 session and followed the general election held on 8 June 2017. It featured reduced ceremonial elements due to its timing. Prior to this, Erskine May states that the ceremonies between 1917 and 1919 and 1939 and 1948 also featured “less than the customary ceremony”, as did the state opening in March 1974.

This briefing outlines the traditional state opening ceremony, followed by a description of the state openings of 2017, March 1974 and 1939, setting out how the ceremonies in these years differed from the norm.


Documents to download

Related posts

  • House of Lords Appointments Commission: Role and powers

    The House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) vets nominations to the House and recommends non-party political members. While its advice is usually followed, it is not a statutory body and the prime minister can choose to disregard its advice. This briefing provides an overview of the role and powers of the commission and summarises recent debates concerning its reform.

    House of Lords Appointments Commission: Role and powers
  • House of Lords reform: Government policy and recent developments

    Labour’s manifesto committed the party to several House of Lords reforms ahead of a longer-term ambition to replace the House with an alternative second chamber. The Labour government has since introduced a bill to remove hereditary peers from the House’s membership as a first step in its reform programme. Further measures, for example around introducing a mandatory retirement age and a participation requirement, are expected to follow later in the parliament.

    House of Lords reform: Government policy and recent developments