He is joined by british historian Kate Williams, lawrence ward, and house of cards writer and producer michael dobbs. This is an hour and 40 minutes. R. Brittain good morning in her 91st year, the queen will open the second session of these parliament and it is the 56th parliament of the United Kingdom. This morning we welcome viewers to cspan, our sister channel in the united states. I reckon it is about 5 30 in the morning on the eastern seaboard so if you have joined us, many thanks. It is of course a conservative government beginning its second year in office. With a very small majority in the comments. A government not without its problems as it faces the Forthcoming European Union Referendum Campaign. However, we are focused today on the british tradition. Well spend enjoying the the new plans to be avail. With me to help the journey along, im joined by the conservative year and more importantly, thriller writer, michael lord dobbs. Historian, professor Kate Williams of reading university. And the former sergeant at arms of the house of commons, lawrence ward. You retired from your post last autumn . Mr. Ward i was you was retirement, i went on to another job. The primein minister, he lives down the street he left down the street a short time ago. Here he comes. The doors of number 10 open and the Prime Minister, he has actually been a leader of the conservative party for 11 years now. The arrival ofen the leader of the opposition. He arrived on the embankment. Times have changed for him. Withid the state opening all its pageantry underlines the undemocratic nature of our society with an hereditary monarch and a hereditary house of lords. But he really made a very charming speech thing about himself as a relatively young whippersnapper, i am fully in favor of the country having leaders of a finer vintage. He said we are talking today about a highly respected individual who is 90. It just brews that you are never too late to take up a new career and learn something else. It will be quite an amazing day for germany corbyn. If i could turn to you, the 91st year of the queen. Ofmonarchy was a symbol continuity, the queen is that symbol. Prof. Williams this is a ceremony she has engaged in, and partly time when she was pregnant and when the government canceled it. She has been here every year that you possibly can be. Providing continuity right back 1852,n this was formed in pretty much every monarch has been here. I will come back to you about that. We were looking inside the chamber of the house of lords now. They are dressed, they do not wear it every day. This is a great myth. But of course this is the only day of the year that we wear the traditional uniform, unless we to marvelously put on the ropes. But we are all very people. Mr. Brittain there are 807 of you nowadays. A lot ordinary folks and the house of lords. Mr. Dobbs it is too big. Mr. Brittain they are briefly looking at the throne. Designedft, the chairs for Prince Charles and the duchess. That is the marshal, master of ceremonies today. ,e is talking to on the right archbishop of canterbury. On the left with the beard, the bishop of london. Thinker, youe might say, talking to lure the morning you can give me more names as they go along here. They are new and old. Mr. Brittain plenty of young, vibrant life. Mr. Dobbs more women in the house of commons do. As far as proportion. Going back to your earlier point, if we left the house of lords right now, we would cut our numbers back quite sharply because there are too many. It makes it very difficult for us to work properly, the facilities are not there to enable us to work properly. Mr. Brittain and the numbers are piling up. Retire,re starting to 25 peers retired. When is a stop . When does it stop . Mr. Dobbs it does not stop as long as they insist on putting first people in. To reduce the numbers it requires an omen of selfcontrol to stop jamming the place full of their friends. Mr. Brittain this is historically huge for the house of lords, isnt it, in terms of numbers . Have seen ams we cutback of hereditary replaced by political appointments. What we might see today is some sort of restriction on the peers. Tainly it seems it is 10 40 in the morning, as sergeant in arms, this im last year, what would you be doing . Mr. Ward probably with the speaker going to the business of the day. We would all be in our finery. Mr. Brittain when you get dressed . Mr. Ward 7 30 in the morning. It is a long day. It is the same uniform but there are additional elements to it. More laced. Is sewn onto the shoulders of the uniform at 7 30. It is sewn on so it does not slip up. But thatery long day by this time you are you feel as though he had done a days work. It has a party atmosphere. Up, itse peers addressed is the only day we get just appeared it is a little bit like a fancy dress party. As well as being a serious occasion. Mr. Brittain well come back to you all soon. Ladies, and ahe few moments well to the calvary in the open of the garden assembled ready to welcome the royal party to westminster. But what kind of modern message does all this ancient ritual convey . I spoke mr. Brittain the people vote, the parliament is elected, parliament proposes to make laws which the Government Party does not impose its will on the population, it does it in discussion. And it asks the queen of the representative of the whole mission to deliver to parliament description of what it proposes to do it they can be made accountable for. Naive,y think that is a or rose tinted view. It is an aspirational view of our democracy but that is how it works in practice. When one party wins an election, it does not ride roughshod over the rest of the population. Mr. Brittain the queen presided over her first opening of parliament in 1952 and she has attended all but two ceremonies since and that includes a scaleddown event in march, 1974 after the election of a minority labor government. No carriages then, but what mattered was the meeting of monarch, lord, and connor. Time,ay for the first this ceremony is being watched not only by those who are present in this chamber, but by many millions of my subjects. Peoples in other lands will also be able to witness this renewal of the life of parliament. I do think the british constitution, informally, has Something Special. One is straightforward democracy. A democracy in which the majority rule under certain constraints and theres protection for minorities. But also we preserve the notion that there is a person, that our loyalty is not to an idea committed to a person. We have seen and sony contacts were loyalty to an idea and go badly wrong. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever the provinces she meet at her coronation echo through our life. These responsible these mean everything to her, it is clear. She has laid out her life for the country in order to play a role that we desperately need. Mr. Brittain kate, one of the things that sam wells told me was that the queen exercises her authority not by opposing her presenting and articulating the voice of the people. Like quite ae ways convoluted description. Do you believe that . She enables the democracy to happen by being this figure at the top . Prof. Williams it is vital for the queen that she is politically neutral. She had to remain out of politics. Like many monarchs before, she has stayed out of politics and therefore enabled a government to continue and government to do what it wishes without her meddling. Down now is coming the regalia procession of the crown. And the sword of state. That is the state car , with the batteries of arms in Buckingham Palace. Five macys this morning. What you were the sergeant at arms, were you . Mr. Ward i was. Thinks what really struck me on state opening day was my Sight Distance was not good and i should wear glasses. Crown, themember the glistening of the diamonds in the crown from all that way back in the house of commons. When it catches the light it really does catch it. It is already there. It is being delivered in the arm guard on the tower. Mr. Brittain but it is in the carriage now. Way with coach on its the forces what is a sergeant at arms . What is the day job . Mr. Ward the day job is being responsible for security and access to the house of commons and it is working directly with the speaker of the house of commons to make sure the public can get in and there are more and there are more than a million visitors a year. And that the function of parliament can continue. It is a difficult balancing act allowing access for the public. We are also keeping Member States of the house can continue. Mr. Brittain this is probably not the kind of thing i should mention, but it is well known that one of your thrillers is about the state opening. And it does not go according to plan. They normally go exceedingly to plan. Pageboy did faint which did not happen before. You can see the tremor of fear that was going through everybody, what do we do with him now . The duchess of cambridge came to the rescue and indicated that somebody should do something. He will be living out mr. Brittain your book mr. Dobbs yes, the lords day, lawrence was responsible for security. Security is an extreme exceedingly difficult problem for the palace of westminster. Ten to fifteen years ago, the security in my view was kind of the joke that needed review. It has been reviewed. But i set a book in the old Security System where the state opening was held hostage. Everybody in that room, you will see. You got the monarchy, the government, the opposition, the lords, the ambassadors, the judges, everybody who matters. Mr. Brittain the whole british establishment in one room. Mr. Dobbs in those days we really needed to take rather more care of that security then sending around a few guards with pikes to have a look around to see if there was gunpowder underneath. Which is pretty bad. Mr. Brittain there they are, that is where the action of your book takes place, the house of lords. Mr. Dobbs it is not a bad little house to have to work in. Mr. Brittain you said you cant find offices for the mall, is that right . Mr. Dobbs the chamber is our main office. That is the day job, basically. Mr. Brittain there is the diplomatic corps, there. They are sitting behind the bishops. And, go on, tell us. You are interested in power and the exercise of power. And frankitain underwood in the u. S. , they are interested in power. They arent interested in the content of the queens speech, what they want is the power. Were not of course, talking about a documentary here. We are talking about a drama series, there is a bit of a difference. The Prime Minister in italy was recently photographed going to the bookshop and rome and buying a copy of house of cards, and i wanted to write to him that this was a piece of entertainment. Mr. Brittain when you in the british parliament, did you feel is more accurate than you expected, or perhaps less . Mr. Dobbs i do occasionally get the idea that there are plenty of people in parliament and elsewhere who are auditioning seriously furiously for parts in the next series. What drama does as it does remind you we are looking at the functions of power, and the policies. At the end of the day, it comes down to people and personalities. We will be looking at a queens speech today which will set up the governments program. We know that program will be interfered with, and affected, perhaps even undermined by the way that after the queens speech, different personalities will lock horns, and disagree and move the agenda in a different direction. Mr. Brittain kate, you mentioned briefly that although this queen has attended all but two opening the parliament, only one which is a nonstate opening in 1963. But, Queen Victoria, a slightly shorter range, but pretty long, she did rather get outofstate opening. Prof. Williams 1852 was the first one. And albert died and 1862, 10 years later, so she declined to attend between 1962 and 1965, and then she can seven times between 1865 enter death in 1901. She was a very infrequent attender, not like our own monarch. And it was open there by basically a constitution. Mr. Brittain the lord chancellor ready speech. Did that damage the image of the monarchy . Prof. Williams certainly the idea that she was staying away because our had died. She was in mourning. It was a balance between playing the mourning wife and the costs who shall rule that demand that a monarch is there. It did create a surge of republicanism when the story was and see not just at the state opening but also in general. It was vital for her to attend, and she simply didnt do so. At the end of her life, it was her health. She was not in the same health as our own monarch. Certainly, i think it wasnt her greatest decision not to attend. Mr. Brittain another look at the regalia procession and the Queen Alexandra state coach. There is a regalia escort and is commanded by tom horton who rides. 21 years of age, that is quite a veteran of these parades. This regalia possession is, i think, pretty close now to the palace of westminster. It is coming along the side of Parliament Square. You can see the union jacks on the right. They are lining Parliament Square. There is a new crossing, it makes it quite easy to cross from the pavement onto Parliament Square itself which previously was rather difficult. Also the pavement has been considerably widened in front of what is actually new palace yard on the left. You are just seeing it a green. That is your end of the building, lawrence. Mr. Ward it is, indeed. Youll see some of the fallout usually on the road has been removed to allow the carriages to go through. The preparations for this started weeks ago. There would have been rehearsals and the things that 4 00 in the morning or the weekend. So that Everybody Knows exactly what theyre doing. It looks like a welloiled machine. But Little Things happen around the edges of the arent planned for. Mr. Brittain sir abbey on the right, then lined up, the guard, the First Battalion of the irish guards. The right of which to the two guards. They will present arms is the crown goes by. Any second now, they will turn left towards victoria tower. When it arrives at the sovereign staircase, there is a kind of juggling act to get the crown out of the carriage. An attempt that no one drops it and the right person ends up with the crown at the end of the procedure that started with it. Amazingly, the person of first hands the crown is the person crown atup with the the end of the process. Talking of crowns, Queen Victoria didnt wear the crown much, did she . Prof. Williams our imperial crown right from 1937, so victoria had a different version. Mr. Brittain it was a small, dinky one . Prof. Williams dinky is the word, it was a dinky crown. This one this is a full kilogram of stuff. She found it uncomfortable, and didnt wear it. She didnt like the wearing of the robes, or the pomp, and it right and giving her jubilees. Otherwise she wouldnt look as a, they felt. She was rather lowkey in the pomp. But this monarch does indeed. Mr. Brittain the bath master and the other water man waiting to receive the crown. The crown jeweler has taken the crown from the controller of the lord chamberlain. He is now actually getting out of the carriage. Master, he appears to be wearing his barge masters mack. And from sir andrew ford to the current jeweler, and back to sir andrew ford. They have done this highly delicate path to parcel. I must say, i was lucky enough to go to the tower of london earlier this year. Although it looked absolutely splendid on the television, nothing beats seeing it in real life in the tower of london. Because it is so astonishingly sparkly. Prof. Williams astonishingly sparkly and of course, looking its most sparkly at the moment. There are some great stones in there. Mr. Brittain the crown itself is guided by two of the honorable corps of gentlemen of arms. Bringing up the rear, the two sergeants of arms from Buckingham Palace. Sorry, kate. Prof. Williams so, the crown as the black prince is ruby in it, a statement with edward the confessors ring. What it really symbolizes is it reminds us that the crown that the queen wears after she is crowned, the only time she wears this is at the state opening and when she is crowned with it. Embodies monarchy and constitution. Mr. Brittain there arent many monarchies left, but they are not slightly reluctant crownwearers, are they . Prof. Williams i think we are the most enthusiastic crown wearers of all. Other monarchies are much more lowkey in continental europe, holland, and in norway. But our crown, particularly because we have so many great stones that date back to the 13th century, they are these great historic symbols. Mr. Brittain i want to ask you a question myself, if i may. One thing i never quite understood what is the cap of maintenance . No one seems to be able to tell me what it is for, where it comes from . We know why it is there, but come back, while kate reassesses her thoughts, we will watch sir andrew ford, carrying the crown actually on its bigger cushion. Much more glitzy. Up to the royal gallery, and the staircase lined by the brilliantly named Staircase Party of the household cavalry, socalled because theyre on the staircase. And here it is, the imperial state crown. And he will deliver that crown to the lord great chamberlain, the sir marquis of chumley. At that point, the guard of honor changes to two yeomen of the guard. Not be theaters of the tower. Not beefeaters of the tower, theyre different, actually. And, the lord great chamberlain has successfully taken delivery of the crown. And you will see that in the row gallery royal gallery, everybody has stood for the arrival of the crown. And behind the crown will indeed be the cap of maintenance and the sort of state. They go into their positions waiting to be carried in the procession. You just have saw, carried by Lieutenant General michael vernon, secretary of the transfer. In the sort of state carried by sir kevin donahue. Ok kate, time for a cap of maintenance explanation. Prof. Williams it has always been there, it is a keeper of the regalia which we see mainly, and only, in the state opening of parliament. It doesnt get out and many other times. It is essentially a traditional part. Once we start questioning what of the monarchy, they might all seem a bit odd. There is a suggestion that the crown was ever not available the cap mr. Brittain would we . I thought it was a present from the pope, and the one we display was in memory of that displayed by henry viii because he received it from the pope for good work. It rather fell out between henry viii later on. The pope does worry cap of maintenance of some kind. Prof. Williams he does. Mr. Brittain you never know when you will need a cap of maintenance, and it is good to have one on hand. [laughter] lawrence, you know perfectly well, dont you, the rabble end of the building, philosophy building, that is a load of mumbojumbo. Mr. Ward i think everyone gets caught up in the occasion. It is the day when the spotlight is on parliament. It is the day when everyone wears their finery. As michael was saying, there is a party feel about the place. Mr. Brittain they do like a ceremony. Mr. Ward yeah, it does. There is nothing members like more than walking up to the house of lords and being a little bit noisy and a little bit kind of disruptive because the lords are very, very well behaved. Is very peaceful and quiet when they arrive. They like to just flex their muscles, saying we have arrived here. They want to be noticed. That is part of the function. Mr. Brittain later on, you lead the procession together with the speaker. A lot of people are hovering around, trying to get good places in the house of lords to hear the speech. No doubt to their constituents. Mr. Ward yeah. It is one of the most contentious elements. Mr. Brittain oh, is it . Mr. Ward many are the chambers for prayers, so it is their right to then follow the procession out. Some members decide not to attend. Then they try to leap in to the convoy as it is on its way out. Mr. Brittain you are in charge of the doorkeepers. Be a bit more bossy. Mr. Ward there were several conversations over the years about how to corral that train of people going up. One of the ideas was to have a rope so members couldnt jump in. Mr. Brittain thats what you need, you need roping off. Her majesty the queen accompanied by the duke of edinburgh in the uniform of a lord high admiral of the great britain. I say a lord high admiral, but there is only one. And you are looking at him. Man to he is the only wear this. They set off from Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee carriage. A stunning piece of work. It took eights years to build, and i suppose we are in the world a bit short of carriage builders these days. This is built by a real enthusiast, an australian originally. He worked a long time in britain, and this really was very much his lifes work. Although it did take a very long time to build and was extremely expensive, by the end he had to mortgage his house to pay for it. The carriage is drawn by, what everyone tells me are called six grays, i think they are white, but anyway six grays. They have lovely names. Storm, coachman, claudia, meg, and tyrone. It is foggy in the picture and i suspect this is because the rain is now quite heavy outside. Kate, you were right quite late, was it raining . Prof. Williams it is pretty much british weather outside, fog and a bit of rain. I think we are going to have some rather heavy showers. Mr. Brittain edward viii had only one state opening. Prof. Williams that is correct, we didnt have him for very long. Not much later, he abdicated. Mr. Brittain it was raining so much they had to use the cars. The lord great chamberlain picks up the crown once he has heard the queen has left Buckingham Palace. And he is going to take that into the queens robing room. It is an astonishing office the lord great chamberlain, we can date it back to the 12th century. The lord great chamberlain acting in the reign of elizabeth the second, because the family does it every alternative reign. They did do rather badly in edward the viiis reighn. They thought, oh dear, that was it after 11 months, but they had done better since. They had a very long reign since 1952. The next family to inherit is actually the carrington family. The conservative peer, age 97 now. Whether he does the duty himself, i dont think, maybe. But his son mr. Dobbs he might still have quite a wait. This queen seems to be in now of course, it is one of the , i dont want to say nonsense is of the constitution, but it works. If it works, why do we bother looking for other alternatives . Mr. Brittain until 1965, the lord great chamberlain was an actual executive control. It took daytoday part in the management of it. That is when he gave power to the sergeant at arms. That would be quite right, it did change. That is what makes the sergeant at arms role quite powerful. And it is a huge amount of responsibility. The buck stops with those roles. Mr. Brittain the lord great chamberlain now looks after the parts of the palace. Can you tell us all the royal bits of the palace . The remaining bits of the palace . Prof. Williams it is of course his key role. It is a vital role which he does report to her majesty on. She is the director manager. Mr. Brittain most of what we see today is the royal bits of the palace. The staircase, he royal gallery, the robing room itself. You have to be very diplomatic with each other. Mr. Ward many stakeholders. Mr. Brittain i imagine the lord chamberlain saying he has to prof. Williams the key thing, is that the queen only comes on invitation. So much of this ceremony is to show that things have changed so much since the civil war, and the queen comes by invitation and is only allowed in by invitation when the parliament which is to allow her. Therefore, underlying is how much of a Constitutional Monarchy here. Mr. Brittain this is the procession of the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall. And they are in the irish state coach. He is wearing the uniform of an admiral of the fleet. And they are in the irish coach. It is being pulled by their horses. Their horses, cinderella, and bermuda. Are they black, or brown . They look very gorgeous, then you have two horses. The coachman you see there is wearing his wet weather gear. And the outriders getting off the back of the coach, they are tricky things to break. Break as income to a stop, and that is why the sand is there. They have a sharp turn, and then they have to break right at the right place. Royalhotness her highness the duchess of cornwall images from the irish state coach. The sash she is wearing is of the dame commander of the victorian order. An order of chivalry that is in the personal gift. Theres the marshal, carrying his baton, and Prince Charles, duke of cornwall, earl of chester, earl of kerrick, baron of renfrew, lord of the isles, and great steward of scotland. His sash is the green sash of the order of the thistle. The other marshal, the duke of norfolk, will conduct the royal party up the staircase, lined not only by the household calvary, but the herald, and kings of arms with their white staves of office. The marshal this year is not wearing his dukes robe. Absenceaken a leave of from the house of lords for a year or two. But he tells me he was fully intending to get back into the house of lords, and will be taking the oldest of allegiance oath of allegiance before long. Maybe next state opening he will be wearing his dukes robe. It is such a magnificent uniform, it is lovely to see it. Together with the lord great chamberlain, sit right in house of lords, regardless of the rest of the reforms. Prof. Williams it is not traditional we see the heir to the throne come to the state opening. He first came in 2013. Mr. Brittain the lord speaker, on her final state opening, she announced a short while ago should only do one term of office and in fact nominations close tomorrow for those who want to be lord speaker. Decideds i havent yet to throw my hat into the ring. Mr. Brittain you are not neutral enough, that is your trouble. Now, the lord high chancellor of great britain. Likely to get quite a lot of bills regarding his department. He is the 220th lord chancellor. In the procession this morning, the clerk of the crown, the deputy clerk of the crown, an assistant sergeant at arms. And amy reese, who is lord chancellors private secretary and most importantly, because he is carrying the speech, the lord chancellors purse bearer. It is an indoor miss purse, and it is fair to say she is not enormous herself. She is really quite tiny. This is the scene. You can see the seating all laid out for troop of the color next month. It should be quite something, celebrating the queens 90th birthday. And this is the procession of the queen and the duke of edinburgh as they make their way to westminster. Mr. Brittain you can hear a tiny bit of a fanfare in the farthest there. Meanwhile, and of the part of the royal house of lords you can see it lined by the guard. This is the bit of the lord chancellors procession is nothing more to do for the moment. So they are walking back from whence they came a few moments ago. At this moment, would you watching it all on the telly . Mr. Ward catching glimpses around the place. Mr. Brittain coming to collect the cap of maintenance, and the sword of state, is field marshal and the later of the house of lords. They had underlings bring the cap and the sword from Buckingham Palace, but from now on they will be responsible for them. And they are standing alongside the sword and the cap ready to receive them later on. On this rather gray day, this procession makes its way to westminster. The funny thing is, one thing everyone thought when the state opening move to may is that it would be lovely sunny days and before the too hot in their uniforms. 2014 was raining, and here we go again. They dont stand up to much rain, do they not . Mr. Ward they dont, and they are incredibly hot. The house of lords, because there are so many people crammed into it, it gets very hot indeed. Mr. Brittain now, this is the Princes Chamber which is never been shown on the lot coverage before. This the first time they have shown the Princes Chamber. And these are the gentleman at arms. The house of lords is beyond that wall on the right. There standing there because theyre the closest to guard to the sovereign. Guard,est garden, some jealousy there. And the captain of the gentleman at arms is the government chief of the house of lords. He does get to wear a fantastic uniform today. And that standard, as you can see in the middle of your screen, will be lowered with an almighty sort of raleighesque flourish as the procession comes through. And the queens procession has made it to the septar in the Diamond Jubilee coach. As coachs go, it is the modern. Airconditioning, electric windows. But one back into more history, there is a sovereign escort here of the household cavalry. The coachman, mr. S kemp and mcgregor. Still magnificent, isnt it . Prof. Williams it is magnificent, this pomp and ceremony. We will never see any kind of ceremony like this unless it is a coronation. This is the moment that we will see our monarchy engage in apart from coronation. It is Something Special that goes back. The ceremony itself was way back to the 17th century. People are watching saying what are all these uniforms . When it symbolizes above all is that it is a Constitutional Monarchy. Queenittain victoria did not turn up. They got a bit lazy and hopeless and badly organized. Then they looked at it, properly sat down. Were ailliams they stickler for detail, and because also she wasnt very interested in royal regalia, she was more interested in the details of what the monarch did. He was concerned that the monarchy was losing that and it had to be reinvigorated. It was crucial for him. It is thanks to him that we have the ceremony we have today. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] i think we should stick with those pictures as the carriage heads through into the sovereign entrance. If we could go back and see those, that would be lovely. Because we are going to see a bit of a change this year. Carrying not carrying, drawing the carriage and waiting for the queen. All will be revealed a very shortly because although the marshal acknowledges the queen, she goes by the sovereign staircase, and this is where the great lift of state is going to come into play this year. The queen arrives actually when she steps out, the union jack will be replaced by the sovereign standard. This year, the norman staircase, as i think many people would sympathize, way, way too much for queen and Prince Philip. Who are, after all, the queen and her 91st year, Prince Philip is 95 next year. No, in june. Lift, and it comes out just to the left of your screen as youre looking now. And actually i discovered, it is one of the royal parts of westminster. Prof. Williams i think many of us are surprised that the queen hasnt had to use a lift before and are impressed that she has been using the stairs are so long. Mr. Brittain it is absolutely amazing. Prof. Williams it is not easy to go up and down especially when wearing such heavy regalia. Mr. Brittain i tried this left a couple of days ago, it takes 15 seconds from the moment you press the right button. Prof. Williams you have done your research. Mr. Brittain very exacting research, from 15 seconds from pressing the button to the doors opening at this level. But the time of the lift is only about six or seven seconds. Prof. Williams attention to detail. Mr. Brittain but the thing i should not be noting here is it is not noted for its reliability. They have successfully emerged from the lift followed by the queen and Prince Philip. I think they are all smiling because it went well. Lawrence, youre going to say. Mr. Ward there is some notoriety in the lift. A couple years ago, the queen and Prince Philip went in to get down, but somebody above pressed the call on the lift so the lift went up instead of going down. When it opened, there were two cleaners waiting to get in. You can imagine the shock when the doors opened and there was the queen and the duke of edinburgh. But they found it very amusing. Mr. Brittain it worked this morning, and that is the main thing. Because the queen actually does come to the palace. Mr. Ward probably a couple of times a year. Mr. Brittain as much as that . What for . Mr. Ward i last met her when she wanted to look at her new window. Mr. Brittain there are the two sergeant at arms from Buckingham Palace. Seen theve not sergeant at arms. In she has held receptions the royal gallery. Mr. Ward and met staff, once for the state opening and for another event. Mr. Brittain and they are quite different events. She is informal, liking it. That window was subscribed for all members of parliament and the house of lords. It was a very personal gift from us to her majesty. Mr. Brittain the procession has arrived in the house of lords. And they are now in the royal gallery. The heralds are facing the robing room, the queen is in the robing room, it takes about nine minutes or so to put on the robe and of the imperial state ground. In its present form it does they from around 1902. The man charged with organizing everything today is the duke of norfolk. I caught up with him a few days ago. You have the job of marshall since 43. We lost it again in 1485, and for the whole of the 16th century we regained it and lost again. But it is been hereditary in my family since 1692, and have held it ever sense then. Mr. Brittain is the pay good . No come it is all for love of queen and country. There is absolutely no pay, and indeed things like the uniform cost quite a lot of money. Mr. Brittain the marshal organizes great state occasions. Overseeing hundred or so yeoman, page boys, and others. Until the early years of this century, one of the duties involved walking backwards in front of the queen. It evolves, we stopped walking backwards. It was frustrating i just mastered the art of walking backwards by remembering the carpet pattern. That is how you do it and look pretty stupid. I just mastered it when we decided to get away with it. But i dont think that will come back. Mr. Brittain however, rehearsal and timing are key. In 2015, the queen arrived at Parliament Rather earlier than expected. Were kepteant they waiting while the comments finished prayers. I was thinking oh my god, what is going to happen . But i think he had to wait for about a minute and a quarter. So, Little Things do go wrong, but we try and make sure that we improvise and keep the show going. Just imagine the moment, the trumpets, fanfare, the queen is ready to come out to the robing room, what do you do at that point, and what are you thinking about . I am thinking about all the things that are going to happen. I am hoping that we are not early, im hoping the prayers we finished in the commons. Im hoping that everybody is going to end up in the right place, on the throne, and house of lords. I am hoping the lord chancellor will deliver the speech ok. And im hoping that after the speeches over that everyone goes to the right door. Mr. Brittain do you get nervous . Definitely. I am terribly keen, as is everybody, that it goes well and goes according to plan. Ceremonial and pageantry is something that we do very well in this country. We are known the world over for this. I think tourism is our second or third biggest industry. It is part of british life. And we all wanted to go right. Andcertainly quite nervous quite relieved when it is all over. Mr. Brittain we have all that to come. They were kept out of the couple of times during her tenure, what you have against him . Mr. Ward he is known for being a bit erratic in his timing. ,r. Brittain your successor lawrence, lays the mace. Mr. Ward he did that very well. Mr. Brittain hes really looking forward to that today. Luz the uniform. He formally was in charge of vip visits to the military of justice. Early, but after the queen dispatches him. Mr. Ward i am trying to be diplomatic. It is ironic, if you test few weeks ago he was late for a marching of the troops in the principal doorkeeper said where is he . And we saw him from a distance. Just a few weeks later, he was early for banging on the door of the commons. And on that occasion, they said he was on his way already. This was during the prayers. I said, get him to wait. I think he was signaled early. Someone in house of lords, i wont be telling you who, was getting impatient. They signaled to go to the commons and we were still in the middle of prayers. We had to ask him to slow down. Mr. Brittain it is said that the queen doesnt like sitting on the throne for that time waiting for the commons to turn up. Anything she can do to speed up the process c will. She will. It ended up being far longer. Kate, the marshall said tourism is very important and is lovely for tourists. But there has to be something more to the monarchy if it is to last. Prof. Williams a lot of tourists dont know a lot about the state opening of parliament. Most come just to watch and see the hardcore ceremonial fans. Mr. Brittain we have our viewers today in the united states. Prof. Williams yes, but what this is about is not about tourism, it is about underlining the fact that the monarch is the guest of the house of parliament. It is constitutional monarch, she is not there to interfere or two meddle. She is the guest. That is above all. She serves at their discretion. What youre supposed to say is not just pomp, but to underline that this is the most important thing the monarch does presides over the constitutional system. It is a crucial thing. Mr. Brittain it is what she does is head of state, isnt it . Prof. Williams it is much more important than the royal wedding. This is the key ceremony. It might not be seen as the most dramatic or exciting, but this is the key moment underlines the difference between state and monarch. , you havein michael to take your seat quite early. It wouldve been the nearly an hour by now. Mr. Dobbs you dont get dedicated seats. There is a bit of a bum fight. The earlier you get there, the better seat that you can claim. I remember a couple of years ago arriving quite late because i was so wrapped up watching other parts of the ceremony. I arrived late and found it extremely difficult to find a seat. Mr. Brittain the lord great shamblin has returned from the robing room. Mr. Brittain it is 11 27, approximately. 11 28. We hope the commons has said their prayers. Here is this magnificent procession, passing through the royal gallery. Essentially, it is a sort of medieval court. Prof. Williams it does look like that. Mr. Brittain even the people there. Prof. Williams the most important families, and is a moment in which the queen, herself, says she spent a lot of time practicing. She would have to walk throughout this phalanx of people with a crown on her head. Like many of our royal ceremonies, this is just how far back the monarchy goes. Mr. Brittain lets just enjoy it as it passes by. The pages back there, augustine, stanhope, lackland, and the son of the assistant private secretary to the queen. The soul of state reaches the Princes Chamber. We have never seen this before. You see their the standard of arms lowered to the floor in acknowledgment of the sovereign. Then you have three pages, and one seems to dropped out already. He didnt faint on parade, but something happened. In the house of lords, everyone rises. Lady carrying the cap of maintenance, she is the leader of the house of lords, she backs into her position. Kate, she may not be using the stairs, but this queen is wearing the crown. Victorialiams yes, couldnt even get up the stairs. She just stayed her carriage. Prof. Williams she is our longest reigning monarch, and here she is doing the role youd expect a 40yearold to be doing, quite brilliantly. Mr. Brittain i think she has given the lord great shamblin the nod, he raises his rod, and is he on the good time . Mr. Ward yeah, he is a good friend of mine and he works really hard to get everything right. Even with his eyesight, which is very acute, he couldnt see that one from that distance. There are some lights that got want to indicate it is time to set off. Mr. Brittain some new technology, and some old. Going through the members lobby. What a surprise to get a good place. And he approaches the door of the house. Perfect. Who says that . Mr. Ward that would be the sergeant. Mr. Brittain you did that last year . Mr. Ward yes. Mr. Brittain and that is your successor. Mr. Speaker, the queen commands this honorable house to attend her majesty immediately in the house of peers. Hands off the bbc. Mr. Brittain absolutely no comment from anyone in the studio. Lord skinner not lord skinner, but one day he will be, 84yearsold. His contributing role to the state opening, he will now ceremoniously sit the whole thing out. The clerk of the house comes now, and the Prime Minister alongside Jeremy Corbyn. And in his first state opening, what were you feeling on your first opening, lawrence . Mr. Ward i was hoping i was in step, i was hoping i would not mess up in any way or to over. Over. P mr. Brittain behind him, his secretary. Mr. Ward when you get to the lords, one of the doorkeepers walks backwards. Mr. Brittain walks backwards . Mr. Ward yes, because the mace cannot be in the house of lords at the same time as the queen. Mr. Brittain we all wondered what the Prime Minister and Jeremy Corbyn would say. Theyre not saying very much. I wouldnt be surprised if Jeremy Corbyn finds it a bit surprising to find himself at a state opening in this whole quite extraordinary royal engagement. And here they all come, being quite rabble like. Mr. Ward yes and deliberately so. Mr. Brittain do people still dressup a bit . Mr. Ward some do, some wear hats. As michael was saying, it is a Party Occasion for both houses. The house of lords has been reconfigured for this day. It is not as it will be in a few hours after it will be put back together again. Some benches are moved, some taken out so we can pack as many people into the house of lords as possible. Mr. Brittain i thought there was actually less room and they made more room for peers. Mr. Ward that is one of the difficult things. All four official should arrive in line. But there is not room through the doorway comes with a some jockeying. Mr. Brittain the speaker of the house, the sergeant at arms, and the clerk of the house of commons. They take their positions at the front, and the Party Leaders and cabinet members and shadow cabinet members and other mps are behind them. The marshall now is looking not at the queen but towards what is called the bar of the house to see if he can get as many mps as possible. He signals to the lord chancellor to deliver the speech. You can to the gallery is packed on either side. Absolutely full to the last inch. Queen elizabeth ii my lords and members of the house of commons. My government will use the opportunity of a strengthening economy to deliver security for working people, to increase life chances for the most disadvantaged, and to strengthen national defences. My ministers will continue to bring the public finances under control, so that britain lives within its means, and to move to a higher wage and lower welfare economy where work is rewarded. To support the economic recovery, and to create jobs and more apprenticeships, legislation will be introduced to ensure britain has the infrastructure that businesses need to grow. Measures will be brought forward to create the right for every household to access high speed broadband. Legislation will be introduced to improve britains competitiveness and make the United Kingdom a world leader in the digital economy. My ministers will ensure the United Kingdom is at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous and electric vehicles. To spread economic prosperity, my government will continue to support the development of a northern powerhouse. In england, further powers will be devolved to directly elected mayors, including powers governing local bus services. Legislation will also allow local authorities to retain business rates, giving them more freedom to invest in local communities. My government will support aspiration and promote Home Ownership through its commitment to build a million new homes. Following last weeks anticorruption summit in london, legislation will be introduced to tackle corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. My government will continue work to deliver nhs services over seven days of the week in england. Legislation will be introduced to ensure that overseas visitors pay for the Health Treatment they receive at public expense. New legislation will be introduced to tackle some of the deepest social problems in society, and improve life chances. A bill will be introduced to ensure that children can be adopted by new families without delay, improve the standard of social work and opportunities for young people in care in england. To tackle poverty and the causes of deprivation, including family instability, addiction, and debt, my government will introduce new indicators for measuring life chances. Legislation will be introduced to establish a soft drinks industry levy to help tackle childhood obesity. Measures will be introduced to help the lowestincome families save, through a new help to save scheme, and to create a lifetime isa to help young people save for the longterm. My government will continue to reform Public Services so they help the hardesttoreach. A bill will be brought forward to lay foundations for Educational Excellence in all schools, giving every child the best start in life. There will also be a fairer balance between schools, through the National Funding formula. To ensure that more people have the opportunity to further their education, legislation will be introduced to support the establishment of new universities and to promote choice and competition across the Higher Education sector. My government will legislate to reform prisons and courts to give individuals a second chance. Prison governors will be given unprecedented freedom and they will be able to ensure prisoners receive better education. Old and inefficient prisons will be closed and new institutions built where prisoners can be put more effectively to work. Action will also be taken to ensure Better Mental Health provision for individuals in the criminal justice system. My government will continue to work to bring communities together and strengthen society. Legislation will be introduced to prevent radicalisation, tackle extremism in all its forms, and promote community integration. National Citizen Service will be placed on a permanent statutory footing. My government will continue to safeguard national security. My ministers will invest in britains armed forces, honouring the military covenant and meeting the nato commitment to spend 2 of National Income on defense. They will also act to secure the longterm future of britains nuclear deterrent. My government will continue to play a leading role in world affairs, using its Global Presence to tackle Climate Change and address Major International security, economic, and humanitarian challenges. My government will continue to work to resolve the conflict in ukraine. It will play a leading role in the campaign against daesh and to support International Efforts to bring peace to syria through a lasting political settlement. Britains commitment on International Development spending will also be honored, helping to deliver global stability, support the Sustainable Development goals, and prevent new threats to national security. Prince philip and i look forward to welcoming his excellency the president of colombia on a state visit in november. My government will continue with legislation to modernize the law governing the use and oversight of investigatory powers by law enforcement, security, and intelligence agencies. Legislation will strengthen the capability and accountability of the Police Service in england and wales. My government will hold a referendum on membership of the european union. Proposals will be brought forward for a british bill of rights. My ministers will uphold the sovereignty of parliament and the primacy of the house of commons. My government will continue to work in cooperation with the devolved administrations to implement the extensive new powers in the scotland act and establish a strong and lasting devolution settlement in wales. My government will work in Northern Ireland to secure further progress in implementing the stormont house and fresh start agreements. Estimates for the Public Services shall be made before you. My lords and members of the house of commons, other measures will be laid before you. I pray that the blessing of almighty god may rest upon your councils. Mr. Brittain the speech successfully delivered by the queen, the lord chancellor has retrieved it and three page boys come forward to collect the queens train. And it is a bit of a heavy job for one of them. I think he is taking the job for one that is missing. So, emerging through the Princes Chamber the royal procession makes its way back. A lovely site here in sight in the Princes Chamber which we havent seen before with the gentlemans arms with their axes. And it says on the ceremonial page that they will hand in their axes before they leave, which is very wise. Field marshall lord walker. Now he won the general until 2014 because they had given up making field marshalls and marshall of the Royal Air Force and admiral of the fleet because the picture was too high when they retired. But now they had changed it back and they are honoring field marshalls. They do not get the pay but they do get the rank. Mr. Dobbs i think it is worth pointing out we talked about tourism and tourism is a huge part of what makes this country. But it is possible on normal days for members of the public to walk exactly the route that the queen is walking right now into the chamber itself. Its a wonderful opportunity to see that extraordinary building from the inside and at close quarters. Mr. Brittain the royal gallery is beautiful. Pictures of the battle of waterloo line the two sides. And when president s of france come to address both houses theyre not easy to keep discreet because theyre enormous. Are they arent they . Mr. Dobbs wonderful. Painted by an irishman who fell out because they refused to pay him properly. In one of the murals there is in the rafters supposedly a copy of his unpaid bill that he put into. Mr. Brittain the royal marshall regrets that he doesnt get paid at all and i confirm that that uniform costs thousands of pounds. Here you are lawrence comedy is your successor. He is returning. What do you think now, its gone ok . Mr. Ward i think theyre thinking, thank goodness thats out of the way. Its lovely for her majesty to come to parliament but its a huge relief. Mr. Brittain shes in the robing room. They bow. Its been very good timing. And that is the fifth mace weve seen today. Carried by the primary sergeant at arms. Mr. Ward and the 41st sergeant at arms. Mr. Brittain now you may be laid on the table but people dont stay. Do they . What does that mean when you lay the mace on the table . Mr. Ward what happens is its one of those thing that is happens on opening days. The house has now suspended and door keepers will keep guard of the mace but then the house wont come back until later on today to discuss the queens speech. Mr. Brittain and before you discuss the queens speech there is the first and only reading of the bill which essentially guarantees rights to persons arrested, based back on the 12th or 13th century. Mr. Ward it does have a purpose. And the speaker will use the opportunity he can only make statements about certain things. But he will use the opportunity to address members and talk about the importance of security and their rights of access and all those kind of things. And its the one statement of the year where he will reinforce those key messages. Mr. Brittain and the point of the outlawors bill is that the common will turn to their business first before that of the sovereign. Mr. Ward yes. Mr. Brittain but he doesnt get beyond the First Reading so we dont quite discover what happens in the end. They maintain their own. They have a bill on select vestries. And i only discovered what that was in march. The select vestry isnt a very posh one. Or one with a nice porch. It was kind of a Parish Council parish, essentially. The you rush back into the lords, you will get the First Reading. Getting a lot of nice pictures. Mr. Ward you see the searget standing up there using an opportunity to talk to members. Mr. Brittain you were having a quick look somewhere. Mr. Dobbs it is a party day, really. The members will be going off to possibly parties, getting together with their friends, bringing guests in for lunch. It is a Wonderful Party atmosphere. The state opening. But for mps, is it important . Mr. Ward it provides a framework. Its the one day in the calendar everything hinges off. Its also a good social occasion. Many members will bring their wives or husbands or partners or family to parliament for the day. So in that respect it is an important day. Sergeant at arms it used to be military people who got the job. What was your road to sergeant . Mr. Ward it wasnt military. I used to be the postmaster of parliament. I used to be charge and i hung around and did lots of jobs. But it was after the anthrax in in the u. S. Through the mail that i was sent to washington how to find out to find anthrax in things in post. After developing security and a solution for parliament i was off to manage the Police Contract then assistant sergeant at arms and then in 2012 the sergeant at arms. Mr. Brittain lovely story. And were joined now in the studio by our correspondent susan. What do you make of todays announcements in the queens speech . Susan its extraordinary that you have the gold sand glitter and royalty as well as the saying the Political Year usually hinges off the queens speech as well but less so this year. If you can talk about that being a side show in a way it is because the political focus is so much on the referendum coming up next month. If its a vote for leave then a great deal of this will go by the board because a great deal of the governments attention will be taken up with making that happen and all that needs to be done for that. Some of us were quite surprised to have the queens speech in fact. We thought it might have come after that referendum. I think what the government has been trying to do what David Cameron wanted to do, this isnt something that isnt too controversial. Mr. Brittain nothing to see here. We get such do you think many of the bills are fairly uncontroversial . My heart always leaps when i see a bus service bill. But for the moment i will come back to you, susan, because the queen has taken off the imperial state crown, she has taken off the parliamentary robe, and she is greeting is the two captains of the body guards and theres lord taylor. And lord gardner of kimball. They are actually political figures. The chief whip in the house of lords on the right and the deputy chief whip on the left. In the foreground in military uniform. They arent at all military. There like you, lawrence. Chris making a little joke with the queen about the speech he is the lord president of the council. And she is now turning to lady stoll on the left. And now christopher grailing who is the president. He looks like the youngest. And next to him, the lord chancellor. This is a quite different little gathering to what we normally see because the queen normally comes out of the robing room and she chats to a line of people and then goes down the stair case. What is happening now is milling around, really, on this landing. And there are busts in this landing of every Prime Minister who was the house of lords. The last one there is lord hugh, who, as a member of the house of lords, was Prime Minister for just a few days before he gave up his title. Just plain old alec after that. Chat with the lord chancellor. I cant help noticing that the lord chancellor and the lord president are both brexits in the great debate that is going on. Luckily we dont know the views of the lord marshall or the lord gray chamberlin. And shes going to disappear. She is waiting for the duke who is having more chats with the chief of Defense Staff and they disappear into what we call the gold lift of state. It is quite heavily lined with brass but mainly wood. And of really, really reassuring thing is that it actually has a little speaker and when you get stuck in the lift and they run out of jokes to tell you on the way down you can call for help. Susan, the actual bills is there anything why dont you pick out one or two. All, davidt of cameron has written that he wants the next four years to be great social transformation, getting back to his roots before he became Prime Minister. So, there are a number of social kind of bills. Mr. Brittain give us some names of those. Susan the children and a social worker bill, that is going to make it easier for children to become formally adopted and taken on by a family. Theres more regulation for social workers as well. Theres going to be an education bill. Thats run into a bit of trouble already. It was something that David Cameron had mentioned at Prime Ministers questions a few weeks ago. He said he would give it one preview of the queens speech. To make all schools in england academies. Unfortunately that ran into a bit of trouble. Mr. Brittain it was one of the first uturns. Susan we may come to why they might want to avoid that. Mr. Brittain what about this bill of rights . Susan what we have so far about the bill of rights in the queens speech is a little bit vague. There will be a great deal of consultation about it. Its something that many conservatives want very much for the british courts to be supreme in comparison with the European Court of justice. Something happening . Mr. Brittain her majesty the queen and the duke of edinburgh have gotten back into the Diamond Jubilee carriage and it emerges into the rain im afraid to say of old palace yard. Mr. Brittain shes quite dry in that carriage. It is airconditioned, so i hope theyve turned a bit of heating in there. It is may so of course it is freezing cold and raining. The bill of rights. Let us finish that off. We may even have to wait a bit because emerging straight away is Prince Charles and the duchess of cornwall. Now, he and kate has been attending with camilla for the last years. There was quite a long period with he didnt attend. Ms. Hulme you wouldnt normally expect the heir to the throne to come but he started in 2013. The queen announced that shes going to hand over more to charles. More of the general duties to charles as well. I think this is what were seeing here. Were seeing the queen is never going to abdicate. But we are going to see as the years progress, she could keep going to 100 in 2026, we are going to see charles take on more of the duties. It may be in five or six years time he is giving the actual speech. This is quite an arduous performance, quite an arduous operation. Maybe charles takes it over in the future. Mr. Brittain fundamental to the role of a constitutional head of state. Ms. Hulme absolutely fundamental. It is the key role. I think that one of the last ones that she will give up because it underlines what is the most important thing to her that she remains politically neutral. She has had to set the bar for the future monarch to stay high. Mr. Brittain tell us a wee bit more about the politics. On that bill of rights, is it going to be tricky . Ms. Hulme it cant be just at the moment because there is so little detail in there. In the speech in the background to the speech that weve had from the government, they have said this is going to be up for discussion. The idea is to bring as many people on board to try to heal some of the wounds that the Referendum Campaign may have created. Mr. Brittain what about what i think is the centerpiece and that is prison reform. The justice secretary and lord chancellor to his predecessor. What does he want to do . Ms. Hulme thats right. The idea mr. Brittain tell us at the stroke of 12. Ms. Hulme the only idea is to give prisons more autonomy, to run their own prisons the way happened with academy schools. I think weve already heard a bit of criticism of that in people have said very well giving autonomy, but jails are very overcrowding. You need to look at sentencing, over funding. Mr. Brittain pause there for a royal salute to Prince Charles. He only gets half the National Anthem but as the crown departs, the thing is, michael, you are a conservative tear peer. The thing is youre a conservative lets face it , youre at civil war with each other and youve got a long political memory. Enlighten us in the 1975 referendum there are two conservative parties. You dont come together on what David Cameron wants to do presently and its hard to see coming together after the referendum. Michael i think i call them great debates. But i understand what why youre terming it thus. Remember going back to 1975 the original referendum. The labour party itself was torn apart then, so there is nothing new in politics. There will undoubtedly be a very important period after the referendum where everybody has to reassess where we are. Mr. Brittain yet, how long weve got another month, six weeks, five weeks. Michael five weeks. mr. Brittain and its not pleasant. The opposition to the government is all from within their own side. When you say the role of the actual legal opposition is almost left out while the conservatives battle on. Ms. Hulme well, indeed. And i think weve seen that in the whole of this last parliamentary year, it looked like the opposition coming from the lords in the house of lords, but in fact, the government doesnt have to pay too much attention to the house of lords defeat because even if its a small majority you should be able to overturn them. Unless mr. Brittain the lords amendments go through sometimes. Ms. Hulme thats the agreement and the compromise the ones where there is a Sticking Point where the government didnt really want to compromise are ones where the conservative mps have also had their doubts and wanted to go along with what the lords have said. Mr. Brittain 61 defeats. Ms. Hulme around 60. Mr. Brittain 61 defeats in the house of lords. Ms. Hulme i couldnt possibly compete. Mr. Brittain and two defeats in the house of commons. Ms. Hulme even three actually. Mr. Brittain that is unusual for a majority government. Ms. Hulme it is. And there were other defeats that were staged off for example , on the academies issue, on the Child Migrants issue. And thats because a little tiny majority, you are limited in what you can do. Mr. Brittain now the crown just back into the carriage. Placed there by the crown jeweler. The final act of this pageant. The crown will make their way back to Buckingham Palace. There is a queen in the alexandria state coach. The coachman are on board. Tap of the reins. And they will be on their way. With the important memory of course that carriages do not pay the congestion charge in Central London [laughter] because they are, in that sense, very fuelefficient. Ms. Hulme nonpolluting. Mr. Brittain i think youre being, i have got to put it you, you are just skating over this little internal battle in the conservative party. You wouldnt expect me to make it worse than it is. Mr. Brittain o come on. This is an historic moment. We have never had a vote which is as meaningful as this referendum. It is not surprising that people taken it very seriously, with great passion. You would expect a little. I happened to say i think its gone too far and yes it is doing damage to the conservative party and there will be a difficult but huge part of reconciliation afterwards to put the Party Back Together again. One of the advantages of it being in june is that it does not actually that it does actually give up time before the next election. That is important. Mr. Brittain lovely passing shot of the commons. Lawrence you are absolutely , about party as i understand but you saw some of the battles in the first year of the conservative government. Didnt you . To see which way the wind was going. Whats it like in the commons at times . Lawrence very difficult. passions run high. And people have very, very deepseated opinions about certain things and believe they are right. But i think its really important for officials and particularly for people like the sergeant at arms and the speaker to try to rise above that and be impartial and to have friends and colleagues on all sides of the chamber. And most importantly to be seen to be impartial. Mr. Ward so that was one of the things i tried to do and it can be a tight rope because people will always point the finger and say youre giving a certain privilege to one side or the other, but i think you judge to the end of the day on your actions rather than what you say and i think its really important that you try to keep within the framework of the rules, but to, you know, also allow the house to present itself. Mr. Brittain lovely note of unity. Another state opening will we see them still 50 years, 100 years, k . I think we will continue to see them. Ms. Hulme they brought them back. It goes and swings around. We will see it reduced and perhaps 5100 years perhaps 50 or 100 years. They brought them back. Mr. Brittain my grateful thanks to the historian professor Kate Williams and a former sergeant at arms of the house of commons, on toward. Thank you, too, to our parliamentary correspondent susan hulme for that insight. Thank you for watching the queen and the other members of the royal family are heading back to the palace. The commons have returned to i can seee, as far as on my little monitor here. The lower the lord are scurrying ,way as fast as they can probably as people alluded to here to go to small refreshment, and they have been trapped in there since 1030 10 30. At 2 30 this afternoon, Bbc Parliament will have live coverage of the queens speech debate. Where this queens speech will actually be debated where the Prime Minister will be pushing the case for the bills outlined in this queens speech and the leader of the opposition will have his say immediately after. Then it will be jeremys first Jeremy Corbyns first outing in his role as leader of the opposition. So, join us on Bbc Parliament at 2 30 for that live debate. Thank you for watching us this morning. And i hope you have all enjoyed it. A very good afternoon to you. Tomorrow, chris grayling, conservative leader in the house of commons, talks about his support of britains exit from the european union, and why it is in the best interests of britain and the united states. It begins at five p. M. 5 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan3. Now, european diplomats and scholars discuss strengthening european security. Talk about the implications of the ongoing conflict in ukraine and the influence of russia in eastern europe. This Atlantic Council event is just over one hour. Good to see you. Um, good
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