grenzeloos actuariaat

BRON: WIKIPEDIA grenzeloos actuariaat: voor u geselecteerd uit de buitenlandse bladen q STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT

In the , the State Opening of Parliament is an the Commons Chamber due to a custom initiated in the seventeenth annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the century. In 1642, King Charles I entered the Commons Chamber and Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the attempted to arrest five members. The famously defied the Chamber, usually in late October or November, or in a General King, refusing to inform him as to where the members were hiding. Election year, when the new Parliament first assembles. In 1974, Ever since that incident, convention has held that the monarch cannot when two General Elections were held, there were two State enter the House of Commons. Once on the Throne, the Queen, wearing Openings. the Imperial State Crown, instructs the house by saying, ‘My Lords, pray be seated’, she then motions the to summon the House of Commons. PREPARATION The State Opening is a lavish ceremony. First, the cellars of the Palace SUMMONING OF THE COMMONS of Westminster are searched by the in order to The Lord Great Chamberlain raises his wand of office to signal to the prevent a modern-day . The Plot of 1605 involved a Gentleman Usher of the , who has been waiting in the failed attempt by English Catholics to blow up the Houses of Commons lobby. Black Rod turns and, under the escort of the Parliament and kill the Protestant King James I and aristocracy. Since doorkeeper of the House of Lords and an inspector of police (who that year, the cellars have been searched, recently for the sake of form orders ‘Hats off, Strangers!’ to all persons along the way), approaches only. the doors to the chamber of the Commons. The doors are slammed in his face upon his approach – symbolizing the independence of the Before the monarch departs her residence, takes a member Commons and its right to debate without the presence of the Queen’s of the House of Commons to as a ceremonial representative. He then strikes three times with his staff (the Black hostage. This is to guarantee the safety of the Sovereign as she enters Rod), and is then admitted. At the bar, Black Rod bows to the speaker a possibly hostile Parliament. The hostage is released upon the safe before proceeding to the dispatch box and issuing the command of return of the Queen. the monarch that the Commons attend, in the following formula: Before the arrival of the sovereign the Imperial State Crown is carried to the in its own state coach. From the Victoria ‘Mr/Madam Speaker, The Queen commands this honourable House to tower the crown is passed by the Queen’s bargemaster to the attend Her Majesty immediately in the House of Peers.’ comptroller of the 's office. It is then carried, along with the Sword of State and the Cap of Maintenance, to be displayed The Speaker proceeds to attend the summons at once. The Sergeant- in the royal gallery. at-Arms picks up the ceremonial and, with the Speaker and Black Rod, leads the Members of the House of Commons as they walk, ARRIVAL OF THE SOVEREIGN in pairs, towards the House of Lords. By custom, the members saunter, The Queen arrives at the Palace of Westminster in a horse-drawn with much discussion and joking, rather than formally process. The coach, entering through Sovereign's Entrance under the Victoria Tower. Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition usually walk side by The Royal Standard is hoisted to replace the Union Flag upon the side, leading the two lines of MPs. The Commons then arrive at the Bar sovereign's entrance and remains whilst she is in attendance. Then, of the House of Lords (no person who is not a member of the Upper after she takes on the Robes of State and the Imperial State Crown in House may pass the Bar unbidden when it is in session; a similar rule the Robing Chamber, the Queen proceeds through the royal gallery, applies to the Commons), where they bow to The Queen. They remain usually accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, to the House of Lords. at the Bar for the speech. The ceremony is traditionally held in the Lords Chamber rather than in

DE ACTUARIS 52 SEPTEMBER 2009 grenzeloos actuariaat

DELIVERY OF THE SPEECH DEBATE ON THE SPEECH The Queen reads a prepared speech, known as the Speech from the After the Queen leaves, each Chamber proceeds to the consideration of Throne or the Queen’s Speech, outlining her Government’s agenda for an ‘Address in Reply to Her Majesty’s Gracious Speech’. But first, each the coming year. The speech is not written by the Queen, but rather by House considers a to symbolize their right to deliberate the Cabinet, and reflects the legislative agenda they wish to pursue independently of the monarch. In the House of Lords, the bill is called with the agreement of the House of Commons. It is traditionally the , while the Commons equivalent is the written on goatskin vellum. . The Bills are considered for the sake of form only, and do not make any actual progress. The consideration of the address in The Queen reads the entire speech in the same tone, so as to indicate reply to the Throne Speech is the occasion for a debate on the her neutrality, implying neither approval nor disapproval of the Government’s agenda. The debate on the Address in Reply is spread policies she is announcing. Since the Cabinet forms part of Her over several days. On each day, a different topic, such as foreign affairs Majesty’s Government, the Queen makes constant reference to ‘My or finance, is considered. The debate provides an indication of the Government’ when the text. It is also customary for the views of Parliament regarding the government’s agenda. Queen, after listing the main bills that will be introduced during the yearly session, to state: ‘other measures will be laid before you’, thus ELECTING THE SPEAKER giving the Government ability to introduce other bills, not mentioned After swearing in the current cabinet, the House of Commons (lower in the speech. The Queen also mentions any State Visits that she and house) elects a Speaker of the House; usually re-electing the The Duke of Edinburgh intend making during the Parliamentary incumbent. An election for a new Speaker typically happens every six session and also any planned State Visits of foreign Heads of State to to eight years, as the Speaker often survives a change of governing the United Kingdom. The speech is concluded by the Queen saying: party. It is generally a member of the ruling party, with seniority, but who has not had a significant ministerial career. After he/she is elected ‘My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, I pray that the they are ‘dragged unwillingly’ to the speakers' bench. This tradition blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels’. dates back to the 1600s when the Speaker was under threat of execution if he said anything to displease the King/Queen of the day Following the speech, the Commons bow again and return to their and the only way they would assume their role was to be dragged to Chamber. the speaker's seat. The role of the Speaker is now one of the highest Traditionally, the Houses of Parliament listen to the speech honours that can be bestowed on a politician. respectfully, keeping total silence in the presence of the monarch, neither applauding nor showing dissent towards the speech’s contents. This silence, however, was broken once in 1998, when the Queen announced the Government's plan of abolishing the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords. A few Labour members of the House of Commons cried ‘yes’ and ‘hear hear’, prompting several of the Lords to shout ‘no’ and ‘shame’. The Queen continued delivering her speech without any pause, ignoring the intervention. The conduct of those who interrupted the speech was highly criticized at the time.

DE ACTUARIS 53 SEPTEMBER 2009