This is a first in nearly 60 years: Queen Elizabeth II will not deliver the traditional throne speech in the British Parliament on Tuesday, due to her difficulties in getting around, being replaced by Prince Charles.
The 96-year-old monarch had previously missed only twice in her 70-year reign this solemn appointment of British democracy, where she sets out the government’s program in a ceremony with great fanfare. She had been absent in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant.
It is also the first time that she has been replaced by the Prince of Wales, heir to the crown, a sign of the gradual transfer of her tasks to her eldest son who has already represented her abroad for several years.
“The Queen continues to have episodic mobility issues and, after consultation with her doctors, has reluctantly decided not to take part in the Speech from the Throne,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement late Monday.
“At Her Majesty’s request and with the agreement of the appropriate authorities, the Prince of Wales will read the Speech from the Throne on her behalf, together with the Duke of Cambridge (Prince William, the Queen’s grandson, second in order of succession to the throne) also present,” the palace said.
Important detail: Prince Charles, 73, will not take his place on the throne, which will remain empty. He will sit in his usual place.
Sign, for the DailyMail that the Queen “is always really in control”. “But make no mistake, this is a historic moment for the Crown,” the newspaper commented.
The queen had already given up in recent years to wear her heavy crown for this very codified ceremony which must begin at 10:30 GMT.
His absence on Tuesday raises questions about his participation in the platinum jubilee celebrations in early June, marking his 70-year reign.
“Let’s hope she can get the rest she needs in time for the Platinum Jubilee because she can’t be replaced on the palace balcony enjoying the festivities with millions of Britons,” the Sun’s royal correspondent said.
“Super” post-Brexit laws
On the political level, this speech represents the opportunity for Boris Johnson to revive, a few days after heavy setbacks in the local elections, where his party lost some 500 seats.
The Prime Minister hopes to show that he is concerned about the fall in purchasing power and to make people forget the scandals.
Triumphantly coming to power in July 2019, the Conservative leader has seen his popularity plummet in recent months, against a backdrop of a purchasing power crisis, criticism of his handling of the pandemic and the “partygate” scandal which earned him a fine, a first for a head of government in office.
Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer, also criticized for sharing beers and curries with a team from his party last year, added pressure on Boris Johnson’s shoulders by pledging Monday to resign if he did. he receives, like the Prime Minister, a fine for having broken the anti-Covid rules.
If he has managed to save his post for the moment in the context of the war in Ukraine, the bubbling 57-year-old leader will try to win back disappointed voters for the two years he has left before the next legislative elections. His speech will present 38 bills.
One of them, on public order, is intended to prevent the “guerrilla techniques” of groups like Extinction Rebellion, hated by its base, which demonstrated by blocking roads or public transport “harming people who work hard, costing taxpayers millions in taxpayers’ money and putting lives at risk”.
Faced with an economy hurt by years of pandemic and inflation expected to hit double digits in the coming months, Boris Johnson pledged to “get the country back on track” and “create highly skilled, well-paid jobs that will drive economic growth across the UK”.
He also intends to announce legislation intended to reduce red tape after the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, which became fully effective on January 31, 2020.
To make it easier to deport foreign criminals, the government has also said in recent months that it wants to amend human rights legislation that had incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into national law.