QUEEN’S ON TOP IN REAL GAME OF THRONES
LONDON: As the Prince of Wales read the Queen’s speech at the state opening of parliament for the first time, there was one striking piece of symbolism that said more than anything he delivered in the address.
The sovereign’s throne was nowhere to be seen.
It was thought the ornate sovereign’s throne, which normally stands in the chamber of the House of Lords, would remain empty during the reading of the speech. But instead it had been removed, leaving Charles to read Her Majesty’s speech while sitting on the consort’s throne, slightly smaller but no less impressive.
The message was clear: the Queen remains head of state, and while Charles may be called on to discharge her duties, he does not yet get to sit on her throne.
The space left in the chamber by her missing throne was preserved.
Rather than move the prince’s seat to the centre, it was set strikingly to the side in its regular position under the golden canopy.
As Charles sat there to read the speech, dressed in the uniform of admiral of the fleet, the Imperial State Crown was placed on a red cushion on the table next to him. The Duchess of Cornwall sat on a chair of state to his left, while the Duke of Cambridge sat on the other chair of state to his right.
Meanwhile, the sovereign’s throne – an elaborately carved creation from 1847 – was safely tucked away in the robing room.
This was only the third time in her 70 years on the throne that the Queen has missed the state opening. The other two occasions were in 1959, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew, and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Edward.