Queen to skip Parliament opening for 1st time in decades
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the opening of Parliament on Tuesday for the first time in nearly 60 years, as she struggles with difficulties in getting around.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement Monday that the decision was made in consultation with her doctors and that the 96-year-old had “reluctantly’’ decided not to attend. Prince Charles will read her speech, while for the first time her grandson Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, will have an official role in the event.
“At her majesty’s request, and with the agreement of the relevant authorities, the Prince of Wales will read the Queen’s Speech on her majesty’s behalf, with the Duke of Cambridge also in attendance,’’ the palace said in a statement.
It will mark only the third time during her reign that Elizabeth has not opened Parliament. She previously missed the opening in 1959, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew, and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Edward.
The state opening of Parliament is a centuries-old ceremony that marks the start of the legislative year. The pageantry traditionally begins with a coach ride to the Houses of Parliament, which is followed by the monarch reading the Queen’s Speech setting out the government’s legislative program to a joint session attended by members of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons.