The level of pomp likely to be displayed on Monday ahead of the Queen’s Speech is second to none, even by British standards.
But it’s not all gold crowns and tradition — it marks the State Opening of Parliament, which was previously closed for three days.
Here’s what you need to know about the event and its possible consequences.
The speech of the Queen
The Queen will come to parliament and read out an address that was prepared for her by the government.
Put together in the centre of Whitehall by ministers, it provides the government with the opportunity to put forward its priorities for the parliamentary session.
The monarch will deliver the speech from a throne in parliament’s gilded House of Lords debating chamber and not in the House of Commons due to the chamber’s traditional independence from the monarchy.
In fact, a ritual involving the Queen’s representative, called “Black Rod”, will shut the doors to the Commons their face before they can enter to further symbolise this separation.
Black Rod will summon MPs to the chamber before they go inside.
The speech will layout 22 new bills including tougher treatment for foreign criminals and sex offenders and new protection for victims of domestic abuse.
It will also most certainly include a section on a law to enact a Brexit deal. The speech will also touch on election campaign issues like health service and living standards.
What happens if MPs vote against it?
The opposition usually votes it down, but the real question this time, according to Thimont-Jack, is if the government can win a vote this way without the numbers to get anything through parliament.
It started with a slim majority, relying on the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), but has since removed the whip from several of its MPs.
Usually, if the government lost such a vote, it would be expected to call an election, but to do this UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson would need support from two-thirds of MPs — which he doesn’t currently appear to have.
“We could end up in a very strange scenario where the government can’t pass its Queen’s Speech but still can’t get the numbers for a general election, said Thimont-Jack. “This has never really happened before and it’s unclear what will happen next.”
Exactly when the vote on the Queen’s Speech will take place should be set after it is read out.
If it takes place after an extension of Article 50 (the deadline for the UK to leave the European Union) has been negotiated with the EU, it’s more likely Johnson could get the numbers to call an election, she added.
As we are seeing with many stages of the Brexit process — timing is everything.
