What's the purpose of State Opening?
The State Opening of Parliament marks the beginning of the parliamentary year - or session - and is the formal occasion under our constitution when the Queen calls Parliament to meet.
It is also the one event in the year where the three elements that make up Parliament - the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Sovereign - join together, along with the judiciary.
What does it mean for the business and members of the House of Lords?
The speech read by the Queen in the Lords Chamber contains the government's programme of legislation and policies for the coming year - the speech is written by the government and not by Her Majesty.
The Lords spends around 60 per cent of its time considering legislation - passing over 3,000 amendments in a normal session - and the Queen's Speech, in many respects, sets Parliament's agenda for the year.
Red robes and ceremony - is the House of Lords always like this?
No. The State Opening of Parliament is the one day in the year when members wear their red parliamentary robes. Every other day they dress in normal day clothes.
Most members do not own their robes but hire them for the occasion.
While the ceremony is symbolically important, it should not be confused with the day-to-day work of the Lords.
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial occasion and not a formal sitting of the Lords.
Who's actually present in the chamber during the ceremony?
Members of the Lords are present but also ambassadors and high commissioners often wearing their national dress and judges from the High Court and the Court of Appeal as well as the Law Lords.
MPs from the Commons attend at the entrance to the Chamber - often referred to as the 'bar' because of the rail across the entrance to the Chamber. Members of the Royal Procession and others gather around the throne.
What happens after the event in the Lords?
The State Opening takes place in the morning. After the ceremony is over, the Lords meets much like any other day (with only members in the chamber and not wearing robes).
Members of the Lords then spend the next five or so days debating the content of the Queen's Speech.
After the five days of debate on the Queen's Speech, bills start to get introduced in the Lords and it begins its work of debating, amending and passing legislation, and holding the government to account.