State Opening of Parliament

State Opening of Parliament

This page requires the latest version of the Flash plugin and JavaScript to be enabled. You can download the latest version of Flash for free from adobe.com/go/getflashplayer

Download Audio

What's the significance of the State Opening of Parliament? Key players involved explain the purpose of the ceremony and the Queen's Speech and talk about what happens after the event.

Related Information

Participants in the interview

  • the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman
  • the Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow MP
  • Black Rod, Sir Freddie Viggers
  • the Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
  • Lord Strathclyde, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lords
  • Baroness D'Souza, the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers, and
  • Lord McNally, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Lords.
Podcasting Help

For help subscribing or downloading Parliament podcasts visit the help page: