A chip off the old block

It's the Queen's Speech today, the state opening of parliament.

It's an annual, ritual affair. According to BBC political editor, James Lansdale, it's when "The Queen shows us who isn't boss", which he qualifies by firstly asking us to "Forget, if you can, the crowns and carriages. Dismiss from your mind the page boys and pageantry. Ignore the robes and royalty that fill your television screens.". Which is a fairly tall order, given most have been indoctrinated since early childhood to believe in the "superiority" of the royal family.

Let's face facts, if it had been David Cameron rather than William and Kate who opened the Famous Grouse experience last week, would the local schoolchildren have spent all week making flags and banners, then been given a day off to go and wave them ?

Basically what happens at today's event is that the Queen arrives at parliament, and her representative, Black Rod, summons the Commons to attend her forthcoming speech in the House of Lords. Doors are slammed in his face but Blackrod strikes the door three times with his staff and is then admitted, whereupon he issues the monarch's summons. The Commons duly attend.

James Lansdale tells us that the door slamming equates to Parliament telling the Queen who is boss. I have my doubts about that. Historically, it reflects the right of Parliament to question the right of the monarch's representative to enter their chamber, although they have no "lawful authority" to bar him from entering.

Some more from James' article :

As she processes through the Princes' Chamber in the House of Lords, there are two statues representing mercy and justice placed there on purpose to focus her mind as she prepares to deliver her speech. The route is dotted with pictures and statues of previous monarchs, as if Westminster were saying: "We have seen your like before."

Or perhaps James, it shows just who always has been true boss

And here is the really cheeky move: parliament forces Her Majesty to consider her own mortality as she gets dressed for the occasion. For in the Robing Room of the House of Lords, where the Queen puts on her robe and imperial state crown, the authorities have chosen to display a facsimile of the death warrant of her ancestor, Charles I.

If ever there were a symbol to express the end of the divine right of kings and the limits of a constitutional monarchy, that document is it.

Note that Charles 1st was indeed executed, however the monarchy was restored after a period of 11 years, his son, Charles 2nd, returned from exile, and all legal documents were backdated to his father's death as if he had directly succeeded him.

Note too that Charles 2nd was always King of Scotland during the 11 years, having been proclaimed such on 6th February 1649, exactly 303 years prior to HM Queen's coronation.

Just back to James' conclusions :

The point is this: as you watch the state opening of parliament, remember it is one of the strongest ceremonial demonstrations of our liberty that we have. Democracy is not just the freedom to vote out a government we dislike; it is also the freedom not to be ruled by an autocratic monarch chosen by God. 

Here we would simply refer James to a Guardian article from 2013, which notes the royals "secretive powers over new laws" including that of going to war, which remains a royal prerogative :

"This is opening the eyes of those who believe the Queen only has a ceremonial role," said Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, which includes land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales' hereditary estate.

"It shows the royals are playing an active role in the democratic process and we need greater transparency in parliament so we can be fully appraised of whether these powers of influence and veto are really appropriate. At any stage this issue could come up and surprise us and we could find parliament is less powerful than we thought it was."

Charles has been asked to consent to 20 pieces of legislation and this power of veto has been described by constitutional lawyers as a royal "nuclear deterrent" that may help explain why ministers appear to pay close attention to the views of senior royals.

Meanwhile, it requires highlighting that the Queen's new carriage, which she used to travel to the event today, contains a chip of the alleged "Stone of Destiny" - directly under her seat.

The Stone of Destiny is something we are most interested here, given it's current locality at Edinburgh Castle, alleged Scottish  "independence", and that all "magick" is based on ritual - if something has been done in a specific manner before, and that specific manner is repeated, then the magick will work.

cheers