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State Opening of Parliament

ChizzChizz
in Not Sports Related
We do pomp and ceremony brilliantly in this country.  But the State Opening of Parliament is surely the pinnacle.  The mixture of ancient, ludicrous ceremonial nonsense, eye-wateringly expensive garb, tackle and horsery and the visible demonstration of the primacy of Parliament, but with the acknowledgement that the Monarch is Head of State and it's His (or Her) Government.  

I love it!
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Comments

  • se9addickse9addick
    Is there a separate throne for the kings crown again this year?
  • golfaddickgolfaddick
    I feel sorry for Charles having to read out all that waffle. 
  • JohnnyJoeyDeeDeeJohnnyJoeyDeeDee
    Acknowledgement of previous difficulties in relationship between monarch and parliament through having an MP ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace until the king returns!
  • ChizzChizz
    JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:
    Acknowledgement of previous difficulties in relationship between monarch and parliament through having an MP ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace until the king returns!
    Do we know who it was this year?
  • Off_itOff_it
    Chizz said:
    JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:
    Acknowledgement of previous difficulties in relationship between monarch and parliament through having an MP ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace until the king returns!
    Do we know who it was this year?
    Jeremy Corbyn volunteered. He loves it.
  • ChizzChizz
    Anyway, this is by no means intended to be a political thread, so it would be great if the politics were left out and if anyone wanted to talk about the pomp and ceremony, the tradition, the location, how it works, why it works, why it brings in investment and adds to our soft power or, indeed, whether it should continue, that would be great.  

    Is it the best ceremonial event in the world? 
  • PrincessFionaPrincessFiona
    Chizz said:
    JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:
    Acknowledgement of previous difficulties in relationship between monarch and parliament through having an MP ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace until the king returns!
    Do we know who it was this year?
    Plenty I'd like (across all the parties) and more than happy for them not be released
  • usetobunkinusetobunkin
    Chizz said:
    Anyway, this is by no means intended to be a political thread, so it would be great if the politics were left out and if anyone wanted to talk about the pomp and ceremony, the tradition, the location, how it works, why it works, why it brings in investment and adds to our soft power or, indeed, whether it should continue, that would be great.  

    Is it the best ceremonial event in the world? 
    The Keys ceremony at the Tower, continued uninterrupted since 12 century 
  • swordfishswordfish
    Chizz said:
    JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:
    Acknowledgement of previous difficulties in relationship between monarch and parliament through having an MP ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace until the king returns!
    Do we know who it was this year?
    Clive Lewis?
  • JohnnyJoeyDeeDeeJohnnyJoeyDeeDee
    Chizz said:
    JohnnyJoeyDeeDee said:
    Acknowledgement of previous difficulties in relationship between monarch and parliament through having an MP ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace until the king returns!
    Do we know who it was this year?
    Samantha Dixon. Apparently it’s always a junior whip in the governing party
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  • PrincessFionaPrincessFiona
    usetobunkin said:
    Chizz said:
    Anyway, this is by no means intended to be a political thread, so it would be great if the politics were left out and if anyone wanted to talk about the pomp and ceremony, the tradition, the location, how it works, why it works, why it brings in investment and adds to our soft power or, indeed, whether it should continue, that would be great.  

    Is it the best ceremonial event in the world? 
    The Keys ceremony at the Tower, continued uninterrupted since 12 century 
    Was invited to this through work - I have to admit I had heard of it vaguely but didn't know much about it before

    I think my favourite overall experience, if not nearly so much pomp and ceremony, was the closing of the Wagah border - was lucky (again though work) to get VIP seating. Demonstrated so much about India and Pakistan (in how the crowds differed on either side and that women took part for India etc) - and who could kick higher then stomp loudest!
  • ChizzChizz
    edited July 17
    Rizzo said:
    Chizz said:
    Anyway, this is by no means intended to be a political thread, so it would be great if the politics were left out and if anyone wanted to talk about the pomp and ceremony, the tradition, the location, how it works, why it works, why it brings in investment and adds to our soft power or, indeed, whether it should continue, that would be great.  

    Is it the best ceremonial event in the world? 
    So people are only allowed to comment if they agree with your perception of the event?
    Absolutely not!  Please comment if you agree, don't agree, have a different view, prefer a different ceremony, want to put forward another country with better ceremonies. Or, if you do agree.  

    What's your view, @Rizzo? 
  • soapy_jonessoapy_jones
    Ludicrous BUT splendid stuff!
  • YorkshireaddickYorkshireaddick
    How she’d become Queen then? I didn’t vote for her…
  • SporadicAddickSporadicAddick
    Yorkshireaddick said:
    How she’d become Queen then? I didn’t vote for her…
    Is that Queen's English?
  • PrincessFionaPrincessFiona
    Redmidland said:
    Now this is going to sound contradictive against myself, but I'm not a huge Royalist to be honest, I can take em or leave em (quite a few need leaving). However the tradition built over centuries around our democracy is what the State Opening of Parliament is about!
    It's pageantry, and we do it very well, the envy of the world! There is nothing wrong with tradition, but it cannot override our democracy and I think this 'ceremony' reminds us of that.
    I enjoy watching it every time it happens.

    Agreed about the pageantry
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  • soapy_jonessoapy_jones
    Yorkshireaddick said:
    How she’d become Queen then? I didn’t vote for her…
    Yeh!  Not sure you are up with the UK's consitutional set up there Yorkshire.


  • Kap10Kap10
    Garrymanilow said:
    Rizzo said:
    Chizz said:
    Anyway, this is by no means intended to be a political thread, so it would be great if the politics were left out and if anyone wanted to talk about the pomp and ceremony, the tradition, the location, how it works, why it works, why it brings in investment and adds to our soft power or, indeed, whether it should continue, that would be great.  

    Is it the best ceremonial event in the world? 
    So people are only allowed to comment if they agree with your perception of the event?
    'whether it should continue'. Literally invited disagreement over the existence of the ceremony, Chizz is just saying don't turn a conversation about the ceremony itself into a 'boo Labour boo Conservatives boo Reform' thread
    You missed boo libs
  • MuttleyCAFCMuttleyCAFC
    Rizzo said:
    Chizz said:
    Rizzo said:
    Chizz said:
    Anyway, this is by no means intended to be a political thread, so it would be great if the politics were left out and if anyone wanted to talk about the pomp and ceremony, the tradition, the location, how it works, why it works, why it brings in investment and adds to our soft power or, indeed, whether it should continue, that would be great.  

    Is it the best ceremonial event in the world? 
    So people are only allowed to comment if they agree with your perception of the event?
    Absolutely not!  Please comment if you agree, don't agree, have a different view, prefer a different ceremony, want to put forward another country with better ceremonies. Or, if you do agree.  

    What's your view, @Rizzo? 
    I find all the pomp and ceremony utterly ridiculous. Serves no actual purpose and is purely done for the sake of doing it. Similarly, the whole idea of a constitutional monarchy is absurd. 
    I find the ceromony ridiculous also.
  • ShootersHillGuruShootersHillGuru
    Redmidland said:
    Now this is going to sound contradictive against myself, but I'm not a huge Royalist to be honest, I can take em or leave em (quite a few need leaving). However the tradition built over centuries around our democracy is what the State Opening of Parliament is about!
    It's pageantry, and we do it very well, the envy of the world! There is nothing wrong with tradition, but it cannot override our democracy and I think this 'ceremony' reminds us of that.
    I enjoy watching it every time it happens.

    I’m a republican at heart but watching the way this country does ceremony is actually mesmerising stuff. I watched the Queens funeral and was literally jaw dropped by that slow march led by the ratings of The Royal Navy pulling the queens coffin. The one thing I would say though is that much of the ceremonial stuff we see isn’t always as ancient as we might think. A lot of it dates back to the Victorian era. No idea which is relatively modern and what’s not but it’s still splendid nonsense.
  • RizzoRizzo
    seth plum said:
    A constitutional monarchy is better than a dictatorship at the very least.
    There are systems of government between those two though. They aren't the only choices.
  • SporadicAddickSporadicAddick
    It's not ceremony for the sake of ceremony. Every bit of the ceremony is essential constitutional process - it's just "dressed" in history. Of course we could relocate Parliament to an office block in Birmingham, get an elected president to open the session and read his / her own legislative plans (no need to attend, Zoom is fine), get some civil servants renting space in Media City Salford to type it up and put it on the internet and be done with it. 
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