King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain were joined by the Princess of Asturias as they presided over the Solemn Opening Ceremony of the XV Legislature, a joint session of Parliament, Congress of Deputies and Senate, at the Palacio de las Cortes in Madrid on November 29th, a month after the Princess’ 18th Birthday Celebrations.
Queen Camilla joined King Charles III as he presided over the Official Opening of the Session of Parliament in the Chamber of the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster in London on November 7th. This is the first ‘full dress’ State Opening of Parliament since 2019, and the first of the King’s Reign following his Coronation. Continue reading
The Danish and Norwegian Royal Families both presided over their Openings of Parliament in Copenhagen and Oslo on October 3rd, which we are combining into one article, which highlights the differences between the two ceremonies. Continue reading
The Raja Permaisuri Agong (Queen of Malaysia) joined the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) as he presided over the Opening Ceremony of the First Meeting of the Second Term of the 15th Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat in Kuala Lumpur on February 13th. This was the King’s final address to the Dewan Rakyat during his Tenure as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which will end at the end of January 2024.
Queen Máxima, the Princess of Orange, Prince Constantjin and Princess Laurentien joined King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands as he gave the annual Prinsjesdag (Prince’s Day or Budget Day) Speech to the Dutch Parliament to outline the government’s agenda for the coming session on September 20th in The Hague. The annual ceremony is held on the third Tuesday of every September, and it was the first time that the Princess of Orange has attended.
The Prince of Wales, joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke of Cambridge, in his role as a Councillor of State, represented the Queen at the Official Opening of the Session of Parliament in the Chamber of the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster in London on May 10th. This was a ‘dressed down’ version of the State Opening, devoid of pageantry and ceremony, like the State Openings in 2019 and 2021, with the last ‘proper’ State Opening in 2019.The Queen has pulled out of this year’s State Opening due to her ongoing mobility issues.
