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Col. John M. Scott assumed command of U.S. Army Garrison Red Cloud and Area I from Col. Hank Dodge during a ceremony at Camp Red Cloud's fitness center July 13, 2012. Command Sgt. Maj. Michael L. Hatfield assumed responsibility for USAG Red Cloud and Area I from Command Sgt. Maj. Nidal Saeed during the same ceremony. - U.S. Army photo by Sgt 1st Class Jeff Troth
NEWPORT, R.I. -- The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) holds a commencement ceremony for the College of Naval Command and Staff and the College of Naval Warfare 2024 graduating classes June 14, 2024, on board Naval Station Newport. The ceremony, presided over by NWC President Rear Admiral Pete Garvin, saw 332 students from in-resident senior-level leadership and intermediate-level leadership courses graduate, including 93 international students. Also included were 462 students having completed coursework through NWC’s College of Distance Education (CDE) programs, 90 of whom attended the graduation in person. Graduates represented all branches of the U.S. armed forces, more than 30 federal agencies and departments, and 58 partner and allied nations. Adm. Scott Swift, U.S. Pacific Fleet (retired), gave the commencement address. Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. More than 50,000 students have graduated since its first class of nine students in 1885 and about 300 of today’s active-duty admirals, generals and senior executive service leaders are alumni. Since creating a program for international officers in 1956, the college has more than 4,500 international alumni from 137 countries worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of these alumni have become chief of their country’s respective navy. Today, NWC continues to deliver excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision-makers and educating tomorrow’s leaders. (U.S. Navy photo by Kristopher Burris/Released)
Soldiers and civilians stationed at U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza received training in using Army Battle Command systems at a special training session in Decemeber. The training preps personnel to work with more than 16 battle command systems used by the Army. See The Out look newspaper at the US Army Garrison Vicenza web site at www.usag.vicenza.army.mil/sites/local/
Brig. Gen. Aaron Walter relinquished his duties as 100th Training Division-Leader Development commander at the 100th's change of command ceremony at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Nov. 2, 2019. Brig. Gen. Steven McLaughlin took over as the new 100th commander.
Maj. Gen. Michael X. Garrett and Command Sgt. Maj. Bernie Knight, the command team of U.S. Army Alaska, invited every field grade commander and command sergeant major in USARAK and other Army commands in Alaska to attend the three day Cold Weather Orientation Course at the U.S. Army Northern Warfare Training Center near Delta Junction, Alaska. Arctic Tough Leaders from all over USARAK learned to survive, fight and win in cold weather conditions so they could effectively lead their formations in Arctic training and combat.
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.--July, 22, 2011 – The two largest civilian employers in the Department of Defense, the U.S Army Materiel Command and the Naval Sea System Command, joined forces Friday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to provide more employment opportunities to service members by expanding their veteran hiring programs.
The agreement between U.S Army Materiel Command and the Naval Sea System Command expanded the veteran hiring programs for both organizations by combining two existing programs.
Command of the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade was passed from Col. Scott Fitzgerald to Col. Loren Traugutt in a COVID-19 modified ceremony held in Hangar 3 on Libby Army Airfield June 19, 2020. Maj. Gen. Laura Potter, commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence was the reviewing officer. (U.S. Army photo by Tanja Linton)
State Opening of Parliament – 17 July 2024
From the Court Circular
“17 July 2024
Buckingham Palace
The King, accompanied by The Queen, travelled in State to the Palace of Westminster today to open the Session of Parliament.
Their Majesties drove in a Carriage Procession, escorted by a Sovereign's Escort of The Household Cavalry, under the command of Major William Charlesworth, The Blues and Royals, and were received at the Sovereign's Entrance by the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain.
Guards of Honour were mounted at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster by 1st Battalion Welsh Guards with The King's Colour, under the command of Major Andrew Campbell.
A staircase party of The Household Cavalry was on duty at Victoria Tower, House of Lords, under the command of Major Dean Owens.
Royal Salutes were fired in Green Park by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, under the command of Major John Baileff, and from the Tower of London Saluting Battery by the Honourable Artillery Company, under the command of Major Amanda Wheeler.
The Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State were conveyed previously to the House of Lords in a Carriage Procession, escorted by a Regalia Escort of the Household Cavalry.
His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms was on duty in the Prince's Chamber and The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard was on duty in the Royal Gallery.
The King's Bargemaster and Watermen were on duty.
The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Household and the Pages of Honour to The King (the Hon. Guy Tryon, the Hon. William Sackville, the Hon. Alfred Wellesley and Ralph Tollemache) and the Pages of Honour to The Queen (William Keswick and Arthur Elliott) were in attendance at the Palace of Westminster.
Their Majesties returned to Buckingham Palace and were received by the Lord Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household.”
Extracted from the Houses of Parliament website
The State Opening of Parliament marks the formal start of the parliamentary year and the King's Speech sets out the government's agenda for the coming session, outlining proposed policies and legislation. It is the only regular occasion when the three constituent parts of Parliament – the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons – meet.
The State Opening happens on the first day of a new parliamentary session or shortly after a general election.
This State Opening this year took place on Wednesday 17 July 2024.
The previous State Opening, His Majesty King Charles's first as Monarch, took place on 7 November 2023, at the start of the 2023-24 session of Parliament.
Prior to this, State Opening of Parliament took place on 10 May 2022, at the start of the 2022-23 session. On this occasion, Parliament was opened by the then Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge as Counsellors of State for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presided over the State Opening of Parliament in person on 67 occasions during her reign.
Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament in person all but three times during her reign. Two exceptions were in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. In 2022, Parliament was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge acting as Counsellors of State on behalf of the Queen. The ceremony has changed very little throughout her reign.
State Opening: how it happens
State Opening is the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar. The event begins with the King’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, escorted by the Household Cavalry.
The King arrives at Sovereign's Entrance and proceeds to the Robing Room. Wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, he leads the Royal Procession through the Royal Gallery, packed with 600 guests, to the chamber of the House of Lords.
The House of Lords official known as Black Rod is sent to summon the Commons. The doors to the Commons chamber are shut in her face: a practice dating back to the Civil War, symbolising the Commons' independence from the monarchy. Black Rod strikes the door three times before it is opened. Members of the House of Commons then follow Black Rod and the Speaker of the House of Commons to the Lords chamber, standing at the opposite end to the Throne, known as the Bar of the House, to listen to the speech.
The King's Speech
The King’s Speech is delivered by the King from the Throne in the House of Lords. Although the King reads the Speech, it is written by the government. It contains an outline of its policies and proposed legislation for the new parliamentary session.
After the King’s Speech
When the King leaves, a new parliamentary session starts and Parliament gets to work. Members of both Houses debate the content of the speech and agree an ‘Address in Reply to His Majesty's Gracious Speech'. Each House continues the debate over the planned legislative programme for several days, looking at different subject areas. The King’s Speech is voted on by the Commons, but rarely in the Lords.
State Opening – History
Traditions surrounding the State Opening and the delivery of a speech by the Monarch can be traced back as far as the 16th century. The current ceremony dates from the opening of the rebuilt Palace of Westminster in 1852 after the fire of 1834.
The State Opening is a royal ceremony of great antiquity – well-established by the late fourteenth century – which marks the start of a parliamentary year.
It is customary for the Sovereign to be present at the ceremony, which serves as a symbolic reminder of the unity of the three constituent parts of Parliament: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The broad outlines of the ceremony have remained largely unchanged for centuries: a procession by the Sovereign to the Palace of Westminster is followed by the assembling of the Members of both Houses, and the reading of the Speech.
Within these outlines, however, there have been adaptations and innovations. For example, from its origins until 1679, the ceremony was usually preceded by a mass at Westminster Abbey, but this was discontinued during the reign of King Charles II for fear of assassination plots.
To take another example, Sovereigns in the 16th and 17th centuries used to process to Parliament aboard the Royal Barge on the River Thames.
The modern state opening ceremony dates to 1852, when the new Palace of Westminster was opened. The route within Parliament that the KIng follows today was used by Queen Victoria for the first time in 1852.
The public sequence of events
The public elements of the ceremony begin just before 11am, when members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment lead the procession from Buckingham Palace.
A coach carrying the royal regalia - the Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and Sword of State – precedes the monarch.
The Sovereign's Bargemaster and four Royal Watermen serve as boxmen on the coaches, acting as ceremonial bodyguards of the King and guards of the regalia.
The royal procession
The royal procession makes its way along The Mall, through Horse Guards Parade, down Whitehall and Parliament Street. All along the route are posted members of Britain's armed forces who ‘present arms' as the royal party passes. They contribute to the pageantry of the day as well as provide security and crowd control.
The procession arrives at the Palace of Westminster at 11.15am. The King enters through the Sovereign's Entrance under the Victoria Tower, at the opposite end of the palace to Big Ben, and the royal standard replaces the union flag over Westminster until the King leaves the Palace at the end of the ceremony.
Inside the Palace, the King dons the Imperial State Crown and ceremonial robes before making his way to the House of Lords, attended by various members of the Royal Household.
Within Parliament
The assembly in the House of Lords chamber includes members of the Lords, dressed in traditional scarlet robes and ermine capes, ambassadors and high commissioners, judges, and visiting dignitaries and heads of state.
The King is seated on the throne in the Lords chamber at approximately 11.30am. A well-known tradition of the ceremony commences: Black Rod is dispatched to the House of Commons to summon MPs to hear the King's Speech.
Upon Black Rod's approach, the Serjeant at Arms of the Commons slams the doors in her face. She knocks ceremonially upon the doors three times and is given permission to enter. Black Rod then approachs the Table and announces the King's summons.
This ritual symbolises the right of the Commons to exclude royal messengers, and commemorates the events of 1642, the last time a sovereign entered the Commons, when King Charles I tried to arrest five MPs.
The Commons' Speaker and Black Rod then lead MPs in procession to the House of Lords. Tradition has it that MPs amble to the Lords noisily, to show their independence.
MPs crowd into the space between the doors and the bar of the chamber to hear the Speech from the Throne, which is delivered in a neutral tone by the King and received in silence by the assembly.
After the speech, the King returns by coach to Buckingham Palace. His exit is heralded by military trumpeters, and the royal standard is replaced by the union flag.
Elements unseen by the public
Some of the most well-known elements of the State Opening take place out of the public eye.
Before the Sovereign's arrival at Parliament, the Yeomen of the Guard, the royal bodyguards, ceremonially search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster for explosives.
This commemorates Guy Fawkes's ‘gunpowder plot' of 1605 – a failed attempt by English Catholics to blow up the Protestant King James I and Parliament.
Another reminder of the violence and intrigue historically surrounding relationships between the Commons and the Crown is the fact that a Member of the Commons is ceremonially held hostage in Buckingham Palace while the Sovereign attends the Palace, to ensure the King's safe return.
This tradition stems from the time of Charles I, who had a contentious relationship with Parliament and was eventually beheaded in 1649 at the conclusion of a civil war between the monarchy and Parliament.
The hostage is usually the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household – that is, an MP whose office makes him or her officially a member of the Royal Household and, simultaneously, a junior Whip for the Government.
McAlester Army Ammunition Plant held a change of command ceremony on June 21, 2017. COL Sean M. Herron relinquished command to COL Joseph D. Blanding, who arrived in southeastern Oklahoma from the Joint Munitions Command, where he was the Chief of Staff. He is the 35th commander of the ammunition production facility that was commissioned as Naval Ammunition Depot, McAlester, on May 20, 1943, and the 18th commander since it was turned over to the U.S. Army. The host for the event was BG Richard B. Dix, Commanding General, Joint Munitions Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill. (U.S. Army photos)
Joint Sustainment Command—Afghanistan held a joint non-commissioned officer induction ceremony with the U.S. Air Force and Slovakian Army, January 14, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The ceremony was to formally welcome sergeants in to Non-Commissioned Officer Corps. The ceremony recognizes the change in priorities and responsibilities Soldiers take on when becoming a sergeant.
Soldiers, Family members and friends gathered at the 108th Training Command (IET) headquarters for the Change of Command cermony between outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Kate Leahy and incoming commander Maj. Gen. Andrew Juknelis. Hosted by Maj. Gen. A.C. Roper, deputy commanding general, United States Army Reserve Command, the ceremony took place February 8th in Charlotte, N.C.
The Wisconsin state capitol building is a little hard to photograph. The building is shaped like a big X, with major streets bisecting the angle between the wings. In a photograph, this makes it hard (for me, at least) to figure out just what angle gives you a level horizon. No matter how I turn this, the photo looks tilted.
Completed in 1917 (a little late for the bulk of state capitols), this was the fifth building to house Wisconsin's government. The building is 284 feet tall, making it only three feet shorter than the U.S. capitol building in Washington. The dome is constructed of Vermont granite (because I guess they didn't realize that much of northern Wisconsin is granite) and is, according to Wisconsin, the largest granite dome in the world. The statue on the top supposedly has a badger on its head, though I didn't bring my camera with the superzoom, so I couldn't see that for myself.
CPT Cincala commander of 317th listens to LTC MacCuish the Battalion Commander of 391st. LTC MacCuish explains his philosophy of Command Maintenance and how it plays a vital role in our ability to complete the mission.
U.S. Army I Corps command teams conduct a motivational run on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., March 6. Over the next two-days, the senior leaders will be discussing the mission vision and training plan for the upcoming year. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Adeline Witherspoon, 20th Public Affairs Detachment)
This area I like to call Central Command. All the data screens were a
bit overwhelming at first, but now I know what the important info is on
each screen. A couple of interesting points:
> Top Right - shows info on depth, speed, tension, and payout related
> to the CTD cast. This is one important part in making sure we don't
> drive the CTD into the ocean floor.
> Second from Top Right - live view of the Baltic Room, where the CTD
> cast goes out from. (Door is closed and CTD is inactive, here.)
> Middle Right and Middle Center - show bathymetry results from the
> multibeam. "4128" is the depth to the ocean floor in meters.
> Clock at Middle Left - shows the time in Coordinated Universal Time
> (UTC). It is a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), i.e.,
> the mean solar time on the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, and GMT is
> sometimes used loosely as a synonym for UTC. This is the time that
> science operates in so that there is no confusion about what time zone
> the data are collected in, whether it's daylight savings or not, etc.
> UTC is 3 hrs ahead of local (Punta Arenas) time, and 5 hrs ahead of
> EST.
> Computer at Lower Right - shows the "ping" signal from the
> instrument. We use this to track the instrument during the electronic
> "burn" and release of the instrument from the bottom, and as the
> instruments makes its way to the surface.
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division conducted a change of command ceremony on Fort Cavazos, Texas, Dec. 1st. Col. John B. Gilliam relinquished command to Col. Edward Arntson during this ceremony. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jacob Nunnenkamp)
Command Sgt. Maj. Arthur Burgoyne (center), 82nd Airborne Divison command sergeant major, salutes while the United States National Anthem plays during a ceremony in Sainte Mere Eglise, France June 6, 2019. The ceremony honored the paratroopers who jumped into combat on June 6, 1944.
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.--July, 22, 2011 – The two largest civilian employers in the Department of Defense, the U.S Army Materiel Command and the Naval Sea System Command, joined forces Friday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to provide more employment opportunities to service members by expanding their veteran hiring programs.
The agreement between U.S Army Materiel Command and the Naval Sea System Command expanded the veteran hiring programs for both organizations by combining two existing programs.
Command Sgt. Maj. Marcus Jones relinquished responsibility as the senior enlisted advisor of U.S. Army Garrison Fort Huachuca to Command Sgt. Maj. James Prasse in a ceremony on Brown Parade Field Dec. 6, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Tanja Linton)
Col. John M. Scott assumed command of U.S. Army Garrison Red Cloud and Area I from Col. Hank Dodge during a ceremony at Camp Red Cloud's fitness center July 13, 2012. Command Sgt. Maj. Michael L. Hatfield assumed responsibility for USAG Red Cloud and Area I from Command Sgt. Maj. Nidal Saeed during the same ceremony. - U.S. Army photo by Sgt 1st Class Jeff Troth
ROBINSON MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, N. Little Rock, Ark.:--Command Sgt. Maj. Michael P. Ingram celebrated his retirement ceremony with family and friends on October 27, 2017 at Kordsmeier Readiness Center on Camp Robinson. He served thirty years in a variety of positions, most of which were in the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
The Apollo 11 Command Module "Columbia" carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their historic voyage to the Moon and back on July 16-24, 1969. This mission culminated in the first human steps on another world.
The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial is a memorial in Green Park in London, commemorating the aircrews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War. The memorial, located on Piccadilly near Hyde Park Corner, was built to mark the sacrifice of 55,573 aircrew from Britain, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other countries of the Commonwealth, as well as civilians of all nations killed during raids. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the memorial on 28 June 2012.
Maj. Rex Thomen assumed command of the 61st Weapons Mass Destruction - Civil Support Team from Lt. Col. Brandan Robbins during a change of command ceremony at Chappell Armory, Camp Joseph T. Robinson, August 15, 2023.
As a parting gift from the officers of the 61st WMD-CST, Robbins presented an NCO sword with the unit motto “Calculated and Deliberate” inscribed on the blade to the enlisted members of the 61st WMD-CST.
State Opening of Parliament – 17 July 2024
From the Court Circular
“17 July 2024
Buckingham Palace
The King, accompanied by The Queen, travelled in State to the Palace of Westminster today to open the Session of Parliament.
Their Majesties drove in a Carriage Procession, escorted by a Sovereign's Escort of The Household Cavalry, under the command of Major William Charlesworth, The Blues and Royals, and were received at the Sovereign's Entrance by the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain.
Guards of Honour were mounted at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster by 1st Battalion Welsh Guards with The King's Colour, under the command of Major Andrew Campbell.
A staircase party of The Household Cavalry was on duty at Victoria Tower, House of Lords, under the command of Major Dean Owens.
Royal Salutes were fired in Green Park by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, under the command of Major John Baileff, and from the Tower of London Saluting Battery by the Honourable Artillery Company, under the command of Major Amanda Wheeler.
The Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and the Sword of State were conveyed previously to the House of Lords in a Carriage Procession, escorted by a Regalia Escort of the Household Cavalry.
His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms was on duty in the Prince's Chamber and The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard was on duty in the Royal Gallery.
The King's Bargemaster and Watermen were on duty.
The Ladies and Gentlemen of the Household and the Pages of Honour to The King (the Hon. Guy Tryon, the Hon. William Sackville, the Hon. Alfred Wellesley and Ralph Tollemache) and the Pages of Honour to The Queen (William Keswick and Arthur Elliott) were in attendance at the Palace of Westminster.
Their Majesties returned to Buckingham Palace and were received by the Lord Chamberlain and the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household.”
Extracted from the Houses of Parliament website
The State Opening of Parliament marks the formal start of the parliamentary year and the King's Speech sets out the government's agenda for the coming session, outlining proposed policies and legislation. It is the only regular occasion when the three constituent parts of Parliament – the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons – meet.
The State Opening happens on the first day of a new parliamentary session or shortly after a general election.
This State Opening this year took place on Wednesday 17 July 2024.
The previous State Opening, His Majesty King Charles's first as Monarch, took place on 7 November 2023, at the start of the 2023-24 session of Parliament.
Prior to this, State Opening of Parliament took place on 10 May 2022, at the start of the 2022-23 session. On this occasion, Parliament was opened by the then Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge as Counsellors of State for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presided over the State Opening of Parliament in person on 67 occasions during her reign.
Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament in person all but three times during her reign. Two exceptions were in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. In 2022, Parliament was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge acting as Counsellors of State on behalf of the Queen. The ceremony has changed very little throughout her reign.
State Opening: how it happens
State Opening is the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar. The event begins with the King’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, escorted by the Household Cavalry.
The King arrives at Sovereign's Entrance and proceeds to the Robing Room. Wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, he leads the Royal Procession through the Royal Gallery, packed with 600 guests, to the chamber of the House of Lords.
The House of Lords official known as Black Rod is sent to summon the Commons. The doors to the Commons chamber are shut in her face: a practice dating back to the Civil War, symbolising the Commons' independence from the monarchy. Black Rod strikes the door three times before it is opened. Members of the House of Commons then follow Black Rod and the Speaker of the House of Commons to the Lords chamber, standing at the opposite end to the Throne, known as the Bar of the House, to listen to the speech.
The King's Speech
The King’s Speech is delivered by the King from the Throne in the House of Lords. Although the King reads the Speech, it is written by the government. It contains an outline of its policies and proposed legislation for the new parliamentary session.
After the King’s Speech
When the King leaves, a new parliamentary session starts and Parliament gets to work. Members of both Houses debate the content of the speech and agree an ‘Address in Reply to His Majesty's Gracious Speech'. Each House continues the debate over the planned legislative programme for several days, looking at different subject areas. The King’s Speech is voted on by the Commons, but rarely in the Lords.
State Opening – History
Traditions surrounding the State Opening and the delivery of a speech by the Monarch can be traced back as far as the 16th century. The current ceremony dates from the opening of the rebuilt Palace of Westminster in 1852 after the fire of 1834.
The State Opening is a royal ceremony of great antiquity – well-established by the late fourteenth century – which marks the start of a parliamentary year.
It is customary for the Sovereign to be present at the ceremony, which serves as a symbolic reminder of the unity of the three constituent parts of Parliament: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The broad outlines of the ceremony have remained largely unchanged for centuries: a procession by the Sovereign to the Palace of Westminster is followed by the assembling of the Members of both Houses, and the reading of the Speech.
Within these outlines, however, there have been adaptations and innovations. For example, from its origins until 1679, the ceremony was usually preceded by a mass at Westminster Abbey, but this was discontinued during the reign of King Charles II for fear of assassination plots.
To take another example, Sovereigns in the 16th and 17th centuries used to process to Parliament aboard the Royal Barge on the River Thames.
The modern state opening ceremony dates to 1852, when the new Palace of Westminster was opened. The route within Parliament that the KIng follows today was used by Queen Victoria for the first time in 1852.
The public sequence of events
The public elements of the ceremony begin just before 11am, when members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment lead the procession from Buckingham Palace.
A coach carrying the royal regalia - the Imperial State Crown, the Cap of Maintenance and Sword of State – precedes the monarch.
The Sovereign's Bargemaster and four Royal Watermen serve as boxmen on the coaches, acting as ceremonial bodyguards of the King and guards of the regalia.
The royal procession
The royal procession makes its way along The Mall, through Horse Guards Parade, down Whitehall and Parliament Street. All along the route are posted members of Britain's armed forces who ‘present arms' as the royal party passes. They contribute to the pageantry of the day as well as provide security and crowd control.
The procession arrives at the Palace of Westminster at 11.15am. The King enters through the Sovereign's Entrance under the Victoria Tower, at the opposite end of the palace to Big Ben, and the royal standard replaces the union flag over Westminster until the King leaves the Palace at the end of the ceremony.
Inside the Palace, the King dons the Imperial State Crown and ceremonial robes before making his way to the House of Lords, attended by various members of the Royal Household.
Within Parliament
The assembly in the House of Lords chamber includes members of the Lords, dressed in traditional scarlet robes and ermine capes, ambassadors and high commissioners, judges, and visiting dignitaries and heads of state.
The King is seated on the throne in the Lords chamber at approximately 11.30am. A well-known tradition of the ceremony commences: Black Rod is dispatched to the House of Commons to summon MPs to hear the King's Speech.
Upon Black Rod's approach, the Serjeant at Arms of the Commons slams the doors in her face. She knocks ceremonially upon the doors three times and is given permission to enter. Black Rod then approachs the Table and announces the King's summons.
This ritual symbolises the right of the Commons to exclude royal messengers, and commemorates the events of 1642, the last time a sovereign entered the Commons, when King Charles I tried to arrest five MPs.
The Commons' Speaker and Black Rod then lead MPs in procession to the House of Lords. Tradition has it that MPs amble to the Lords noisily, to show their independence.
MPs crowd into the space between the doors and the bar of the chamber to hear the Speech from the Throne, which is delivered in a neutral tone by the King and received in silence by the assembly.
After the speech, the King returns by coach to Buckingham Palace. His exit is heralded by military trumpeters, and the royal standard is replaced by the union flag.
Elements unseen by the public
Some of the most well-known elements of the State Opening take place out of the public eye.
Before the Sovereign's arrival at Parliament, the Yeomen of the Guard, the royal bodyguards, ceremonially search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster for explosives.
This commemorates Guy Fawkes's ‘gunpowder plot' of 1605 – a failed attempt by English Catholics to blow up the Protestant King James I and Parliament.
Another reminder of the violence and intrigue historically surrounding relationships between the Commons and the Crown is the fact that a Member of the Commons is ceremonially held hostage in Buckingham Palace while the Sovereign attends the Palace, to ensure the King's safe return.
This tradition stems from the time of Charles I, who had a contentious relationship with Parliament and was eventually beheaded in 1649 at the conclusion of a civil war between the monarchy and Parliament.
The hostage is usually the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household – that is, an MP whose office makes him or her officially a member of the Royal Household and, simultaneously, a junior Whip for the Government.