Why the Queen didn't wear her crown for the Queen's Speech
Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth delivered her Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament. The occasion came following a three day closure of Parliament, and marked the start of the parliamentary year.
The State Opening of Parliament (and therefore the Queen's Speech - which is not to be confused with her Christmas Day speech, that's something entirely different) usually happens once a year, signalling the start of a new "session" for government. But, breaking with tradition, there hasn't been a Queen's Speech since June 2017 because former Prime Minister Theresa May wanted a two-year parliamentary session in order to focus on getting Brexit done and dealt with. Not that that actually happened...
Anyway, most of the ceremony went as normal - Her Majesty travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster by carriage and appeared in full ceremonial robes as she delivered her speech, detailing all the laws the government wants Parliament to approve over the coming year. But there was one unusual detail about the State Opening of Parliament: the Queen wasn't wearing her State Imperial Crown.
It's only the third time in the history of her reign that Queen Elizabeth has not worn the crown to the ceremony. Normally, she looks a little something like this:
But in yesterday's speech, the monarch opted for the diadem - the diamond tiara she can be seen wearing side-on on British stamps and coins. Instead of resting it on her head, the Queen placed the State Imperial Crown on a table beside her.
The reason she chose not to wear the crown, it's widely thought, is because of how heavy it is. At 93-years-old, the Queen continues to carry out her duties but makes amendments to her schedule to recognise her greater need for rest. While she didn't go so far as to delegate the speech-giving role to her son and heir, Prince Charles, the monarch seems to have made a tweak to the pomp and ceremony to make it easier for her to carry her duty out.
According to the BBC, the bejewelled crown is adorned with nearly 3,000 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and around 270 pearls - as well as having a large diamond, ruby and sapphire at the back and front. In short, it's heavy.
The diadem in comparison is far lighter, being about a quarter of the width and holding just 1,300 diamonds and 170 pearls. So low-key.
In a BBC documentary aired last year, Queen Elizabeth hinted at how heavy the State Imperial Crown is, saying: "You can't look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up, because if you did your neck would break - it would fall off."
So yeah, she probably made the right decision with that one.
In her speech yesterday, the Queen introduced 26 bills the government would be putting forward in the coming parliamentary session, including an environmental bill, a domestic abuse bill, and legislation about the NHS and the education system.
She obviously covered Brexit, too, telling peers and guests at the ceremony that the government's "priority" will be to secure a departure from the EU on 31 October. With just 17 days to go, we'll just have to wait and see how they get on...
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