Pomp and Circumstance 2026 — Pulling back the curtain on the opening of the UK Parliament

Post by the Reverend Richard Coles – cleric, broadcaster, writer and former Communard.

Off to the State Opening of Parliament today and we went as guests of the Speaker, whom I know from the football at Chorley. (Football)

We had smashing seats in the Lord’s Strangers’ Gallery, sitting between Arthur Edwards, doyen of Royal paparazzi, and Alma from Corrie.

Flummery and mummery, men in extraordinary outfits called Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary who underneath his gorgeous tabard turned out to be my pal Alastair, ambassadrixes in turbans, law lords, Beefeaters, the Clerk of the Journals, archbishops, the Commander Cyber and Specialist Operation Command, Gold Stick in Waiting, and then with a literal fanfare the King and Queen, crowned, preceded by the Sword of State and the Cap of Maintenance attended by a retinue of page boys and ladies-in-waiting and equerries. Then the House of Commons arrived and got sharp looks from the Peers for making too much noise.

The speech followed. “My government will make everything better and deliver world class services to hard working families. May God have mercy on us.”

And then we went for a reception at Speaker’s House, where I was greeted with a cheery hello by Nigel Farage, who wanted to talk about the Jungle and smelled of fags.

I also spoke to Nadine Dorries, with whom I share experience of bereavement, Sir Edward Leigh, and Sextus Rees-Mogg, saw Richard Tice, Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, our Representatives to Tristan da Cunha, St Helena and the Falkland Islands, and made friends with a load of Clerks. Dickie spent most of the time dodging people he can’t abide and ended up sequestered with my friend Ugbana Oyet, who is Serjeant-at-Arms.

My favourite conversation was with Arthur Edwards, who started taking pictures of the Royals for the Sun in 1974. He’s still working. What does he make of them? At first they were the prey and he was a hunter, in the days of Rupert Murdoch and Kelvin Mackenzie, when a picture of Di in an awkward situation could sell millions and millions of copies. It’s not like that now and he has grown to respect the King greatly. Why? He’s good and kind and he works hard and most of what he does no one knows about, he said. When Arthur’s wife died, after sixty one years of marriage (he’s a devout Catholic), the King wrote him a letter of condolence which made him cry and got him an audience with the Pope.

I also found a stuffed puffin that was given the Speaker by President Zelensky.

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