The Queen is unveiling the British Government’s plans for the next parliament at London’s Palace of Westminster.
You can watch the event live in the video player, above, from 11h CEST.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions the event will go ahead without the usual pomp and ceremony.
The proceedings take place for the monarch to outline the policies of the government for the upcoming parliamentary session.
There are expected to be more than 25 separate bills and pieces of legislation announced in her speech which will be delivered from the throne at the upper chamber, the House of Lords.
The event begins with the Queen’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, escorted by the Household Cavalry.
The House of Lords official, known as Black Rod, is sent to summon the lower chamber, the House of Commons. The doors to the Commons chamber are shut in his or her face: a practice dating back to the Civil War, symbolising the Commons’ independence from the monarchy.
Some traditions surrounding the State Opening and the monarch’s speech can be traced back as far as the 16th century but the current ceremony dates from the opening of a rebuilt Palace of Westminster in 1852 following a major fire in 1834.
