King’s Speech LIVE: Latest updates from State Opening of Parliament

Searching the cellars in the Palace of Westminster

• On the day of Parliament’s official State Opening ceremony, the cellars of the Palace of Westminster are searched by the Yeomen of the Guard – the monarch’s own bodyguards and the oldest existing British military unit.
• This tradition dates back to 1605, when it was first carried out after a failed attempt led by English Catholics, including Guy Fawkes, to assassinate the protestant monarch James I by blowing up the Houses of Parliament.

Black Rod and summoning the House of Commons

• Black Rod is the name given to the House of Lords official, who is sent to summon the Commons for the ceremony.
• The role has been held by Sarah Clarke since February 2018, making her the first female Black Rod in the 650-year existence of the role.
• The doors to the Commons chamber will be shut in the king’s face, in a practice dating back to the Civil War, to symbolise the Commons’ independence from the monarchy.
• Black Rod will subsequently strike the door three times before it is opened.
• Members of the House of Commons will follow Black Rod and the Commons Speaker to the Lords chamber, standing at the opposite end to the throne, known as the Bar of the House, to listen to the speech, which is expected to begin after Charles is seated on the throne around 11:30am.

King’s speech

• Despite its name suggesting it is prepared by the government, the King’s speech is actually written by the government, with its length depending on the number of proposed laws and other announcements – such as foreign-policy objectives – but normally lasts for around 10 minutes.
• Beyond any words about his mother, the King’s speech will contain a summary of government policies and proposed legislation for the new parliamentary session.
• Topics included in the speech are expected to include illegal migration, housing, planning, workers’ rights and railway nationalisation.

She might have hoped her birthday tomorrow would involve nothing more taxing than putting her feet up with her husband, reports The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English.

Instead, Queen Camilla will celebrate turning 77 by popping on her Bruce Oldfield gown and the family’s iconic Diamond Diadem to accompany King Charles to the State Opening of Parliament.

Read Rebecca’s report here, available to Mail Plus subscribers:

MailOnline reporter Arthur Parashar reports security checks are taking place ahead of today’s State Opening of Parliament, where King Charles will reveal Sir Keir Starmer’s plans for Britain – in the first speech from the throne under a Labour government for 14 years.

Dozens of police officers have been pictured searching Whitehall ahead of the traditional day which is rich in English constitutional history.

In a day of pomp and pageantry, the King will travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster in a royal procession before making a grand speech in the House of Lords.

Read Arthur’s report here:

Shadow House of Commons leader Chris Philp has said the Government’s plans to build on so-called ‘grey belt’ land is ‘shameless spin’ ahead of the King’s Speech.

The Conservative MP told Times Radio:

Obviously we accept and agree that more houses need to be built, but they need to be built in the right places.

For example, in my view, they should be built on brownfield sites in city centres, those kinds of places first looking at maybe new towns, but what we should not be doing is ripping up the green belt.

He said housing should be built on brownfield sites and by building high in town and city centres – for example in Canary Wharf or the Greenwich Peninsula in London.

They are talking about huge chunks of the green belt, not the odd car park. You can’t just suddenly claim that a whole load of green belt is now called the grey belt and it’s okay to build on it. I mean, that’s just obviously a piece of nonsensical and shameless spin.

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has admitted Labour’s planning reforms ‘may be controversial’ but are committed to ‘getting things built more quickly’

Ahead of the King’s Speech, Mr McFadden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

We were very clear during the election campaign that we would come out of this on the side of getting things built more quickly.

That may be controversial in some places, I’ve no doubt that it will be.

But it’s reasonable for people to expect that, if we said that during the campaign, it’s what they see when the King’s Speech is published later today.

The Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East added:

If we do nothing on this, we will continue with a situation where there’s a whole generation of young people for whom the aspiration of owning their own home, or sometimes even renting one at a reasonable price, will continue to be unrealisable.

Police officers have been patrolling Whitehall ahead of today’s State Opening of Parliament.

Here are some pictures of preparations in the capital this morning.

King Charles is expected to announce around 35 draft laws today as he delivers his first speech under a Labour government.

Here are some measures he will likely set out:

• Scrapping anti-strike laws and introducing a new package of ‘workers’ rights’
• Legislation to set up a state-owned energy company GB Energy which will drive investment in green power projects such as solar and wind farms
• A package of electoral reform, including booting out hereditary peers and starting the process for introducing votes at 16
• A Criminal Justice Bill, including tougher powers on shoplifting and an extension of the ban on zombie knives
• A Border Security Bill to allow the new Border Security Command to use counter-terrorism powers to help break the people-smuggling gangs
• A Renters Reform Bill to ban no-fault evictions and force landlords to deal with mouldy flats
• The revival of Rishi Sunak’s plan to prevent anyone born after 2009 from ever buying cigarettes

The Daily Mail’s Political Editor Jason Groves reports Sir Keir Starmer will launch a fresh assault on the planning system today – meaning communities can debate only ‘how, not if’ homes are built.

Sources said today’s King Speech will include a new Planning Bill which will curb residents’ ability to block controversial developments.

Areas of the Green Belt deemed ‘low quality’ will be re-designated as ‘Grey Belt’ and released for development.

Read Jason’s preview here of today’s King’s Speech:

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the King’s Speech to mark the State Opening of Parliament this morning.

King Charles is expected to announce around 35 draft laws as he delivers his first address in Parliament under a Labour government.

New legislation on illegal migration, housing, planning, workers’ rights and railway nationalisation are expected to feature in his address.

The speech is expected to begin around 11:30am.