State Opening of Parliament – Parade & King’s Speech

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Craig’s review… The parade is supposed to be marching past at 11 AM so I thought I'd better get here by 9 AM at the latest, but the streets are still empty at ten. It's been drizzling with rain all day so maybe that's what has kept the crowds away.

In my search for the perfect spot I walked the entire route from Buckingham Palace down the Mall, through the centre of Horse Guards and all the way up to the Parliament. You need a pass to get past Westminster Abbey (a cordon of police stop everyone going any further), so I've ended up in Parliament Square opposite Big Ben, about fifteen feet from the Winston Churchill statue.

Where's the best place to stand?

At 10.15 AM the police started blocking off the surrounding streets and fenced everyone into Parliament Square. No one else has been allowed in since, so about fifty of us have got the entire square to ourselves! We're watching the public cramming up against the barriers down Whitehall while we're standing nice and comfy with five feet of personal space each.

So here's my advice: arrive a couple of hours before the parade starts and stand on the Big Ben corner of Parliament Square. With a bit of luck the police will box you in before the horde of tourists arrive.

Photo: Craig Cross

Foot Guards and Household Cavalry

We know the parade is getting closer because the Foot Guards have started lining up in the street with their machine guns and ceremonial swords. The sergeant is marching past with his measuring stick to make sure they're all standing exactly ten paces apart while the police are just standing around yakking and chatting and joking with the crowd. You can actually have a conversation and a bit of a laugh with some of them which helps to pass the time.

Photo: Craig Cross

Just before 11 AM a fleet of limos drive past with foreign flags on their bonnets. I suppose they must be full of diplomats and ambassadors, but you can't really tell because their windows are all blacked out.

Photo: Craig Cross

If you're expecting to see hundreds of horses and thousands of soldiers like Trooping the Colour then you're going to go home disappointed because the State Opening of Parliament isn't like that. There's a couple of marching bands and maybe a hundred horses at the most, perhaps a few hundred soldiers -- the entire parade passes you by in about 2-3 minutes.

Photo: Craig Cross

King's Speech inside the House of Lords

Once King Charles and Queen Camilla have passed by in their State coach they quickly disappear inside the Houses of Parliament to deliver the King's speech in the House of Lords, and you have to stand around in the rain for 45 minutes waiting for the return trip.

So is it worth it? Of course it is! These parades are always worth doing, but if I had to choose between Trooping the Colour and the State Opening of Parliament then it's no contest -- Trooping the Colour is by far the better of the two.

Worth a visit? ★★★Value for money? freeGood for kids? ★☆☆Easy to get to? ★★★

I also recommend… If you enjoy Houses of Parliament then you might like to visit Big Ben (you can walk it in less than 2 mins), Downing Street (you can walk it in 6 mins) and Parliament Square (you can walk it in less than 3 mins). You can watch some more soldiers, horses and marching bands at Changing the Guard

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