But in the discussions with the Palace, which also included Starmer’s office, there was a general acknowledgement that this year’s ceremony would be an awkward moment for the king.
“It is very embarrassing for the king that his government is such a shambles that he has to read out something that may or may not still be the government’s program by the end of the week,” according to the same person quoted above.
The Palace made clear that the king would fulfill his constitutional duties as required but that it should be for the politicians to handle the political crisis and the monarch should not be involved.
The state opening marks the formal start to the new parliamentary session. It is full of pageantry, including soldiers on horseback, trumpet fanfares, and a horse-drawn carriage taking the king from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster.
One option mooted before the 2015 election — when a hung parliament was widely expected — was to scale back the state opening and keep Queen Elizabeth II away from parliament at a time a political uncertainty.
Instead, the speech would have been read out by the leader of the House of Lords, a cabinet minister, and the queen would not have been involved until it was clear that either Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron or Ed Miliband — then Labour leader — could command a majority in the Commons. Such contingency plans were ultimately never needed because Cameron won an unexpected majority.
Dan Bloom and Annabelle Dickson contributed reporting.