Tag Archives: Opening of Parliament
Message of Austerity as Queen Elizabeth Opens Parliament
Queen Elizabeth II spoke from the throne at the House of Lords Tuesday during the state opening of Parliament. Wearing her crown and regal robes, the Queen gave her speech in regards to Britain's new but rare coalition government, which formed after this month's narrow elections.
Among the many things she spoke about were cuts to public spending and changes to the country's centuries-old political system.
"The first priority is to reduce the deficit and restore economic growth," the monarch Read more [...]
Pomp & Pageantry as Queen Elizabeth II Opens Parliament
Despite economic problems in the U.K., full scale pageantry was on display today as Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament at the Palace of Westminster. This was the final Parliament session before elections in 2010.
The Queen arrived at Westminster in horse and carriage with her husband, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She was dressed in full royal regalia - gown, jewels, fur wrap, ermine robes and of course, the Imperial State Crown, which the Queen put on once she arrived at the Palace.
From Read more [...]
Japanese Foreign Minister: Emperor Should Use Own Words
Like any other constitutional monarch, Japan's Emperor Akihito does not ever voice his politics. Even when he opens Parliament, or the Diet, as he did back in September, his speech is written for him by the Cabinet and approved of by the government.
But now, the Foreign Minister would like to change that a bit. Katsuya Okada told members of the Cabinet in an informal conversation about "whether we can make efforts to have the wording reflect the Emperor's thoughts, even if it's just a little Read more [...]
Morocco’s Parliament Opened by King Mohammed VI
The King of Morocco officially opened the country's Parliament in its capital of Rabat on Friday. In his speech to the Parliament's two houses, King Mohammed VI stressed the need for legal framework for economic and social council.
"The aim is to develop a model Moroccan economic and social council that serves as an expert constitutional institution thanks to the quality of the advice and recommendations it gives regarding the nation's chief economic issues," he said.
The King also called Read more [...]
King Harald V Opens Norwegian Parliament
The King of Norway opened the 2009-2010 session of Parliament Friday with a speech from the throne. The speech outlined the government's plans for the country, in the midst of a economic downturn.
With his wife, Queen Sonja, by his right hand, and his son and heir, Crown Prince Haakon, at his left, King Harald V said to Norway's politicians:
"Over the past year the world economy experienced the most powerful recession since World War II. Many countries have experienced sharply increasing Read more [...]
Danish Royals Attend Opening of Parliament
The entire Danish royal family gathered yesterday for the annual opening of Parliament at the Christianborg Palace in Copenhagen. The women, in particular Crown Princess Mary and Princess Marie, were dressed fashionably with their lovely coats and hats. They also carried bouquets of autumn colored flowers.
Princess Benedikte, the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II, arrived first at about 11:45am. She was followed by Prince Joachim and Princess Marie, then by the Crown Princely couple. Last Read more [...]
Emperor Akihito Opens Diet
Japan's Emperor Akihito officially opened the Diet, or Parliament, on Friday. He did this from the gilded Chrysanthemum Throne in the upper halls of the Diet.
This Parliament opening is a closely watched, due to the brand new Cabinet under the newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Hatoyama was voted into Parliament with high hopes that he would fix the worst recession the country has faced since World War II.
Japan has the second largest economy after the United States.
Yesterday, Read more [...]
Swedish Royal Family Attends Parliament Opening
Tuesday, September 15th was the official opening of Swedish Parliament. The event was attended by the country's head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf and his family.
In the morning, there was a church service at Stockholm Cathedral. At 1pm with folk dancers and music performing right outside the Parliament building. An hour later, the royal family arrived by horse and carriage.
The first carriage carried the King and his wife, Queen Silvia. The second had their three children - Victoria, Read more [...]
Queen Beatrix Opens Parliament
Yesterday, Dutch Queen Beatrix opened the parliamentary year with a speech from the throne. From there, she told the Netherlands about the budget cuts to be made in the economy due to the world economic crisis.
"People are losing their jobs, the number of bankruptcies is rising quickly, assets built up over years are shrinking and government finances are unavoidably showing large deficits," the Queen said at the Hall of Knights in The Hague. Her speech - the 30th time she has done so - was Read more [...]
Malaysian King Delivers Speech from Throne
King Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin gave his speech to the opening of the Malaysian parliament yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.
In it, the King called for racial unity in the multi-ethnic country.
"I am saddened that after 51 years of independence, narrow racial issues are still being raised by certain parties," he said.
"In order to preserve racial harmony and the country's stability, I want to stress that the government will not hesitate to take action against anybody who tries to disunite the people," Read more [...]
