The Prince of Wales offered a glimpse of his future role as head of state on Tuesday as he opened the new session of parliament in the absence of the Queen.
The monarch reluctantly pulled out on the advice of royal doctors due to her continued mobility problems – and watched the proceedings on television from Windsor Castle.
In his full regalia – Admiral of the Fleet uniform, medals and honour insignia – Charles, with the Duchess of Cornwall, achieved what one royal commentator described as “another part of his training”, albeit a duty he probably did not want to fulfil given the circumstances.
The speech, written by the government and setting out the legislative priorities of Boris Johnson’s administration, had been circulated in advance featuring the words “my government” as Charles was tasked with delivering the Queen’s exact words.
But after the address was handed to him by the lord chancellor and justice secretary Dominic Raab, the speech was punctuated with the words “Her Majesty’s government”.
The 73-year-old prince sat not on the sovereign’s throne, which had been removed, but on the consort’s throne, which used to be occupied by his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, and which Charles has used in recent years.
A space remained next to him, where the Queen’s missing throne is usually located, under the opulent canopy, with the monarch’s Imperial State Crown in front on a velvet cushion.
On either side of Charles were William, in a morning coat, and Camilla, wearing a day dress and hat, in the Chairs of State.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, described the occasion as a “big moment in royal history”.
“It must have been a hugely significant moment for him. It was rather telling the way that, as the Imperial State Crown was placed on the table at the side of him, he looked at it for several seconds.You wondered at the time what was going through his mind.
“We’re looking at the future. It’s a big moment in royal history.”
The last time the Queen missed the state opening of parliament was in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and then Prince Edward, and her speech was read by the lord chancellor.
