What is the King's Speech

On Wednesday 13 May 2026, the Monarch will deliver a “King’s Speech” at the State Opening of Parliament.

This briefing looks at the historical development of the speech from the throne and its contemporary significance.

The State Opening of Parliament

Each session of Parliament begins with the State Opening of Parliament. This includes the King’s or Queen’s Speech (also known as the Gracious Speech), which outlines legislation the government intends to introduce in the following session. Despite its name, the speech is written by the government and approved by Cabinet, but it is delivered by the Monarch from the throne in the House of Lords.

The King usually delivers the speech in person. It can also be read by the Lord Chancellor in the presence of the Monarch, as occurred during the reign of Queen Victoria. If the Monarch is not present, then the Lord Chancellor has read the speech on their behalf (as in 1959 and 1963). In 1927 and 1936 the speech was delivered by Earl Balfour and Viscount Halifax respectively.

On 10 May 2022 Queen Elizabeth II authorised her son Charles (then the Prince of Wales) and his son the Duke of Cambridge to act in her place as Counsellors of State. Only the then Prince of Wales read the speech.

Historical development of the King’s Speech

During the Tudor era (between 1485 and 1603) it was the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper (an office that no longer exists) who gave a speech at the State Opening. This articulated the “cause of the summons” (the reason for a new meeting of what was then the English Parliament).

After King James VI of Scotland also became James I of England in 1603, the King chose to deliver this speech himself. At this time, only the first session of each Parliament was opened with a speech, but from 1660 the King would make one at the beginning of every session.

This would take the form of a short introductory address, which was then expanded upon by the King’s spokesman. In 1679, however, the second speech was discontinued and only the Monarch spoke. Exceptions were the speeches of King George I (1714 to 1727). As he could not speak good English (his first language was German), these were read by his Lord Chancellor.

Originally the speech was written by the Monarch and their counsellors, but as Britain developed into a constitutional monarchy the speech came to be written by Ministers of the Crown. In 1841, Lord John Russell (a Liberal Cabinet minister) told the House of Commons the speech “was the result of advice of Ministers, and Ministers alone are responsible for it”.

Between the 19th and early 20th century, the speech was approved at a meeting of the Privy Council. Monarchs could request (minor) changes and once approved, the speech would be locked in a box until the State Opening. As Benjamin Disraeli wrote to Queen Victoria:

The Speech from the Throne must be approved in Council by the Sovereign, but to be so approved it should be previously considered by the Sovereign. Ample time ought to be secured to the Sovereign for this purpose, so that suggestions may be made and explanations required and given.

What one official called Queen Victoria’s “time-honoured fiction” that the speech had to be approved at a meeting of the Privy Council continued into the reign of her grandson King George V. In 1921, the Clerk of the Privy Council, Sir Almeric FitzRoy, submitted a memo to the Lord President of the Council, AJ Balfour, in which he observed that “such approval is no part of the business of the King in Council, and it appears probable that the practice is the result of convenience hardening into custom”. Sir Almeric recommended that a draft of the speech be submitted to the King in a despatch box like any other state document, and the King accepted his recommendation.

The custom appears to have ceased after the First World War. Thereafter, the contents of the Gracious Speech were agreed via correspondence.

Preparation of the King’s Speech

As with the shorter speech read at the prorogation of a parliamentary session, the Gracious Speech is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. It commissions contributions from government departments and puts them into a consistent style. A draft speech will also incorporate comments from Number 10, including those of the Prime Minister.

Once the text has been agreed, the Cabinet Office sends two copies to the Palace:

• A “top copy” accompanied by a formal covering submission signed by the Prime Minister
• A photocopy of both the speech and the Prime Minister’s submission

The latter is retained by the Palace while the top copy is initialled by the King and returned to Number 10. The Cabinet Office is then informed of His Majesty’s approval and the speeches are printed. Until the late 1990s, State Opening speeches were printed on parchment or vellum and had to be “treated with great care”.

Two of these “special” (printed) copies of the speech are also sent to the King as soon as they are received, with another covering letter from the Prime Minister’s Private Secretary. The King signs one of these special copies and again returns it to Number 10. It is then sent to the Lord Chancellor in time for the State Opening. Normal copies of the speech are sent to other members of the Cabinet including the Lord President, the Lord Privy Seal and the Chief Whip. The Leader of the Opposition also receives a copy the day before the State Opening.

Royal influence over drafting

Although the Monarch does not influence the contents of the speech, they may comment on the phrasing. A 1997 Cabinet Office briefing noted that, as the Gracious Speech was to be delivered by Queen Elizabeth II personally:

you will find the Palace being far more particular about the drafting, to minimise the dangers [of] her stumbling over words. They are therefore keen to avoid complex sentences or unnecessarily difficult words. The Queen also has an aversion to starting every paragraph with “My Government”. And, very obviously, there are limits on what it is acceptable to expect a constitutional monarch to say - ie “We are going to stuff the Tories” would not be acceptable!

The same briefing referred to the first New Labour government having “jazzed up” the content of Queen’s Speeches in the late 1990s. Sir Tony Blair later told Robert Hardman this had been a mistake: “The poor Queen was reading out New Labour twaddle.”

In November 1999, the royal biographer Hugo Vickers claims that the Queen had insufficient time between returning from a state visit to South Africa and opening Parliament to “object” to overly political content:

Where the speech should have informed the two Houses of the proposed legislation to be laid before them, it was filled with party propaganda about the Labour Government’s aims for the future […] Effectively the Prime Minister tricked the Queen into promoting his propaganda. The Palace accepted that they should have been more vigilant.

The royal expert Valentine Low has also recounted more recent examples:

Occasionally, the Palace would request a tweak to make the speech easier to deliver. When Boris Johnson was prime minister, there were a couple of occasions when the Palace felt the language wasn’t right. A Whitehall source says, ‘The tension comes in the drafting of the speech. If there are phrases in there that look too overtly political, there’s always an eyebrow raised at the other end of St James’s Park, which means, “No, I don’t think we can use this phrase or that phrase, because it’s come directly from political campaigning.” A phrase on the Rwanda bill had to be taken out, as did another on Brexit, which was all about “taking back control”.’

Delivery of the King’s Speech

Before the King’s Speech is read, MPs are summoned to the bar of the House of Lords by Black Rod. The Lord Chancellor then takes a printed copy of the Gracious Speech from a “Purse” and, on bended knee, hands it to the King, who is seated on the throne. Until 1998, the Lord Chancellor retreated backwards down the steps of the throne, but they now have the option to turn their back on the Sovereign.

When the Monarch reads the Gracious Speech, they begin with the words: “My Lords and Members of the House of Commons.”

In recent years, the King’s Speech – which is delivered in a neutral tone – has opened with a statement of the government’s priorities before setting out a legislative programme for the forthcoming session. If there is a new Monarch, it is customary for them to pay tribute to their predecessor.

When it comes to financial matters the Monarch addresses Members of the House of Commons, which acknowledges that Chamber’s primacy. But when the King comes to other legislation on home affairs, he addresses both Houses. Towards the end of the speech, the Monarch will “look forward” to welcoming a visiting head of state or celebrations to mark a significant jubilee.

The King’s Speech usually closes with the words:

Members of the House of Commons, estimates for the public services will be laid before you.

My Lords and Members of the House of Commons, other measures will be laid before you.

I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels.

The reading of the King’s Speech is normally received in silence. A rare exception to this occurred in 1998 when:

Assembled peers and bishops, enrobed and seated, and MPs standing squashed together at the bar of the House, listened with customary respect, until [the Queen] announced the hereditary peers’ eviction. Labour MPs murmured ‘Hear, hear’. The Queen appeared shocked; interruption was unprecedented. Peers growled ‘Shame, shame’ in response.

End of the King’s Speech

Upon finishing the Gracious Speech, the King hands it back to the Lord Chancellor. The King stands, bows to peers and then leaves the Chamber in procession.

MPs return to their Chamber, with the Speaker’s Chaplain following the Clerk of the House and the Speaker’s Secretary. If it is decided to suspend the sitting, then the Speaker goes straight through the Chamber on returning to the Commons and leaves by the back of the Speaker’s chair. The Commons mace remains on the table during the suspension and doorkeepers ensure that no stranger enters the Chamber. The division bells are rung by the principal doorkeeper three minutes before the House resumes after the suspension.

Debate on the Loyal Address

When both Houses of Parliament resume in the afternoon following the King’s Speech, the Speaker and Lord Speaker inform each House that the speech has taken place and that printed copies will be made available.

Supporters of the government in each House then move motions for “an Humble Address” (also known as the Loyal Address) in reply to the King’s Speech. Traditionally, these opening speeches are light-hearted. The process of each House giving formal thanks for the speech is not recorded before 1660 and appears to have become standard only after 1688.

The Houses then debate the motions, which gives MPs and members of the Lords the opportunity to comment on the contents of the speech and the government’s legislative plans. Following recent King's Speeches, the debate in the Commons has lasted five or six days.

Both Houses then agree a Loyal Address and order it to be presented to the King. This states:

Most Gracious Sovereign,

We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons [or Lords] of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Majesty for the Gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.

In both Houses, this is usually presented by members of the government who also form part of the Royal Household (government whips). Once the King has replied, it is reported from the bar of the Commons by the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (a whip), and in the Lords by the Lord Chamberlain or another member of the Royal Household. The King will state:

I have received with great satisfaction the dutiful and loyal expression of your thanks for the Speech with which I opened the present Session of Parliament.

Further reading

State Opening of Parliament – history and ceremonial