Queen Elizabeth II will miss the state opening of Parliament for only the third time on Tuesday, casting a shadow over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempt to reboot his flagging U.K. premiership.
The 96-year-old monarch is suffering “episodic mobility problems” and the Queen’s Speech laying out the government’s agenda for the next parliamentary session will now be delivered for the first time by her son and heir, Prince Charles, Buckingham Palace said late Monday in an emailed statement.
The Queen has pulled out of several public events in recent months, and has also been seen walking with the aid of a stick. She’s previously skipped the near-annual parliamentary set-piece just twice in her 70 years on the throne — both because of pregnancy. The announcement that she’ll miss it again provides Britons with a reminder that the reign of the country’s longest-ruling monarch won’t last forever.
Elizabeth’s absence also threatens to overshadow Johnson’s plans to revive the fortunes of his government with a new legislative agenda. The prime minister will pledge to deliver on his Brexit promises and use “every ounce of ingenuity” to steer the U.K. through the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and a squeeze on the cost of living, according to a statement late on Monday from his office.
“This Queen’s Speech will get our country back on track,” Johnson said in the statement. “I will strive — and this government will strive — night and day to deliver it.”
The prime minister is trying to combat a sense of drift around his administration after losing hundreds of seats in local elections last week. He also aims to shore up support among the Conservative Party faithful after a series of missteps — including being fined by police for breaking the lockdown laws his government set — that have led some of his own lawmakers to call for his resignation.
Delivering on Brexit
Johnson faces the prospect of more fines as the police continue their probe into potentially illegal gatherings in Downing Street during lockdown. On Monday, opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer, who’s also under investigation over potential breaches of the rules, said he’d resign if fined — adding to pressure on the premier, who’s refused to quit even after becoming the first sitting premier found to have broken the law.
Among the plans to be announced on Tuesday will be a Public Order Bill to prevent disruptive tactics used in recent months by protest groups including Extinction Rebellion, Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil, according to the statement. The measures will make it illegal for demonstrators to lock themselves to infrastructure, buildings and objects or interfere with airports, railways and printing presses.
Johnson told the Sunday Express that the legislation will also include a “super seven” set of bills designed to deliver on the Brexit promises he made during the referendum campaign. The intention is to scrap legacy European Union rules that don’t work for Britain, including on financial services, data reform and gene editing.
Other planned legislation includes bills to:
- Force landlords to rent out commercial properties in a bid to rejuvenate high streets
- Reform education to raise standards in schools
- Improve mental health treatment
- Enable a new drive to build nuclear power stations and expand offshore wind power
Johnson may also signal plans to take action on the post-Brexit settlement in Northern Ireland. U.K. media have reported in recent weeks that the government would introduce a specific bill giving ministers the power to unilaterally switch off parts of the so-called Northern Ireland protocol that governs the region’s trading arrangements. But Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has rowed back from that idea, merely insisting that Britain reserves the right to act if necessary.
Johnson is under pressure to convince his party that he has ideas to shore up support in its southern heartlands, after losing heavily in London and the south of England in last week’s council elections. He’s also battling the economic headwinds of a burgeoning cost-of-living crisis and soaring inflation.
The speech is a ceremonial occasion used to mark the start of a new parliamentary session. Prince Charles’s son and second-in-line to the throne, Prince William, will also attend.
The Queen, whose husband Prince Philip died last year just two months short of what would have been his hundredth birthday, missed a number of events last month, including the Maundy Service, a religious event, in which Prince Charles stepped in to represent her. She’s also set to miss the annual season of garden parties at Buckingham Palace this year, being represented by other members of the Royal Family.