The more obsequious MPs and peers bowed and curtseyed while others just enjoyed the spectacle
Sail on, O Ship of State! … You’d have thought that King Charles would have wanted a little down time. A little me time. A time to privately grieve his mother and to accustom himself to his new role as head of state. But constitutional monarchy allows no rest. There are procedures and protocols to be observed. Preferably with as much pageantry and absurdity as possible. Brits like history to come as costume drama.
So on Monday morning the new sovereign came to Westminster Hall to receive the condolences of both houses of parliament and to make his first speech to them as King. And, in fairness, if you’re going to do this sort of thing, there is nowhere better to do it. The 900-year-old hall is genuinely awe-inspiring – it makes the Commons and the Lords look tawdry – and has been a pivotal scene in British democracy. Our history has grown up around it. The physical intersection of the monarchy and the people. It’s also where Charles I was tried. Though this probably wasn’t the day to bring that up.
