The Queen Opens Parliament in the U.K.

Lording It Over the Commons
The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace in her horse drawn carriage. The centuries-old tradition also features cannon fire and state trumpeters. She is escorted by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and street liners guard the whole route and present arms as the royal party passes. And the Queen reads the speech in the House of Lords because no monarch has set foot in the House of Commons since 1642, when Charles I tried to arrest five MPs.

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