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| The Queen’s Speech heralds the State Opening of Parliament. The Queen’s Speech took place on Wednesday 15 November 2006.
The State Opening usually takes place in October or November on the first day of the new parliamentary session. There is also a State Opening of Parliament shortly after a general election.
The Queen's Speech is delivered Her Majesty Elizabeth II. The Queen sits on the Throne in the House of Lords. The speech is given in the presence of members of both Houses. The Commons is summoned to hear the speech by 'Black Rod'. In a symbolic gesture that harkens back to the days of Charles I, the door to the Common’s chamber is slammed in Black Rod’s face and not opened until he has knocked on the door with his staff of office.
Although the Queen makes the speech, the content of the speech is produced by the Government and approved by the Cabinet. Following the State Opening, the government's programme as presented in the Queen's Speech, is debated in both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Record of what is said in both debates can be found on the Hansard records for both the Commons and the Lords.
The Queen’s Speech contains an outline of the Government's policies and proposed legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. In the Commons the speech is debated over several days and gives MP’s the opportunity to comment on proposed legislation.
Before the State Opening, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster - a precaution dating back to the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605.
Critics of the whole process of the Queen’s Speech have pointed out that, from their point of view, it is a ceremony that is no longer valid as the European Courts have the power to override any piece of UK legislation. Another criticism that was made pertinent to the 2006 Queen’s Speech was that 140 pages of briefing material was made available to the media before the speech was actually made – but that nothing official was released to Backbench MP’s, primarily Opposition Backbench MP’s.
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