If you remember back in December, I attended a very special Christmas event at a very unusual location — somewhere you would usually find politicians, ambassadors, high commissioners and diplomats, but not filmmakers, let alone writers or bloggers.
The event was hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow, at his residence, Speaker’s House in the Palace of Westminster.
A few months later, I had another opportunity to experience something rather extraordinary: the State Opening of Parliament.
The State Opening is one of those wonderfully British occasions that is slightly pompous, very opulent and full of tradition and history. When the chance came to attend the State Opening at the Houses of Parliament, I knew I had to go. I wanted to experience the whole thing for myself.
For us artists, life is there to provide clay for our art or material for our writing, and this was definitely a one-off experience in my life.
There is a lot of protocol and a lot of rules at an event like this, so it wasn’t really the place to take my camera out and snap away in front of extremely well-behaved guests who probably attend year after year. It certainly wasn’t the time or occasion for selfies, or to ask guests to take a picture of me just so I could share it on the blog.
This girl was on her best behaviour and following every rule by the book.
The Royal Procession
The streets surrounding Westminster were closed that morning as the Queen left Buckingham Palace in a carriage procession making its way through Westminster to the Houses of Parliament. This is known as the Royal Procession.
I had a privileged view from inside Parliament and managed to take some footage of the Queen and the Royal Procession arriving and leaving.
I am an animal lover, and seeing those beautiful, graceful horses marching through Parliament made me emotional.
Just how beautiful horses are!
I saw the first carriage and thought, Oh, there is the Queen! But it wasn’t. It was carrying what is known as the Imperial State Crown, which the Queen wore when delivering her speech in the House of Lords.
She also wore the Robe of State as she led the Royal Procession through the Royal Gallery and into the House of Lords. The robe is made of red velvet and looked incredibly heavy, which is why pages helped with it.
Inside the House of Lords
The Queen delivered her speech from the Throne in the House of Lords, which is stunning, gold and, in my humble opinion, the most opulent and beautiful part of the Palace of Westminster.
The first time I entered the House of Lords, I had a real wow moment.
If you compare the House of Lords with the House of Commons, all you need to do is think about the name itself: The Commons.
They are worlds apart.
One is grand, with red and gold everywhere. The other is much simpler, austere-looking and green.
A Very British Experience
On my way out through historic Westminster Hall, I bumped into the Spanish ambassador, said hello and eventually left after what felt like a very special experience.
It is the kind of event that will go down in the book of my life as one of those things I have witnessed and will hopefully be telling my grandchildren about one day.
Being part of the London 2012 Olympics was one of them.
This was definitely another.
Being part of London 2012 Olympics was such a unique experience, and the State Opening of Parliament was completely different but equally memorable.
I hope you enjoyed my pictures and video. I could only take them on my iPhone or compact camera, as there was really no point in taking a DSLR with me to an event like this.
You can visit Parliament on a commercial tour on Saturdays, or attend a debate during the week if you live in the UK.
