i just wonder if you could speak ,o the extent possible for you how the vietnam war and the post-vietnam resident evil america in the war you'll hear i think the president talk about that over the next couple of days. i would say the president is focused on this trip. this is one that has been in the works for a while. it is a trip he wanted to make. he felt strongly about this. we are spending three days on the ground. that is a lot for one country. normally on these trips. the president is not only looking to speaking to the leadership, but he will be speaking with young people. he will have a townhall really takes questions from young people. he will be with business leaders and civic leaders. he will talk about how far we have come since those days in the decades since the time he mentioned to now.

and how far our relationship is come. as i mentioned, it was president clinton who decided to begin normalization process with vietnam. since then, presidents of both parties have worked to deepen the relationship. the president sees this as a pivotal opportunity to expand a partnership, expand collaboration on security and economic cooperation. i want to be clear he is also making a push for human rights. via now has made some progress on this front but they have a long way to go. i expect the president to speak about that. not only in public remarks but also in private when he meets with the leadership. reporter: your own time around this president, has this been something you have been able to observe? yet you he was are he much shaped by the post-vietnam experience? mr. schultz: yeah. i don't want to get ahead of the president will talk about this.

i believe you wrote about this in his book. i refer you to that. i also think this was a consequential time for the president, but it was a consequential time for the united states of america. this will hearken back to a very emotional time for the united states. and a time where our leaders were tested and tried and challenged. i think the president -- that will all be included in the president's reflections over the next few days. i want to make sure you know secretary kerry, who obviously has his own unique story will be joining us in vietnam for those three days. we look forward to hearing from him as well. mark? the day that president obama got on zika virus included a discussion to the risk to u.s. athletes going to the summer games? mr. schultz: i don't know if the discussion this morning included

that piece. the president was updated on both where things stand in the sort of status of what we know from our latest public health information, but also the latest on our response to the effort. we were able to allocate some funds of ebola effort to this. we are also being stymied. waysess refuses to act for that escape my comprehension. reporter: and yesterday the u.s. swimming team announced it was moving its training camp from puerto rico to atlanta because of zika virus. is that something they came up? mr. schultz: i don't know if he'll ebix came up -- the oly mpics came up. we defer to people's personal decisions made with their doctors. thanks. karen? reporter: is there confidence

the egyptians can handle taking the lead in the recovery effort of the plane and the investigation ? mr. schultz: the egyptians are in the lead on this. i know they are working closely with their french counterparts. we want to make sure that investigation is as comprehensive and asked fast as possible. that is whether president directed his team to make resources available. i don't have any updates for you on that sort of status of that investigation. reporter: would france take the lead on this? mr. schultz: i have not heard that determination made. the egyptian authorities are in the lead of this investigation. we wanted to proceed without delay. reporter: i think he said yesterday there were conversations with the presidents of egypt and france. mr. schultz: i don't have any new calls to read out to you. if that will happen, we will let you know. reporter: he alluded there could be potential changes coming to the tsa, they might be increase

in staff or in funding to handle any changes made in the wake of this plane incident. is the tsa prepared for staffing and funding? what would that look like? mr. schultz: it was a tsa administrator? you should check in with the tsa. i am not prepared to answer the details of their operational decisions. the week secretary johnson, secretary of homeland security, which the tsa is a component of, directed tsa to take several steps to address security lines. we are always making sure we are constantly balancing to make sure people's air travel remains unfettered while keeping them safe. you should check in with them on that. obviously our first priority is making sure people are safe. tsa must continue rigorous security screenings. we will not lower standards for the sake of convenience. chip?

reporter: i don't know if you are in the room, but was a discussion of restricting travel to certain areas? mr. schultz: i was not in the room. i know the president spoke at the bottom of the meeting. i'm not sure we will have any more of an expanded readout on that. those travel issues and warnings are issued by the cdc. if they have any updates on what they are advising the american people, you might want to check with them. federal,f is that state and local partners should be working together to limit the impact of this virus. but right now they don't have the resources they need. that is a real shame. that is why the president is going to continue to make a public case that congress should pass this bill. it's why white house officials

are being engaged with the house and the united states senate so congress can get its act together and get the bill to the president's desk. reporter: thanks. i asked yesterday about puerto rico in the bill that just passed. the minimum age requirement and it would allow a reduction in the minimum wage of puerto rico. to follow-up on that, why does the white house not fight harder to not have that be a part of the final package? especially this white house making such a big deal out of increasing the minimum wage. why not fight harder? mr. schultz: i just -- i don't think the bill passed, it was just introduced. given that it has not passed committee yet, there is still time for the provisions to come out. we would strongly urge members of the house of representatives and the united states senate to do that. josh laid out the scenario

yesterday as an 18 or 19-year-old puerto rican making minimum wage. it does not seem to make much sense that they bear the brunt of poor fiscal decisions that were made by people they don't even know, and it also does not make sense that if we are trying to stabilize the economy, they cannot even make a livable wage. we do believe those provisions are misguided. we are disappointed the bill includes those unhelpful measures. i will say they are better than the original proposal, which i believe are now temporary. we ultimately they should come out. reporter: does this run the risk of the overall package being successful in turning around the puerto rican economic troubles? people would say the minimum wage should not be raised and

they would have any piece of evidence pointing of puerto rico saying we reduced the minimum and we should make a case study for the entire nation. mr. schultz: let's separate out the two issues. first on puerto rico, they would have preferred a bill with other minimum wage in the overtime protections you mentioned. do believe this is a building with democrats and republicans can support. this is not a bailout. we are encouraged to see the house introduced the legislation. it provides puerto rico with the tools they need to address the crisis harming 3.5 million americans. the american -- administration may clear almost a year ago that any legislation to address the crisis of greater result must provide a workable and comprehensive restructuring authority with appropriate oversightrespects puerto rico's self-governance -- oversight respects puerto rico's self-governance. that is why we urge members to stand firm against special

interests adapting to undermine this essential legislation and act without delay. in terms of the issue of the minimum wage across this country, clearly the americans need and deserve a raise. we talked frequently about how to give american workers more money in their pocket. livable wage and earn a wage that is commensurate with what they are working. the president announced recently new rules to make sure americans were paid fairly for the work they were putting in. nothinge is probably else on the table that would have more of an impact than if congress were to raise the minimum wage. this would help middle-class families around the country. the president believes and i think his record for the past seven or eight years of firms that will be growth the economy of the middle class out, everyone wins. raising the minimum wage is not

just something we believe, but i believe clear up to about 17 or 18 states that taken action on their own. we have seen private companies take action on their own. they believe those companies have said that when they pay their workers a better wage that increases productivity and their own bottom line. we don't really understand by congress is so dug in on this, why congress does not want to lift wages for american workers. you should ask them what their rationale is. we will continue to press hard and do everything we can, even while congress is dug in. i think displayed seen a number of states push this with our support. the nigerian government just announced they conducted an operation to rescue several women and children, including a second one of the nigerian schoolgirls.

was the u.s. involved in all in the operation and he have a reaction? mr. schultz: i can tell you we we aware of the reports and do await official confirmation from the nigerian government. unfortunately boko haram goes well beyond those girls. we are equally concerned about the thousands of other kidnapping victims and the more than 2 million who have been forced to flee their homes. united states supports nigerian efforts to bring about the safe recovery of all those kidnapped, and we call for all hostages held by boko haram to be released without preconditions. in terms of the u.s. role, we are a strategic partner with nigeria and we continue to work closely on all security matters. we offered our assistance and resources to bring about the safe recovery of all those kidnapped by boko haram. thank you. reporter: two questions. if you harmt said

the u.s., sooner or later you will [indiscernible] has anything changed after the president [indiscernible] ?nd who were protecting him had they been -- have they been in fiveto justice years? mr. schultz: i think with the president was talking about was terrorists who either and to do is harm or commit acts of violence or terrorism against us. you are right. the president has a strong record that if you commit an act of violence or terrorism against us, we will stop at nothing to find you. laden is one example,

but i believe the defense department creek yesterday the latest in our fight against isil. the defense department laid out over 120 mid to high value leaders of that organization have been taken off the battlefield. i think that is what the president had in mind. he said that why do they hate us? [indiscernible] why?still hate the u.s., mr. schultz: i did not see mr. zakaria's show. i try to catch that when i can but miss that particular segment. i believe the president has worked hard to build relationships around the world. that was a priority for him over the past seven years. look at this trip. we would go to vietnam.

the first ever trip of its kind where the president will spend three days on the ground, both meeting with the government, the leaders of vietnam and also with the young people, the entrepreneurs, business leaders in order to deepen the ties between the two countries. then he will travel to japan. both of those countries, we have a difficult past with. if you look at the preceding decades, we have built strong relationships. japan is now one of our closest allies in the region. we do a lot of business with them, both in military cooperation, maritime security, economic cooperation. the president is absolutely looking forward to deepening those relationships. those are the fundamental goals of this trip alongside advancing the u.s. national security interest. mr. schultz: you were talking about isil and terrorists and why they hit the u.s., they love -- the ones who love peace and

democracy. mr. schultz: you will have to ask them why they say that they do. as far as the visit to the white house is concerned, the congress is waiting for his address. anything new from the white house? mr. schultz: we were pleased to announce the prime minister of india will visit the white house on tuesday, june 7. this will be a visit that highlights the deepening of the u.s.-india relationship in key president'sthe visit to new delhi in january of 2015. he looks for discussing progress made on climate change, the clean energy partnership, on security and defense cooperation, and the economic growth proposals and priorities. i plan to talk more about that visit in the coming weeks. the president is absolutely looking forward to this visit. -- i don't believe so.

do you have a question? reporter: [indiscernible] support forpartisan this bill, with the president signed something -- what he signed the senate bill or something similar? mr. schultz: we set up a proposal about three months ago, february 22. in today's it will be the anniversary for both the 67 days which is the average time a supreme court justice should be confirmed and the anniversary of our proposal to fund zika. reporter: [indiscernible] mr. schultz: it will be a busy day for journalist trying to mark where we are. the president set that up on february 22. that is not a proposal we put together haphazardly. that was based on guidance from public health officials to make sure the government had the resources they need. we did not insert a lot of wiggle room in the proposal.

we laid out very detailed ways of what that money would be used for. i know the senate made a lot more progress than the house did. it is unclear how those two packages would be reconciled if that is their plan. i think that's why you heard the president call on congress to work together, both democrats and republicans, house and senate to get this done. i don't know why this became a partisan issue. again, the junior senator from florida has said this is an issue of public health. rubio'sve senator colleagues should follow suit. reporter: and on hiroshima there is no apology. will the president expressed something like remorse or some thing similar? mr. schultz: john, the president is not going to revisit the bomb your shema.

-- hiroshima. he will lay a wreath at the peace memorial. people briefly to other grounds and deliver brief reports reflecting on his impressions. he will be joined by the prime minister abe. i do expect them to recognize the human toll of war, the special responsibility the united states carries as the only country in the world to use the nuclear weapon, and of course he will reaffirm the united states' commitment to working towards a world with no nuclear weapons. greg? reporter: you said there is no wiggle room. february -- president said was a multiyear appropriation with broad transfer authority. if you look at the history of how congress actually throw these words around, they'll most always put a year appropriation on these. what number does this administration need in fiscal year 2016? mr. schultz: that number is $1.9

billion. thank you for the opportunity to address this. what i meant by look over is that number -- wiggle room is that number we developed was not done willy nilly. it was based on the guidance of public health professionals. that is the number they have determined is what is needed to fight this possible threat. reporter: we need $1.9 billion. are you going to come back with another request for appropriation in 2017? mr. schultz: first steps. first congress cannot even get this done. our belief is -- and i appreciate you looking at the history because what the house has done is try to find offsets, which we believe is misguided, which is inconsistent with how these requests have been allocated in the past. we do want congress to look at history. they rose to the occasion on ebola and then the actually

allocated a sufficient amount of money in order for the united states government to do its job to combat this threat. now we are looking for the same thing on this. reporter: $1.9 billion or bust? mr. schultz: our request is $1.9 billion with some urgency. yes? reporter: one of the criticisms republicans have levied is that there are long-term projects like construction. how is that part of the emergency funding that the president speaks to with such urgency? well --ltz: therter: republicans say $1.9 billion is not a number they came up with haphazardly. mr. schultz: you'll have to ask what they see as the foundation for their numbers. reporter: it takes out things that were not emergency like new construction. mr. schultz: look at our proposal. what we do is we detail exactly what these funds would be used. what i can do is lay out exactly what is not happening because

congress has not done its job. let me walk you through a few examples. by congress these requests they had delayed the development of vaccines. we are asked frequently put this -- what the status is. we are unable to accelerate that because of congress not doing its job. diagnostic tests to make sure manufacturers can develop faster and more accurate tests are needed to ensure a frontline diagnostic and expand laboratory capacity. that is not getting done because congress is not doing its job. funding for mosquito control has slowed and halted in some areas. have state and partners in the ground starting to do mosquito surveillance control activities, but they need funding. that stuff does not pay for itself.

i cannot for the life of me figure out why congress wants to pass the buck on this instead of rolling up his sleeves and doing their job. i will do the week ahead. then you will -- mark can get started on his weekend. [laughter] new spokesman, same joke. maybe. reporter: [indiscernible] mr. schultz: i know. theave already laid out schedule. i might have to hunt. i think i have it. know, the president will depart sunday afternoon -- saturday afternoon. and monday morning arrive in hanoi, vietnam. he will participate in a bilateral meeting with president kwon.

thepresident will be put chairwoman of the national assembly and afterwards the president will participate in a press conference with the president and attend the state luncheon. later in the afternoon the president will participate in a bilateral meeting with prime minister of vietnam. in the evening the president will participate in a bilateral meeting with general secretary of the communist party of vietnam. on tuesday, he will be with embassy personnel and families. later in the morning he will meet with members of civil society, that is something the president likes to do in these countries. in the afternoon, he will deliver remarks on u.s.-vietnam relations and reflect on themes we spoke of today. he will then travel to ho chi minh city. he will tour the jade pagoda and following his visit he will make remarks. on wednesday, the president will meet with u.s. consulate staff and family members and the president will participate in a town hall with young people in ho chi minh city. in the afternoon the president will depart vietnam and rita japan. he will make a

cultural stop and then in the afternoon he will attend meetings at the g7 summit. on friday, the president will attend the g7 meeting on energy, climate, in particular the implementation of the paris agreement. and the prosperity of asia and the united states. in the afternoon he will depart en route to hiroshima. the president will deliver remarks and participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the piece from oriole. the president will be with service members and in the evening the president will depart for washington, d.c. have a great weekend. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> the president's trip to vietnam and japan, one of the topics of today's briefing. the president leaves this weekend delivers a speech in

hanoi on tuesday. he will attend a g-7 meeting on thursday and friday. he takes part in a wreath laying ceremony in hiroshima. house speaker paul ryan tweeting earlier that indian prime minister modi will be addressing a joint meeting of congress on wednesday, june 8. he will be the fifth prime minister from the nature to address the house and senate jointly, and the first since 2005. on wednesday, queen elizabeth ii troublesome buckingham palace the parliament. she delivered a speech that outlines her priorities for the coming year for the government. bbc parliament daniel britt was the host -- britain was the host. ♪ daniel: good morning and welcome

to bbc parliament's live coverage of the state opening of parliament. in her 91st year, the queen will address the second session of this parliament and is the 56th parliament of the united kingdom. we welcome viewers the c-span, our sister channel in the united states. i recommend -- reckon it's about 5:30 morning on the eastern seaboard. if you joined us, many thanks. it is a conservative government beginning its second year in office. with a very small majority. a government not without its problems as it faces the forthcoming european union referendum campaign. we are focusing today on british tradition. the next hour and a half we will spend enjoying the ceremony and looking at the government's new plans to be unveiled in the queen's speech. to help that journey along i enjoyed by the conservative and more portly for this morning

writer michael lord dobbs. the historian, professor ken williams of reading university, and i'm glad to say the former sergeant at arms of the house of commons, lawrence award. -- ward. you retired last autumn. >> i've gone to another job. daniel: you left it. among those attending today, the prime minister. he left downing street a short time ago. here he comes. the doors of number 10 open. has been theister leader of the conservative party for 11 years now. and we have also seen the arrival of the leader of the opposition, jeremy corbyn. he arrived on the embankment. times have changed for jeremy corbyn. in 1998, he said the state opening underlines the undemocratic nature of our

society with a hereditary monarch and a hereditary house of lords. but in the debate last month on the 90th birthday of the queen, he really made a very charming himself heng about was a young whippersnapper. i'm fully in favor of a country having leaders of the finer vintage. we are talking today about a highly respected individual who is 90. it just proves you're never too late to take up a new career and learn something else. be quite an amazing day for jeremy corbyn to find himself at the state of things. kate, the 91st year of the queen. if monarchy was the symbol of continuity, the queen is that symbol, is she not? >> yes, 90 years, as you say.

this is a ceremony she has apartment since 1952, times when she was pregnant and in 2011 when the government canceled it. she has been here every year she .ossibly can be the ceremony in this form was brought in in 1852. every monarch has been here apart from victoria who did take time off after the death of albert. mr. brittain: we are looking inside the chamber of the house of lords now. they are dressed in urban. they don't wear ermin everyday. >> every time we see a photograph, we are all wearing our silk and ermin. this is the only day of the year we wear the traditional uniform unless we are introducing a new year, in which case we put on the ropes. normally, we are just like other people. we are ordinary folks. mr. brittain: that is reassuring.

there are 807 of you now. there are quite a number of ordinary folks in the house of lords. it is too big? >> it is too big. mr. brittain: we are briefly looking at the thrones. the queen's on the left and the duke's on the right. to the left, the chairs for prince charles and the duchess of cornwall. there is the earl marshal, master ceremonies today. the archbishopo of canterbury and of the left, the bishop of london. there is lord willy, a conservative thinker in might say, talking i think to load them when i -- lord de mornay if i'm right. you can give me a few more names as we go along. >> there are new and old. we are plenty of young, vibrant life. mr. brittain: we have plenty

more women than the house of commons. notrisingly, -- surprisingly, there are 800 of you. earlier back here point, if we left the house of lords, we would cut our numbers sharply. there are too many. it makes it very difficult for us to work properly. the facilities are not there to enable us to work properly. mr. brittain: and yet the numbers are piling up. 61 new peers last year. people are starting to retire. 25 retired. when does it stop? >> it doesn't stop as long as the prime minister insists on putting fresh people in. if we are to reduce the numbers, it needs an element of self-control on the part of party leaders to stop jamming the placeable of their friends -- the place full of their friends. mr. brittain: this is

historically huge for the house of lords in terms of numbers. they are much smaller. cutback ofseen the the hereditary peers replaced by political appointments. what we might see today is some sort of restriction on the peers and the veto. it is 10:40 in the morning. this timet of arms last year, what would you be doing this time of day? >> probably with the speaker and other officials going through the business of the day. finery. not be in our mr. brittain: when do you get dressed? >> 7:30 in the morning. it is a very long day. mr. brittain: it is a different uniform? >> it is the same uniform with additional elements. more place.

the colors the sergeant at arms wears is sewn onto the shoulders of the uniform at 7:30 sort does not slip off. it is a very long day. by this time, you already feel as if you have done a days work. mr. brittain: it has a party atmosphere. people are celebrating traditions. all of these peers dressed up, it is the only day we get dressed up. it is a little bit like a fancy dress party as well as being a very serious occasion. mr. brittain: thank you very much. we will come back to you all soon. we've seen the lords and ladies as.their ermins and tiar what kind of moral message might all this ancient ritual convey? i spoke to the reverend sam wells in london's trafalgar square.

[courtyard sounds] >> state opening of parliament demonstrates how we understand how the people vote. the parliament is elected. parliament proposes to make laws that the governing party -- but the governing party does not impose its will on the population. it does it in discussion. get asked the queen as representative of the nation to deliver to parliament a description of what it proposes to do, that it be made accountable for. mr. brittain: some might think that is a rose tinted view of our democracy. >> it is an aspirational view of our democracy. that is how it works in practice. election, ity wins does not ride roughshod over the

rest of the population. mr. brittain: queen presided over her first state opening of parliament in 1952. she has attended all the two ceremonies since. evenincludes a scaled down in march of 1974 after the election of the minority labor government. no carriages then, what mattered was the meeting of monarch, lords, and commoners. queen elizabeth ii: today, for the first time, this ceremony is being watched, not only by those present in this chamber, but by many millions of my subjects. in other lands would also be able to witness this renewal of the life of parliament. >> i do think the british constitution informally has got something pretty special. one is straightforward

democracy, a democracy in which the majority rule under certain constraints and there is protection for minorities. but also we preserve the notion that is a person, that our loyalty is not to an idea, it is to a person. we've seen in some contexts where loyalty to an idea can go badly wrong. i have no doubt in my mind that the promises she made it her coronation echo through her life. these responsibilities mean everything to her, is absolutely clear. she is almost laid down her life of the country to play a role that we desperately need and we thank her for. mr. brittain: kate williams, one of the things sound levels -- sam wells told me is the queen exercises her authority not by imposing her will, by

representing and articulating the voice of the people. likeunds in some ways quite a convoluted description of the monarchy. do you believe that at all? he was sort of saying she enables democracy to happen by being the figure at the top. >> it is vital to the queen sheet is seen as neutral. before,ots of monarchs she has stayed out of politics and enabled the government to continue and government to do what it wished without her meddling. mr. brittain: we have had interesting words about the chinese recently. coming down now is the regalia procession of the crown and the sword of state. is the state car

with the two maces brought by the sergeant at arms at buckingham palace. maces thiseeing five morning. you were the sergeant of arms? >> i was, indeed. i would like to think the most important, but that is not to. one of the things that really struck me on state opening day was my eyesight at distance is not good and i should wear eyeglasses. i was too vain to do that. i do remember the glistening of the diamonds in the crown from all the way back in the house of commons. when it catches the light. >> it is already there. it has been delivered by armed guard. mr. brittain: it is in the carriage now? >> yes. mr. brittain: that is the state

coach on its way with the horses . since you were sergeant at arms, what is the sergeant at arms? what is the day job? >> the day job is being responsible for security and access to the house of commons. it is working directly with the speaker of the house of commons to ensure the public can get in. there are over one million visitors a year that come into parliament. and that members can get around and about and that the function apartment can continue. it is a very difficult balancing act, allowing access to the public but also along the business of the house to continue. mr. brittain: michael, this is probably not the sort of thing i should mention today. but it is well known that one of your thrillers is about the state opening. >> yes. mr. brittain: it does not go according to plan. >> it does not. they normally go exceedingly well according to plan.

two or three years ago, one page boy did faint which had not really happened before. you could see the tremor of fear going through everybody. what do we do? do we ignore the boy? the duchess of cambridge came to the rescue and indicated somebody should do something about the poor boy. the lords day. lawrence was responsible for security. security is an exceedingly difficult problem for the palace of westminster. 10 or 15 years ago when i wrote the book, security was in my view something of a joke and needed review. it has been reviewed. i set the book with the old security system where the state opening was held hostage. everybody in that room. you will see, you have got the

monarchy, the government, the opposition, the lords, ambassadors, the judges. everybody who matters is in one room. mr. brittain: the whole british establishment in one room. >> in those days, we needed to take more security -- more care ratherrity on that day than sending guards to look around and see if there were gun powder underneath the chairs. mr. brittain: that is where the action of your book takes place, the chamber of the house of lords. >> it is one of the great victorian -- mr. brittain: you said they cannot find offices for you all. >> the chamber is our main office. mr. brittain: that is where you do the day job. there is the diplomatic corps. they are sitting behind the bishops.

go on, michael. you are interested in power and the exercise of power. they are not interested in the content of the queen's's speech. what they want is power. >> we are not talking about the documentary here. we are talking about a drama series. there is a difference. the prime minister in italy was recently photographed going into a bookshop in rome and buying a copy of "house of cards." i had to write to him and say i assure you this is a work of intention payment -- entertainment and not a work of instruction. in britishn: parliament, did you feel it was more accurate than you expected or less accurate? >> i do get the idea there are plenty of people in parliament and elsewhere who are

auditioning furiously for parts in the next series. would drama does is it does remind you we are looking at the functions of power and policies and everything else. but at the end of the day, it comes down to people and personalities. queens be looking at a speech today which will set up a government program. we know that program will be interfered with and affected, perhaps even undermined by the way different personalities will disagree and try to move the agenda in a different direction. mr. brittain: kate williams, you mentioned earlier this queen has attended all the two openings of parliament. only one which was a nonstate opening of parliament of the 63 she has been to, in march of 1974. queen victoria, a slightly gn, for a long

one, she did get out of state opening. >> 1862 was the first one with the house of parliament. , so sheied in 1862 declined to attend between 62 and 65. between 65 and her death in .901, she came she was very infrequent attender, not like our own monarch. the constitution had to open it. the royal commission. mr. brittain: the lord chancellor read the speech. did that damage the image of the monarchy? 1862 to 1855, the ideas she was staying away because albert died, it was a balance for her between playing the right role of a morning wife and the constitutional role which demands the monarch is at the state opening. it did create a surge of

republicanism when victoria was not seen at the state opening and in general. every time she did come, it was vital for her to attend. she simply did not do so. at the end, it was her health. i think it was not her greatest decision not to attend. mr. brittain: another look at the regalia precession and the queen alexandra state coach. escort of the cavalry. at 21, a veteran of these parades. the regalia precession is close now to the palace of westminster. it is coming along the side of parliament square.

jacks one the union the right. there is a new crossing that makes it easy to cross from the pavement onto parliament square. previously, it was difficult. also, the pavement has been considerably widened in front of what is new palace yard on the left. you are seeing a bit of the green. that is your end. >> it is. some things on the road have been removed to allow the carriages to go through. the preparations started weeks ago. there would have been rehearsals and things at 4:00 in the morning over the weekend so everybody knows exactly what they are doing. it looks like a well oiled machine. but little things happen around the edges that are not quite planned for. the usually works to the second or minute at least. up, thetain: lined

guard of honor, the first battalion of the irish guards. the irish guards band to the lines of thee two guards of honor. they will present arms as the crown goes by. any moment now, they will turn left towards victoria tower. our first view of the imperial state crown and the cap of maintenance. when it arrives at the southern staircase, there is a kind of juggling act to get the crown of so that no one drops it in the right person winds up with the crown at the end of the procedure. amazingly, the person who first hands the crown out is the person who ends up with the crown at the end of the process.

queen victoria did not wear the crown much, did she? crown is fromate 1937. queen victoria had a different version. it was a dinky crown, rather small. this is a full kilogram of stuff. victoria found it uncomfortable and did not really where it. she also did not like the wearing of the roads. she did not like the wearing of the pot. she refused to do it during her jubilee even though her minister better to put on the crown. she was rather more [indiscernible] in her desires. her to where it -- not to wear it, put this monarch does indeed. mr. brittain: the crown jewett has taken -- the crown jewel er has taken the crown to lord

chamberlain getting out of the carriage. the master is not quite in his super finery because he appears to be wearing his master's mac. the crown at this stage is on a small cushion. ford tofrom sir andrew the crown jeweler, to the bard master, and back to andrew thorne. they have done this highly delicate pass the parcel. i was lucky enough to go to the tower of london earlier this year. although it looked splendid on the television picture, nothing beats seeing it in real life in the tower of london. it is so astonishingly spartan. -- sparkly. >> at its most sparkly for this moment. we have some great stones. mr. brittain: the cap of maintenance and the sort of

state. the crowning is guided by two of the honorable gentleman of arms. bringing up the rear, the two sergeant of arms from buckingham palace. sorry, kate. >> it has the stone from the confessor's ring. it reminds us this is the crown the queen wears after she is crowned. the only time she wears the crown is at the state opening and after she is crowned. she is not crowned with it when she comes out of the coronation ceremony, this is what she wears. it embodies modesty, monarchy -- majesty and monarchy. mr. brittain: there are monarchies left but they are slightly reluctant crown where earers. >> we are the most enthusiastic. other monarchies are much more low-key in norway and sweden. our crowns, particularly because

we have so many great stones that date back to the 13th century, their great historic symbols of monarchy. mr. brittain: i want to use my privilege of being on this panel to ask a question. one thing i have never understood, what is the cap of maintenance? to telleems to be able me what it is for and where it comes from. we know it is there because it has always been there. mr. brittain: we will come back while kate reassesses her thoughts. we will watch sir andrew ford carrying the crown on its bigger cushion. gallery --he rogue roman gallery and norman staircase party of the household already -- cavalry, so-called because they are on the staircase. here is the imperial state crown.

he will deliver that to the lord great chamberlain. at that point, the guard of honor changes to two yeoman of the guard. a different outfit. the lord chamberlain has taken delivery of the crown. everyone has stood for the arrival of the crown. crown will be the cap of maintenance and the sword of state. they go into their positions waiting to be carried in the by lieutenant colonel michael vernon and the sort of

state carried by sir kevin donahue. kate, time for a cap of maintenance explanation. >> it has always been there. it is a key part of the regalia we see only in the state opening of parliament. it does not get out many other times. it is purely a traditional part of it. when we start questioning the regalia of monarchy, they might ask why it is there. there is a suggestion if the crown was not available, we would have the cap of maintenance. >> i thought the cap of maintenance was a present from the pope and the one we display was displayed by henry the eighth because he received it from the pope. >> is rather dated. mr. brittain: the pope does a cap of maintenance at

the people maintenance. you never know when you will need a cap of maintenance and it is good to have one on hand. lawrence, you know perfectly well your end of the building, there will be a lot of people who think what michael and kate have been saying is a load of mumbo-jumbo. maybe you do. >> i think everyone gets caught up in the occasion. it is the spotlight is on parliament. it is the day when everyone wears there finally -- binary -- finery. there is a party feel about the place. there's quite a bit of ceremony. >> there is nothing members like more than walking up to the house of lords and being a little bit noisy, a little bit disruptive, because the lords are very well behaved. it is very peaceful and quiet when they arrive. they like to flex their muscles

a bit and say we have arrived, here we are. they like to be noticed. part of the function. mr. brittain: later on, you lead the procession together with the speaker. a lot of people are hovering around trying to get good places in the house of lords to hear the speech. >> it is one of the most contentious elements. lots of members that are in the chamber for prayers, it is their right to follow the procession out and up to the house of lords. some members decide not to attend prayers. they tried to leap into the convoy on its way up to the house of lords. mr. brittain: you were in charge of the doorkeepers. >> there were several conversations over the years about how to corral the train of people going up. one of the ideas was to have a rope so members could not jump

in. mr. brittain: they need roping off. her majesty, the queen, accompanied by the duke of edinburgh in the uniform of lord high admiral of great britain. there is only one lord admiral, and you are looking at him. diadem.n wearing the i think he is the only man to wear the cornet. they set off from buckingham palace in the diamond jubilee carriage, in fact. stunning piece of work. it took eight years to build. we are short of carriage builders these days. this was built by a real enthusiast. australian originally. he worked a long time in britain. this was very much his life's work.

although it did take a very long time to build and was extremely expensive, by the end he had to mortgage his house to pay for it. drawn by whats everyone tells me are called six grays, but i think they are white horses. they have lovely names including coachman, claudia, meg, and tyrone. it is foggy. i suspect it is because the rain is heavy at the site. was it raining? >> it is pretty much british weather outside. fog and a bit of rain. i think we are going to be having heavy showers. mr. brittain: edward the eighth had only one state opening. >> we did not have him for very long. george that this died, edward the eighth became the monarchy

in 1936. not much later, he abdicated to marry. mr. brittain: it was raining so much they had to use the cars. he picks of the crown when he has heard the queen has left buckingham palace and is going to take that into the queen's robing room. it is an astonishing office, or temperament. we can date it back to the 12th century. chumley isy -- lord acting in the reign elizabeth ii. they did do rather badly and n.ward's reig that is it. after 11 months, it goes to another family. they have had a very long reign of the queen since 1952. the next family to inherit is

the carrington family, the conservative care, age 97 now. whether he does the duty himself, i don't think maybe, but his son, it is one of the non-sentences -- nonsenses. it works, why do we bother to look for other alternatives? 1965, he tookc day-to-day part in the management of it. >> you are quite right, it did change. that is what makes the sergeant at arms role quite powerful.

it is a huge amount of responsibility. tell us all the royal bits. >> there are many world parts of the palace. to care for the royal parts of the palace. he reports to the screen. the normann: staircase, the royal gallery, the robing room, the job share. diplomatic.be >> many stakeholders. mr. brittain: i imagine the lord chamberlain had to consult. >> the key thing about the lord

chamberlain is that the queen only comes there with an invitation. things have changed so much since the civil war. byentially the queen comes invitation and is only allowed when the parliament which is to allow her. it underlies the constitutional monarchy. this is the: procession of the prince of wales and duchess. they are in the irish state coach. it is pouring rain. he is wearing the uniform of an admiral. they are in the irish state coach and it is being pulled by their horses. their horses, cinderella and bermuda.

they are black or brown. they only have two horses. the rightay horses, word for brown. the coachman is wearing his wet weather gear. getting off the back of the coach, they are tricky things to brake. that is why the sand is there. there are sharp turns and they have to break right at the right brake right at the right place. her royal highness emerges from the irish state coach. the sash she is wearing is a

chivalry. she is met by the marshal carrying his baton. , lord of thes isles, great stewards of scotland. his sash is the green sash of the order of the cross. the duke of norfolk will conduct the royal party of the norman staircase, lined by the arms with kings of their white staves of office. the marshal is not using his dukes robes. a leave of absence for a year or two. he tells me he is fully

attending to get back into the house of lords and will take the oath of allegiance. maybe he will where the duke robes over that magnificent uniform. it is a magnificent uniform, it is lovely to see it. together with the lord chamberlain. i was just going to say it is not traditional that we would see the error of the throne come throne come to the state opening. as brittain: lady desousa, her final state opening. nominations close tomorrow for those who want to be lord speaker. putting yourself forward? >> i have not yet decided. mr. brittain: and now, the lord

high chancellor of great britain. he is likely to get bills concerning his department. he is the 220th lord chancellor. the deputy clerk of the crown. rees and the purse bearer. purse and itmous she is quite tiny. you can see the seating laid out for next month. it should be quite something, celebrating the queens 90th birthday. this is the procession of the

queen and the duke of edinburgh as they make their way to westminster. you can hear a tiny bit of the fanfare. in the royal gallery, another part of the well house of lords, you can see it lined by the guard. this is the lord chancellor's procession, they have nothing to do, they are walking back from whence they came. at this moment, would you be telly?ng on the coming to collect the cap of maintenance, the leader of the house of lords. bring thenderlings cap and sword from buckingham

palace. from now on, they are responsible. are standing alongside the sword and cap, ready to receive them. on this rather gray day, the queens procession makes its way .o westminster one thing that everybody thought when the state opening move to may it would be lovely and people would get too hot. 2013 13 was raining and here we are again. incrediblyorms are hot. there are so many people crammed in. prince'sain: this is chamber which has never been shown live before.

are the gentleman at arms and they are standing there because they are right behind the throne. because standing there they are the closest guard. the captain of the gentleman at wearing a fantastic uniform today. standard, you can see it in it hasdle of the screen, que flourish.igh-es go, it is pretty modern.

air-conditioning, electrical windows. escort. a sovereign it is called the household calvary. are harvey, camp, and mcgregor. >> we will never see any kind of -- ceremony like this. something very special. the ceremony goes back to the 17th century. what is all this effort for this? it symbolizes it is a constitutional monarchy. victoria did queen

not turn up. it got badly organized. they got the commission to look at it and get it properly set up. >> he was a stickler for detail and ceremony. wellas not interested in regalia. she was interested in what monarchs did. he was concerned that the monarchy had to be reinvigorated. ♪ [god save the queen] ♪

[instrumental, god save the queen] ♪ mr. brittain: i think we should stick with those pictures as the carriage heads through into the sovereign's entrance. we are going to see a bit of a change this year. the horses are drawing the carriage. much more forward than normal.

there is a reason for this and all will be revealed very shortly. although the marshal acknowledges the queen, she goes by the sovereign staircase. the great lift of state is going to come in to play this year. rides into westminster. when she steps out, the union jack will be replaced by the sovereign standard. staircase,the norman as i think many would sympathize, was way too much for the queen and prince philip. the queen is in her 91st year , nothilip is 95 next year next year, in june.

there is a little lift and it left oft to the lif your screen as you're looking now. actually, it is one of the well parts of the palace of westminster that is left. >> i think many of us are surprised the queen does not have to use -- did not have to long lift and it is a staircase that is not easy to get up. mr. brittain: i tried to lift a couple of days ago. it takes 15 seconds from the moment you press the right button. .ery exacting research areas time in the lift is only about six or seven seconds. the thing i should not mention

is that it is not noted for its reliability. i think they are all smiling because it went well. there is notoriety in the lift. a couple of years ago, the queen and prince of got into the lift to go down. pressedately, somebody a button and the lift went up and instead of down. shock. imagine their they found it very amusing. it worked this morning and that is the main thing. we have all the ritual, but she comes other times. >> probably a couple of times a year.

>> as much as that? >> i last met her when she wanted to look at her new window. >> there are the two sergeants at arms. we have seen for safari, but we have not seen these. four dsoe seen s-- far. that window we were talking about, it was for all members of parliament and the house of lords. it was a very personal gift. arrived inion has the house of lords and they are now in the well gallery.

the heralds are facing the robing room, the queen is in the robing room. it takes about nine minutes put on the parliamentary robe and the state crown. this is an ancient ceremony, one henry viii himself might have recognized.d -- the man charged with organizing everything is the duke of norfolk. he is england's premier duke. i caught up with a few days ago. job sinc had the cents 1483. 1485.st it in 1 been hereditary in my

family since the 1600s. >> doesn't pay well? >> there is no pay. things like the uniform cost quite a lot of money. >> the earl marshal organizes state occasions. until the early years of the century, one of the duties involved walking backwards in front of the queen. >> it certainly a false. backwards,walking things like that. it was somewhat frustrating, i just mastered walking backwards. i just mastered it when we decided to do away with it. i do not think it will come back . >> rehearsal and timing are key.

in 2015, the clean arrived earlier than expected and it meant black rod was kept waiting . , oh my god, what is going to happen? i think he had to wait a minute and a quarter. rings go wrong, but we try to make sure that we improvise and keep the show going. [trumpets] >> just imagine the moment, the trumpets, the fanfare, the queen is ready to come out of the robing room. what do you do at that point and what are you thinking? >> i am thinking about all the things that are going to happen, i am hoping we are not early,

that the prayers would have finished in the commons and he would arrive on time. i'm hoping that everybody ends .p in the right place i'm hoping the lord chancellor i hopeiver the speech ok that everybody goes through the right door. nerves?u get >> definitely. i am terribly keen that everything goes well. peasantry is something we do -- pageantry is something we do very well. i am quite relieved when it is over. >> we have all of that to come.

thekrod was kept out of commons a couple of times in your tenure. >> he is known to be erratic in his timing. successor, he did that very well. i bumped into him coming out of westminster underground station. he was formally in charge of the ip visits and visits to the ministry of justice. he sets off early. them.een dispatches >> a few weeks before, black rod was late and the prince came to me and said where was like -- black rod.

they said hurry up and he got a wiggle on. a few weeks early, he was early for banging on the door of the comments. wait.like, get him to someone in the house of lords was going to be inpatient, i won'tell you who -- tell you who. >> it is said the queen does not like sitting on the throne waiting for the commons. it ended up being far longer. norfolk saidffort it is lovely for tourists.

there has to be something more for it to last. not come to just watch this, they would have to be hard-core. >> we have our viewers in the united dates. >> is not about terrorism, it is about underlying the fact that the monarch is the guest of the house of parliament. constitutional monarch, she is not there to metal. ddle. we see all the ceremony, but what is disposed to say is that it underlines this is the most important thing the monarch does. it is super side over the constitutional system. >> it is what she does as head of state. >> it is much more important than the royal wedding.

it might not be as the scene most magically exciting, but this is the key moment. >> at this point, michael, you .ave to take your seat >> you don't get dedicated seeds. there is a bit of a fight. the earlier you get there, the better seat you get. couple of years ago, i arrived quite late because i was so wrapped up and watching other parts of the ceremony. i found it exceedingly difficult to find a seat. >> they are returning from the robing room. [trumpet fanfare] >> it is 11:27 a.m., we hope

the commons will have said their prayers. here is this magnificent procession passing through the royal gallery. aat it is essentially is medieval court. the people there, they would haven't figures of the tudor court -- they would have been figures of the tudor court. to walkracticed having with the crown. this is something she is done brilliantly. >> let's just enjoy it as it

passes by. the four pages at the back there , and the son of the assistant private secretary to the queen. the sort of state reaches the prince's chamber. we have never seen this before. the standards are lower to the floor. we only have three pages. one seems to have dropped out already. something happened. in the house of lords everyone rises. she backs into her position, she

may not use the stairs. >> victoria could not get up the stairs when it was her diamond jubilee. she is our longest reigning monarch and here she is doing the role you would expect a 40-year-old to do. has given the lord chamberlain a nod. he raises his wand. is he on the good time? >> he is a good friend of mine and he works really hard to get everything right here. even with his eyesight which is very acute, he could not see the wand from that distance.

>> there is new technology. >> cutting-edge. you can see him going through the lobby. he approaches the door of the house of commons. [banging] >> black rod, open the door. >> that is your successor. >> mr. speaker, the queen commands this honorable house to

attend her majesty immediately in the house of peers. lord skinner -- not lord skinner, he will be. he will now ceremoniously sit the whole thing out. and thek of the house prime minister alongside jeremy corbyn. histhe mayor of london at first state opening. eeling?re you f >> i was hoping i would not miss

my step. one of the difficult things is that when you get to the lo rds, they go backwards to get the mace. it cannot be in the house of lords at the same time as the .ueen i would not be surprised if jeremy corbyn founded a bit surprising to find himself at lords.se of here they all come. dress-up for the day? >> someday, somewhere hats. it is when he see the good

jewelry. it is an occasion for both houses. the setup in the house of lords is not the same that it will be in a few hours when it is back together. some benches are moved so you can move is best pack as many people in to the house of lords. that is one of the difficult things. all four of the key officials should arrive in line but there is no room. arms, clerk of the house of commons, they take their positions at the front. the party leaders and cabinet members and shadow cabinet members are behind them.

the marshall is looking not at the queen, but towards the bar of the house to get as many mps as in -- in as possible. >> the gallery is packed on either side. inchutely full to the last . her majesty queen elizabeth ii: my lords and members of the house of commons. my government will use the opportunity of a strengthening economy to deliver security for working people, to increase life chances for the most disadvantaged and to strengthen national defences.

my ministers will continue to bring the public finances under control so that britain lives within its means, and to move to a higher wage and lower welfare economy where work is rewarded. to support the economic recovery, and to create jobs and more apprenticeships, legislation will be introduced to ensure britain has the infrastructure that businesses need to grow. measures will be brought forward to create the right for every household to access high speed broadband. legislation will be introduced to improve britain's competitiveness and make the united kingdom a world leader in the digital economy. my ministers will ensure the united kingdom is at the forefront of technology for new forms of transport, including autonomous and electric vehicles. to spread economic prosperity,

my government will continue to support the development of a northern powerhouse. in england, further powers will be devolved to directly elected mayors, including powers governing local bus services. legislation will also allow local authorities to retain business rates, giving them more freedom to invest in local communities. my government will support aspiration and promote home ownership through its commitment to build a million new homes. following last week's anti-corruption summit in london, legislation will be introduced to tackle corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. my government will continue work to deliver nhs services over 7 days of the week in england.

legislation will be introduced to ensure that overseas visitors pay for the health treatment they receive at public expense. new legislation will be introduced to tackle some of the deepest social problems in society, and improve life chances. a bill will be introduced to ensure that children can be adopted by new families without delay, improve the standard of social work and opportunities for young people in care in england. to tackle poverty and the causes of deprivation, including family instability, addiction and debt, my government will introduce new indicators for measuring life chances. legislation will be introduced to establish a soft drinks industry levy to help tackle childhood obesity.

measures will be introduced to help the lowest-income families save, through a new help to save scheme, and to create a lifetime isa to help young people save for the long-term. my government will continue to reform public services so they help the hardest-to-reach. a bill will be brought forward to lay foundations for educational excellence in all schools, giving every child the best start in life. there will also be a fairer balance between schools, through the national funding formula. to ensure that more people have the opportunity to further their education, legislation will be introduced to support the establishment of new universities and to promote choice and competition across

the higher education sector. my government will legislate to reform prisons and courts to give individuals a second chance. prison governors will be given unprecedented freedom and they will be able to ensure prisoners receive better education. old and inefficient prisons will be closed and new institutions built where prisoners can be put more effectively to work. action will also be taken to ensure better mental health provision for individuals in the criminal justice system. my government will continue to work to bring communities together and strengthen society. legislation will be introduced to prevent radicalisation, tackle extremism in all its forms, and promote community

integration. national citizen service will be placed on a permanent statutory footing. my government will continue to safeguard national security. my ministers will invest in britain's armed forces, honouring the military covenant and meeting the nato commitment to spend 2% of national income on defence. they will also act to secure the long-term future of britain's nuclear deterrent. my government will continue to play a leading role in world affairs, using its global presence to tackle climate change and address major international security, economic and humanitarian challenges. my government will continue to

work to resolve the conflict in ukraine. it will play a leading role in the campaign against daesh and to support international efforts to bring peace to syria through a lasting political settlement. britain's commitment on international development spending will also be honoured, helping to deliver global stability, support the sustainable development goals and prevent new threats to national security. prince philip and i look forward to welcoming his excellency the president of colombia on a state visit in november. my government will continue with legislation to modernise the law governing the use and oversight of investigatory powers by law enforcement, security and

intelligence agencies. legislation will strengthen the capability and accountability of the police service in england and wales. my government will hold a referendum on membership of the european union. proposals will be brought forward for a british bill of rights. my ministers will uphold the sovereignty of parliament and the primacy of the house of commons. my government will continue to work in cooperation with the devolved administrations to implement the extensive new powers in the scotland act and establish a strong and lasting devolution settlement in wales. my government will work in northern ireland to secure further progress in implementing the stormont house andfresh start agreements.

members of the house of commons: estimates for the public services will be laid before you. my lords and members of the house of commons: other measures will be laid before you. i pray that the blessing of almighty god may rest upon your counsels. >> the speech successfully delivered by the queen. the lord chancellor has retrieved it and three page boys come forward to collect the queen's train.

of a heavy job for one of them. i think he is taking the job for one that is missing. so emerging through the prince's chamber devolved procession -- the royal procession makes its way back. a lovely site here in the prince's chamber which we haven't seen before with the gentleman's arms with their axes. and it says on the ceremonial page that they will hand in their axes before they leave, which is very wise. field marshall lord walker.

now he won the general until 2014 because they had given up making field marshalls and marshall of the royal air force and admiral of the fleet because the pension was too high when they retired. now they changed that. they are honorary. they do not get the pay, they get the rank. >> i think it is worth pointing out we talked about tourism and tourism is a huge part of what makes this country. but it is possible on normal days for members of the public to lock exactly the route that the queen is walking right now into the chamber itself. it's a wonderful opportunity to see that extraordinary building from the inside and at close quarters. >> the royal gallery is beautiful. pictures of the battle of waterloo and trafalgar line the

two sides. and when presidents of france come to address both houses they're not easy to keep discreet because they're enormous. >> wonderful. painted by an irishman who fell because they refused to pay him properly. in one of the murals there is in the rafters a copy of his unpaid bill that he put into. >> the royal marshall regrets that he doesn't get paid at all and i confirm that that uniform costs thousands of pounds. here you are, this is your successor. what do you think now? -- has a gone okah g ? >> i think they're thinking, thank goodness that's out of the way.

it's lovely for her majesty to come to parliament but it's a huge thing. >> she's in the robing room. they bow. that is the timing. and that is the fifth mace we've seen today. but carried by the primary sergeant at arms. >> and the 41st sergeant at arms. >> what does that mean when you lay the mace on the table? >> it's one of those thing that only happens on opening days. the house has now suspended and door keepers will keep guard of the mace but then the house won't come back until later on today to discuss the queen's speech. >> and before you discuss the queen's speech there is the first and only reading of the bill which essentially guarantees rights to persons arrested, dates back i think from the 12th or 13th century.

>> it does have a purpose. and the speaker will use the opportunity -- he can only make statements about certain things. but he will use the opportunity to address members and talk about the importance of security and their rights of access and all those kind of things. and it's the one statement of the year where they will reinforce those key messages. >> and the point of the outlaw's bill is that the common will turn to their business first before that of the sovereign. >> yes. >> but he doesn't get beyond the first reading so we don't happen in the end. they maintain their own. they have a bill on select vestries. and i only discovered what that means in march. the select vestry isn't a very posh one. it was kind of a parish council of the parishes actually and it was a select vestry.

it is not mean beautiful or nicely carpeted. getting a lot of nice pictures. >> you see the searget standing up there using an opportunity to talk to members. >> you were having a quick look today somewhere. >> it is a party day, really. the members will be going off to possibly parties, getting together with their friends, bringing guests in for lunch. it is a wonderful party atmosphere. >> but for mps is it important ? >> it provides a framework. it's the one day in the calendar everything hinges on. it's also a good social occasion. many members will bring their wives or husbands or partners or family to parliament for the day. so in that respect it is an

important day. >> sergeant at arms, it used to be military people who got the job. what was your road to sergeant? >> it wasn't military. i used to be the postmaster of parliament. i used to be in charge and i hung around and did lots of jobs. but it was after the anthrax in the u.s. through the mail. i was sent to washington how to find out to find anthrax in things in post. after developing a security solution for parliament i was off to manage the police contract then assistant sergeant at arms then sergeant at arms. >> lovely story. and we're joined now in the studio by our correspondent susan. what do you make of today's announcements in the queen's speech? >> it's extraordinary that you glitter the gold and and royalty.

if you can talk about that being a side show in a way it is because the political focus is so much on the referendum coming up next month. if it's a vote to leave then a great deal of this will go by the board because a great deal of the government's attention will be taken up with making that happen and all that needs to be done for that. some of us were quite surprised to have the queen's speech in fact. we thought it might have come after that referendum. i think what the government has tried to do, what david cameron wanted to do, this isn't too controversial. >> nothing to see here. we get such -- do you think many of the bills are fairly uncontroversial? my heart always bleeds when i see a bushen i

services bill. but for the moment i will come back to you, susan, because the queen has taken off the imperial state crown, she has taken off the parliamentary robe, and she is greeting is the two captains of the body guards and there's lord taylor. they are actually political figures. the chief whip in the house of lords on the right and the deputy chief whip on the left. in the foreground in military uniform. they aren't at all military people. chris making a little joke about the speech he is the lord president of the council. and she is now turning to lady stole on the left. and now christopher grailing who is the president. he looks a bit underdressed, really. and next to him the lord chancellor.

this is a quite different gathering to what we normally see because the queen normally comes out of the robing room and she chats to a line of people and then goes down the stair caste. staircase. what is happening now is milling around, really, on this landing. and there are busts in this landing of every prime minister who was the house of lords. the last one there is lord hugh hume. he, as a member of the house of lords, was prime minister for just a few days before he gave up his title. chat with the lord chancellor. i can't help noticing that the lord chancellor and the lord brexit-ers.e both

luckily we don't know the views of the lord marshall or the lord gray chamberlin. and she's going to disappear. she is waiting for the duke who is having more chats with the chief of defense staff and they disappear into what we call the lift of state. it is quite heavily lined with brass but mainly wood. the reassuring is that it actually has a little speaker and when you get stuck in the lift and they run out of jokes to tell you on the way down you can call for help. susan, the actual bills is there anything -- why don't you pick out one or two. >> well, first of all, david current has written that he wants the next four years to be a period of great social transformation, getting back to his roots before he became prime minister. so there are a number of social kind of bills. >> give us some names of those. >> there is the social work bill

that's going to make it easier for children to become formally adopted and taken on by a family. there's more regulation for social workers as well. there's going to be an education bill. that's run into a bit of trouble already. it was something that david cameron had mentioned at prime minister's questions a few weeks ago. he said i can give you one preview of the queen's speech and it is going to be this bill to make all schools in england academies. unfortunately that ran into a bit of trouble. >> one of the faster u-turns. >> we may come to why they might want to avoid that. >> what about the bill of rights? >> what we have so far about the bill of rights in the queen's speech is a little bit vague. there is going to be a great deal of consultation about it. it's something that many conservatives want very much for the british courts to be supreme in comparison with the european court of justice. something happening.

>> the queen and the duke of edinburgh have gotten back into the diamond jubilee carriage and it emerges into the rain i'm afraid to say. old palace yard. she's quite dry in that carriage and it is air conditioned. i hope they've turned a bit of heating in there. it is may so of course it is freezing cold and raining. [god save the queen, instrumental] ♪

[god save the queen, instrumental] ♪ >> you were on the bill of rights. we may have to wait a bit. emerging straight away is prince charles and the duchess of cornwall. now, he has been attending with for the last three years. >> you wouldn't normally expect the heir to the throne to come but he started in 2013. during the diamond jubilee, the queen announced that she's going to hand over more to charles. i think this is what we're seeing here. the queen is never going to abdicate. but we are going to see as the years progress, she could keep

going to 100 we are going to see charles take on more of the duties. it may be in five or six years time, he is giving the actual speech. this is quite an arduous performance. maybe charles takes it over in the future. but the queen is still our monarch. >> fundamental to the le of a constitutional head of state. >> absolutely. it is the key role. i think that one of the last ones that she will give up because it underlines what is the most important thing to her that she remains politically neutral. it is something that is not easy for monarchs. she has had to set the bar for the future monarch very high. >> tell us a wee bit more about the politics. on that bill of rights, is it going to be tricky? >> it can be just at the moment because there is so little detail in there. in the speech in the background to the speech that we've had they said this is going to be up for discussion. there's going to be plenty of discussions. the idea clearly is to bring as many people on board to try to

heal some of the wounds that the referendum campaign may have created. >> what about -- what i think is the centerpiece and that is prison reform. the justice secretary and lord chanceler are committed to reform. a very different justice secretary and lord chancellor. what does he want to do? >> that's right. the idea -- 12:00]chimes >> tell us at the stroke of 12. >> i will do it in pace to the response. the only idea is to give prison more atomic, to run their own prisons the way happened with academy schools. i think we've already heard a bit of criticism of that in people have said very well giving aut my but jails are very overcrowded you need to look at sentencing. at funding as well. [god save the queen, instrumental]

♪ >> pause there for a royal salute to prince charles. he only gets half the national anthem but as the crown departs. you are ais, michael, conservative, let's face it you're at civil war with each other and you've got a long political memory. in the 1975 referendum there are two conservative parties. you don't come together on what david cameron wants to do presently and it's hard to see you all coming together after the >> i think i call them great debates, rather than a civil war. but i understand why you're terming it thus. remember going back to 1975 the original referendum. the labour party was torn apart. there's nothing new in politics. there will undoubtedly be a very important period after the referendum where everybody has to reassess where we are.

>> how long -- we've got another month, six weeks, five weeks. >> five weeks. >> and it's not pleasant. >> the opposition to the government is all from within their own side. when it say, susan? -- wouldn't you say, susan? >> well, indeed. and i think we've seen that in the whole of this last parliamentary year. it looked like the opposition coming from the lords in the house of lords but in fact the government doesn't have to pay too much attention to the house of lords' defeat because even if it's a small majority you should be able to overturn them. >> some lords amendments they do go through in the end. >> they do. the ones where there is an agreement and compromise. the ones where there is a sticking point where the government didn't really

want to compromise are ones where conservatives have also had their doubts and wanted to go along with what the lords have said. >> 61 defeats. >> around 60. >> 61 defeats in the house of lords. >> i couldn't possibly compete. >> and two defeats in the house of commons. >> even three actually. >> well, there you are. >> competition. >> that is unusual for a majority government. >> it is. and there were other defeats that were staged off for example on the academies issue, on the child migrants issue. and that's because a little tiny majority you are limited in what you can do and -- >> now the crown just back into the carriage, placed there by the crown jeweler, the final acts of this pageant.