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The crown is coming, the queen is missing.
Traditionally, the Queen reads a statement from the current government at the opening of the new session of the British Parliament.
On Tuesday she was represented for the first time in 59 years – by her son Charles.
Charles, Prince of Wales:
"My Lords, please be seated."
Patricia Dreyer, DER SPIEGEL:
"For a long time now, the Queen's health has not been as good as we have been used to from her in recent decades.
She is very old at 96 and, as the saying goes, restricted in her mobility.
Well, she's just not that good on her feet anymore."
Patricia Dreyer deals with the British royal family for SPIEGEL.
It has been headed by Elizabeth II for seventy years. This year is the platinum throne jubilee - and probably the year in which she is handing over more and more tasks to her son.
Patricia Dreyer, DER SPIEGEL:
»One mustn't forget that.
He's definitely not a newbie.
He's in his early 70s. He's been doing this job for decades.
That is the content of his life.
That is the goal of his life.
And it's high time that he now actually takes on these major representative tasks, so he doesn't just romp around in the areas he's been to for years anyway, with his own charity, with his own organizations and his own trips.
It's that he's actually making more of an appearance now as the next king."
Not much can go wrong at the opening ceremony of Parliament.
The protocol specifies each step.
The speech is written by the government.
It is nothing more than a list of your plans for the current year.
Charles, Prince of Wales:
'Her Majesty's Government's priority is to strengthen the economy and lower the cost of living for families.
Her Majesty's Government will create job opportunities in all parts of the country and help more people get jobs.
Her Majesty's Ministers will continue to help the police keep the streets safer.
They will equip the healthcare system with the necessary resources to contain the effects of Corona.«
There were only hints of concrete issues in Boris Johnson's government.
For example, there is currently talk of the United Kingdom terminating the so-called “Northern Ireland Protocol” from the Brexit Treaty.
It stipulates that border controls do not take place at the actual EU external border on the island of Ireland, but at sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Charles, Prince of Wales:
"Her Majesty's Government will continue to pursue opportunities to separate the UK from the European Union to encourage economic growth."
The British monarchists are less concerned with politics at the opening of parliament and more with the interpretive view of the royal family: will the Queen be seen in public at all in the anniversary year?
Patricia Dreyer, DER SPIEGEL:
»She always says herself: 'You have to see me to believe that I'm really real.' And to that extent she will be present.
But you will try to make it as easy as possible for her.
Don't walk long distances, don't walk long, sit a lot, eliminate all sources of danger.
That's probably how it's going to go."
The crown goes - the queen probably not yet.
