No crown, no horse-drawn carriages. The Queen kicks off Boris Johnson's parliamentary year - minus the pomp.
ADVERTISEMENTBoris Johnson's parliamentary year kicks off on Thursday in the House of Commons a week after the British prime minister won a landslide victory in a snap election on December 12.
Queen Elizabeth II is due to give a speech which will outline the new government's agenda for the year ahead, followed by a debate between MPs.
But the opening of a new parliament will not feature its usual pomp, with no horse-drawn carriages and no royal robes. The Queen will not wear a crown, and Prince Charles will swap his military dress for a morning suit, according to the website of the British parliament.
“We are going to be working on delivering the priorities of the British people”
On December 12, Johnson won a majority that will enable him and his party to end the deadlock on Brexit. It was the biggest Conservative win in more than 50 years.
The prime minister met with his new cabinet on Tuesday.
During the meeting, he said: “We should have absolutely no embarrassment about saying we are a people’s government, this is a people’s cabinet, and we are going to be working on delivering the priorities of the British people. And that’s what they want us to do.”
Johnson is keen on “building a new partnership” with the EU as “friends and sovereign equals.”
After meeting with The Queen on December 13, he said, “ I believe, in fact I know because I heard it loud and clear from every corner of the country that the overwhelming priority of the British people is that we should focus above all on the NHS.”
A “disappointing night” for Corbyn
The Conservatives secured 365 seats — well above the 326 needed for a majority in the House of Commons — after winning seats in northern England that had been in Labour hands for generations.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called it a "disappointing night" and said he would step down once a successor had been appointed. The opposition party suffered its biggest defeat since 1935.
Getting Brexit done
"In this election your voice has been heard and about time too," Johnson said after the election. We politicians have squandered the past three years....I will put an end to all that nonsense and we will get Brexit done by the 31st of January, no ifs, no buts, no maybes."
Read more:
Election done. What's the next stage in the Brexit negotiations?
Can Boris Johnson really strike a free trade deal with the EU in 2020?