The state opening of parliament is a reminder that much of what passes for a British constitution is actually fancy dress.
The doors to the Commons are ritually closed on Black Rod, the royal emissary, as a reminder that monarchs have not been allowed in the chamber since 1642, when King Charles I burst in to demand the arrest of rebellious members. Civil war followed. Fast-forward 380 years and we find another Charles on the golden throne of the House of Lords – sitting in for his elderly mother – dictating parliament’s agenda from a goatskin parchment.
