I WROTE last week about the traditions associated with the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons, marking the start of a new parliament.

By the time this column is printed, one of the most widely recognised Westminster occasions will also have taken place – the State Opening of Parliament and the Queen’s Speech.

Traditions surrounding State Opening and the delivery of a speech by the monarch can be traced back as far as the 16th century. The current ceremony dates from the opening of the rebuilt Palace of Westminster in 1852 after the fire of 1834.

The pomp and ceremony associated with the event make it a grand occasion, and one that attracts huge media attention the world over.

It begins with the Queen's procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, escorted by the Household Cavalry.

The Queen arrives at Sovereign's Entrance and from there goes to the Robing Room. Wearing the Imperial State Crown and the Robe of State, she leads the Royal Procession through the Royal Gallery, packed with 600 guests, to the chamber of the House of Lords.

The Lords official known as ‘Black Rod’ is then sent to summon the Commons. The doors to the Commons chamber are shut in his face in a famous tradition dating back to the Civil War, which symbolises the Commons' independence from the monarchy.

Black Rod strikes the door three times before it is opened. Members of the House of Commons then follow Black Rod and the Commons Speaker to the Lords chamber, standing at the opposite end to the Throne, known as the Bar of the House, to listen to the Queen’s Speech.

Although the Queen reads the Speech, it is written by the government, and contains an outline of its policies and proposed legislation for the new parliamentary session.

The State Opening marks the formal start of the parliamentary year and is the only regular occasion when the three constituent parts of Parliament – the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons – meet.

Following the speech, and the departure of the Queen, Parliament gets back to work. Members of both Houses debate the content of the speech and agree an ‘Address in Reply to Her Majesty’s Gracious Speech’. Each House continues the debate over the planned legislative programme for several days, looking at different subject areas. The Queen's Speech is voted on by the Commons, but no vote is taken in the Lords.

After the debates on the Queen's Speech have ended, bills start to be introduced in both the Commons and the Lords, and MPs begin their work of debating, scrutinising and amending legislation, and holding the government to account.

It’s undoubtedly going to be a busy few months for the new Parliament!