Queen's Speech: When is it, how can I watch and why is the Queen missing it this year?

The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge will take on the duty on her behalf in a historic, unprecedented move which will see Charles read the Queen’s Speech this morning.

The monarch, 96, reluctantly pulled out of the major ceremonial occasion following advice from her royal doctors.

As Charles, 73, takes on the head of state’s major constitutional duty for the first time, the move will be interpreted as a symbolic and significant shift in his responsibilities as a future monarch.

It will be William’s first state opening – and the royal function of opening a new parliament has been delegated to both Charles and William by the Queen.

The Duchess of Cornwall, a future Queen Consort, will also accompany Charles, but the Queen’s main throne will remain empty in the House of Lords.

The decision was taken on Monday, and the Queen’s mobility issues are said to be a continuation of the problems she has suffered since the autumn.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: ‘The Queen continues to experience episodic mobility problems, and in consultation with her doctors has reluctantly decided that she will not attend the state opening of parliament tomorrow.

‘At Her Majesty’s request, and with the agreement of the relevant authorities, The Prince of Wales will read The Queen’s Speech on Her Majesty’s behalf, with The Duke of Cambridge also in attendance.’

The Queen last missed a state opening of parliament in 1959 and 1963, when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and then Prince Edward, when her speech was read by the Lord Chancellor.

The Queen’s Speech is written by the government and sets out its agenda for parliament’s new session.

How can I watch?

Coverage of the speech will start on BBC News at 10.30am, and run until 12.15pm. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

It will then be broadcast again on BBC One at 2.20pm, for 10 minutes.

You can also watch on Sky News, which streams live on YouTube.

What will be in the speech?

Northern Ireland

The government is expected to use the speech to bring forward changes to Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.

However, deputy prime minister dominic raab refused on Sunday to say whether new measures would be included.

Brexit freedoms

The prime minister has also said he has plans for a ‘super seven’ set of bills aimed at changing laws the UK inherited from the EU.

According to the Sunday Express, a new Brexit Freedoms Bill will aim to cut EU regulatory ‘red tape’ which remains in UK law after leaving the trading bloc.

Bill of Rights

Mr Raab has indicated the government wants to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.

The justice secretary told LBC that a new Bill of Rights would result in ‘less shifting of the goalposts, less elastic interpretations of human rights,’ adding that people find the current law ‘frustrating in the context of deporting foreign national offenders.’

Education

Ministers will crack down on truancy, beef up the powers of education watchdogs and reform the funding system in new legislation to create ‘a school system that works for every child.’

Under plans in the Schools Bill, England’s schools would be required to publish an attendance policy and there will be compulsory registers for children who are not in classrooms so the authorities can identify who is not receiving a full-time education.

Levelling up

A Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is expected to give local leaders new powers to rejuvenate high streets, by forcing landlords to rent out empty shop units.

Communities secretary Michael Gove said: ‘By empowering local communities to rent out shops which have been sat empty for a year or longer, we will end the scourge of boarded up shops that have blighted some of our great towns across the country for far too long.’

Privatisation of Channel 4

Plans to privatise Channel 4, announced in April, are part of a wider series of reforms proposed for the UK’s broadcasting landscape.

Carried-over bills

The government has also carried over legislation it did not finish in the previous session of parliament.

This includes the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill aimed at preventing curbs on free speech in universities, the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, and the Online Safety Bill, a long-awaited piece of legislation aimed at preventing cyberflashing and online stalking, among other online harms.