Todd Bishop
The Prime Minister ’s Office said on December 14 that Queen Elizabeth II will speak to Parliament on the 19th, announcing the legislative agenda after Prime Minister Boris Johnson won the election. The new Brexit agreement is submitted to Parliament for a vote.
Britain opened the State Opening of Parliament on the 19th. The ceremony took place in the House of Lords and the Queen will deliver a speech written by the government.
The Prime Minister’s House said they expected the Queen’s speech on the 19th will continue from what she had in October, adding additional content on the National Health Service and strengthening the justice system.
In addition, the Queen will also make another speech in the near future. That is the Christmas message she publishes every year. It was written by the queen and will be pre-recorded at Buckingham Palace and aired during Christmas.
Vanity Fair, an American magazine, quoted royal sources as saying that the queen is working hard to write a statement, but she is in “a very difficult time.” Sources said that due to the election, the statement was still in the first draft stage and her morale was a bit low.
The author mentioned in the text that 2019 is a year full of shock and turmoil for members of the royal family. While the queen was busy writing, the question remained how to deal with what happened in 2019, including Brexit, family disputes (theirs of Prince William and Prince Harry were in conflict), and the sex of her son Prince Andrew scandal.
Prince Andrew announced a moratorium on royal duties on November 20. He was accused of acquaintance with Jeffrey Epstein, the “head-of-law prostitute” in the United States, and having sexual intercourse with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts Giuffre through the other. This plunged the royal family into the biggest public relations disaster since 1997. The article quoted royal commentators as describing this year as the British royal family’s second “difficult year.”
