Prince Charles stands in for Queen at State Opening of Parliament

Prince Charles has taken his mother’s place as ongoing mobility issues forced her to miss the ceremonial event for the first time in nearly 60 years.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the State Opening of Parliament in London. Picture: Getty Images.

The Queen invoked the ­Regency Act of 1937 in order for Prince Charles and Prince William to represent her at the opening of parliament on Tuesday after her ongoing mobility issues forced her to bow out of the event.

The highly unusual step meant she missed the ceremony for the first time in six decades and only the third time in her 70-year reign.

The decision was taken on the advice of her doctors and her continuing “episodic mobility problems”, Buckingham Palace said.

The last time the heir to the throne opened parliament was two centuries ago when the future George IV addressed the Lords.

The Queen had missed the ­important occasion only twice ­before: in 1959 and in 1963, both times when pregnant, with Prince ­Andrew and then Prince Edward. She then appointed five Lords commissioners to take her place.

The Regency Act has been rarely invoked to empower the two counsellors of state to represent the Queen, and is a significant sign of the 96-year-old monarch’s declining health.

It is also a marked change in the constitutional roles, where Charles is taking on more responsibilities. He had previously ­accompanied the Queen to the opening of parliament, but had never before read her speech.

The move by the Queen could signal a more formal move in the coming months to installing Charles as the prince regent, again something that has not happened for more than 200 years.

At the opening of parliament the monarch’s crown sat in front of the vacant Throne of the Sovereign making it clear where sovereign power still resided. Charles sat in a Chair of State.

Under the Regency Act, the Queen must have two of four nominated counsellors available to take her place. Of interest, the other two counsellors of state who could have been considered are each persona non grata: Prince Andrew, who has stepped down from royal duties because of his association with the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein; and Prince Harry, who has stood down from royal duties to live in the US.

The Queen had to authorise a new Letters Patent to specifically cover parliament’s opening, but no other functions have been ­delegated by her.

“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,” Buckingham Palace said. “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.”