Who is Black Rod and what is their job at the State Opening of Parliament?

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Louise Thomas

Editor

King Charles will make his second King’s Speech today to mark the State Opening of Parliament. This is when a new parliamentary year begins, giving the government the opportunity to set out its plans for the coming months.

For the first time in almost 15 years, it will be for a Labour government that a monarch makes the speech. Kicking off at 11.30am on Wednesday, viewers can expect details of several bills that will spell out Sir Keir Starmer’s plans for his first year in government.

One iconic ceremony the UK sees every year is Black Rod being sent from the Lords chamber to Commons to summon MPs for the King’s speech.

Sarah Clarke was appointed Lady Usher of the Black Rod in 2017, and took up the role in 2018. She became the first female holder of the position in its 650-year history.

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But what is the point of this historic post?

Black Rod is a senior official in the House of Lords, who is responsible for maintaining order and organising ceremonial events within the Palace of Westminster.

The name derives from the three and a half foot ebony staff that the post holder carries, which is topped with a golden lion to symbolise the power of the office.

As the King’s representative in Parliament, Black Rod’s most high-profile ceremonial job is to summon MPs to listen to the King’s Speech in the Lords during the state opening of Parliament.

In a symbol of the Commons’ independence from the monarch, the doors of the Chamber are slammed in Black Rod’s face before they strike the door three times with the ebony staff.

MPs then follow Black Rod to the Lords, dawdling and talking loudly, to hear the monarch outline the Government’s legislative programme.

As well as the ceremonial duties, Black Rod is responsible for organising access to and maintaining order within the Lords Chamber and the precincts, and is responsible for the King’s residual estate in the Palace and the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft.

The earliest known reference to the role of Black Rod as the Usher to the Order of the Garter appears in letters in 1361. Walter Whitehorse is believed to have been the first person to hold the post, which 59 others have held since.

David Leakey, a former army commander, has been in the post since 2010.

The first reference to Black Rod in connection with Parliament comes in a Garter statute of 1522 which states that Black Rod has an additional duty to “keep the doors... in the High Court called Parliament”.

It is thought that, when Henry VIII moved from the Palace of Westminster to the Palace of Whitehall, Black Rod - a member of the Royal Household, stayed behind to act as usher to the House of Lords.

There are also Black Rods in the parliaments and legislative assemblies of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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