King Charles III today opened Parliament for the first time in his reign by making the King's Speech from his Throne in the House of Lords alongside Queen Camilla.
It is the first time that a King's Speech has been made since November 1951 although the King delivered the Queen's Speech last year on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II when he was still Prince of Wales.
The King set out the legislation his Government wishes to introduce during the 58th Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Among them are:
- Forcing criminals to attend their sentencing hearings
- A new Sentencing Bill, meaning a whole life order will be mandatory in the worst cases of murder
- A plan to raise the smoking age gradually so today's 14-year-olds will never be able to legally smoke
- Phasing out some leasehold properties in England and Wales, banning them for new houses
- Legislation around regulations for English football
- A bill to make it more difficult for local councils to introduce 20mph zones, or clean-air schemes like Ulez in Greater London
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