Today, King Charles, as Canada’s head of state, attended the State Opening of Parliament to deliver the “Speech from the Throne,” or Throne Speech, which sets out the new government’s priorities at the start of the parliamentary session. According to the BBC, the address “would traditionally be given by the governor general, who is the monarch’s top representative in Canada.”

Per Buckingham Palace, “This is just the second time in history that the Sovereign has opened a Parliament, following Queen Elizabeth II opening the twenty-third Canadian Parliament in October 1957, and the third time a Sovereign has delivered a Speech from the Throne, marking a significant moment between the Head of State and the Canadian people.”

Charles and Camilla arriving at the Senate of Canada in Ottawa, Canada.

King Charles ahead of reading the speech.

A wider view of Charles and Camilla in their seats.

Queen Elizabeth delivered the address in 1957 and 1977. When she did so in 1957, she became the first reigning monarch to open the Canadian Parliament session. For the occasion, she wore her coronation dress and Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara, created by Garrard.

Queen Elizabeth opens the Canadian Parliament, 1957.

When she returned twenty years later to once again deliver the Throne Speech, Queen Elizabeth again opted for the Kokoshnik Tiara. Per Garrard, “the idea for the design came from Alexandra herself. Inspired by a diamond kokoshnik tiara belonging to her sister, Empress Maria Feodorovna, that she had long admired, the classic halo shape borrowed from the style of a traditional Russian peasant headdress.” The tiara is made of 61 vertical bars, set with more than 400 perfectly matched diamonds.