On 6 February 2022, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth. Events and initiatives will take place throughout the year to celebrate this milestone, culminating in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend in early June.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: A Brief Parliamentary History of Her Reign (221KB PDF)
The monarchy holds a prominent place in British political life. As noted in Erskine May, Parliament can be regarded as the sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Collectively they form the legislature, and as distinct parts of the constitution they exercise functions and enjoy privileges peculiar to each.
Originally published in 2016 as part of a briefing examining the role of the sovereign as part of the constitution of Parliament, the following presents a brief updated overview of the Queen’s participation in key parliamentary events since she ascended to the throne.
This briefing was updated on 15 September 2023 to amend broken links.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: A Brief Parliamentary History of Her Reign (221KB PDF)
The House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber Bill) [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru). It would require the secretary of state to carry out a consultation regarding proposals for replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber. The bill specifies whom the secretary of state would be required to consult with and the timeframe of that consultation.
![House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 11 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/House-of-Lords-568x426.png)
The Sovereign Grant Bill is a government bill which would amend how the sovereign grant is set. This is a grant paid to the King to support the work of the sovereign. The bill would enable the size of the sovereign grant to be reduced following the completion of a 10-year works project on Buckingham Palace. The bill received cross-party support and was not amended in the House of Commons.
The bill is a government bill that would make a range of changes to the legal framework concerning elections, including extending the franchise for UK parliamentary elections and other reserved elections to 16- and 17-year-olds. The bill was amended during both its committee and report stages in the House of Commons, with many of the government’s later amendments implementing recommendations from the Rycroft review on countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics.
