This is a list of people who have addressed both Houses of the United Kingdom Parliament at the same time. Although English and later British monarchs have jointly addressed the House of Commons and the House of Lords on several occasions since the 16th century, [1] the first foreign dignitary to do so was French President Albert Lebrun in March 1939. The list excludes the speeches given by (or on behalf of) the Sovereign at the State Opening of Parliament [2] and at the close of each parliamentary session.
Only three people besides the reigning monarch at the time have addressed both Houses together on more than one occasion. Nelson Mandela addressed Members of the Commons and the Lords in 1993 and in 1996 as President of South Africa. Mikhail Gorbachev addressed the Houses as a foreign delegate of the Soviet Union in 1984 and again, in 1993, on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Shimon Peres addressed the Houses as Prime Minister of Israel in 1986 and as President in 2008.
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers and domestically usually referred to simply as the Lords, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is granted by appointment or else by heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies and the British overseas territories. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the sovereign (Crown-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The two houses meet in the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the inner boroughs of the capital city, London.
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament after its occupants, the Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London, England.
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Livingston from 1983 until his death and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001, when he was replaced by Jack Straw.
A speech from the throne is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation’s legislature when a session is opened, outlining the government’s agenda and focus for the forthcoming session; or—in some cases—closed. When a session is opened, the address sets forth the government’s priorities with respect to its legislative agenda, for which the cooperation of the legislature is sought. The speech is often accompanied with formal ceremony and is often held annually, although in some places it may occur more or less frequently, whenever a new session of the legislature is opened.
The State Opening of Parliament is an event which formally marks the beginning of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It includes a speech from the throne known as the Queen's Speech. The State Opening is an elaborate ceremony showcasing British history, culture and contemporary politics to large crowds and television viewers.
Dennis Edward Skinner is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover from 1970 to 2019. He is a member of the Labour Party.
BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air television channel which broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Select Committees of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Parliament, the London Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Welsh Assembly. The channel also broadcasts reports from the European Parliament and the annual conferences of the main political parties and the Trades Union Congress. On average, 1.2% of the UK's total population watch the channel for more than three minutes at least once per week; these viewers watch for an average of just over two hours each over the course of the week.
Oona Tamsyn King, Baroness King of Bow is a British Labour Party politician and former chief diversity officer of Channel 4.
John Simon Bercow is a British politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. He was the first MP who was elected Speaker without previously serving as a Deputy Speaker since Selwyn Lloyd in 1971. Prior to his election as Speaker, he was a Conservative MP.
Michael John Gapes is a former British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South from the 1992 general election until the 2019 general election.
Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, Baron Gascoyne-Cecil, is a British Conservative politician. During the 1990s, he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne. Lord Salisbury lives in one of England's largest historic houses, Hatfield House, which was built by an ancestor in the early 17th century, and he currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.
The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.
A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet together, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose.
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only Diamond Jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th anniversary of the 1837 accession of Queen Victoria.
Michael Tyrone Ellis is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Solicitor General for England and Wales since 2019, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton North since 2010.
Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom began as lethal weapons of medieval knights, evolving into ceremonial objects carried by sergeants-at-arms, and now represent a monarch's authority in parliaments and councils, and at the State Opening of Parliament and British coronations.
Below is a timeline of major events concerning Brexit following the referendum and after Brexit Day on 31 January 2020.