King and Queen open the Senedd's seventh term amid protests and a poem row

Centre · 2King Charles III and Queen Camilla attended the ceremonial opening of the Welsh Parliament (Senedd) on Thursday 15 October, marking the start of its seventh term after the May election. 1 2 Centre · 2It was the first time Charles had attended the ceremony as King; he and Camilla last attended in 2021, alongside Queen Elizabeth II, who had opened every post-election session from 1999 until 2022. 1 2 Centre · 2The King was welcomed on the Senedd steps by First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru, Presiding Officer (Llywydd) Huw Irranca-Davies and Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock, who represented the UK government; a 21-gun salute was fired in Cardiff Bay, and a Royal Navy Guard of Honour was planned to give a Royal Salute. 2 1

Centre · 2Addressing the chamber, the King said he had "always felt immensely privileged, and proud, to have had such a special connection with Wales – with its language, its culture and its landscape", urged members to "bear always in mind" those shared strengths as they take forward their task of government, and ended with a sentence in Welsh. 3 2 Centre · 1The BBC reported that he also spoke of a "distinctively Welsh idea of connection, the profound connection between place, people, culture and belonging". 2 Centre · 2Ap Iorwerth called the occasion a "new chapter" for national democracy, and said the Senedd, expanded from 60 to 96 members for the May election, was "strengthened in its capacity to scrutinise"; Irranca-Davies said disagreement "need not mean division". 2 1

Centre · 1The visit was the King's first official meeting with ap Iorwerth since Plaid Cymru, a party the BBC describes as rooted in a strong republican tradition, won the election and replaced Labour, which had led every Welsh government since devolution in 1999; Buckingham Palace said the King also held an audience with the first minister at the Millennium Centre. 2 Centre · 1Ap Iorwerth told Politics Home last year that he did not believe in "kings and princes" but that the issue was not a "political priority for him", and that there was a "clear argument" for consigning the Prince of Wales title to history. 2 Centre · 2Protesters were present: the Evening Standard reported chants of "not my King" and "down, down, down with the Crown" as the royal couple arrived, and the BBC said about 30 anti-monarchy protesters were vocal throughout the visit, with one removed from the area and led away by police. 3 2

Centre · 1National Poet of Wales Hanan Issa did not perform as had been planned: Issa said the poem To Grow, which referred to Gaza and trans healthcare, was rejected because the ceremony was "apolitical", and a more abstract second version was also rejected. The Senedd commission said the poem was "not the right fit for this occasion" and that it respected Issa's artistic independence. 2 Centre · 1The programme also included the King's Harpist Mared Pugh Evans and the Merched Plastaf Choir singing O Gymru, and meetings with party leaders, Welsh Youth Parliament members and Senedd officials. 1 Centre · 1The King said he would return to Wales next week to visit Aberfan; he, the Queen and the Prince of Wales are due at the memorial garden on the 60th anniversary of the 21 October 1966 coal tip disaster, and he met a survivor pulled from the rubble aged six. 2