King Charles and Queen Camilla Formally Open Expanded Welsh Parliament

What happened

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in Cardiff Bay around lunchtime on Thursday 15 October 2026 for the Ceremonial Opening of the Senedd, the devolved Welsh parliament. The couple were welcomed outside the building by a Royal Navy Guard of Honour, which gave a Royal Salute, before the formal proceedings began in the Senedd's debating chamber, known as the Siambr, at 11am local time.

Inside the chamber, speeches were delivered by the King, by Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Huw Irranca-Davies, and by First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth. According to LBC, Irranca-Davies said the ceremony marked the start of a new chapter in the Senedd's history, describing the enlarged parliament as elected through a new system intended to better reflect the diversity of views and experiences across Wales.

Why this opening is different

The ceremony is the first Senedd opening of Charles's reign; as Prince of Wales he had previously attended every post-election opening, but Queen Elizabeth II carried out that constitutional role from the first in 1999 until her final one in 2022, according to Nation.Cymru. It was also the King's first visit to the Welsh Parliament since 2024 and his first official meeting with Rhun ap Iorwerth since ap Iorwerth became First Minister, Yahoo News reported.

The event also marks the inauguration of the Seventh Senedd, the first to sit since the chamber's membership rose from 60 to 96 under the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024, the Welsh Government confirms. The Act replaced the previous mixed voting method with a closed-list proportional system using the d'Hondt formula across 16 new constituencies, and shortened Senedd terms from five years to four.

Senedd before and after the 2024 reform

Source: Welsh Government summary of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (gov.wales).

Ceremony, guests and performers

The ceremonial mace, a gift from the Parliament of New South Wales in 2006, was carried in accompanied by two Welsh Youth Parliament members, Ffiôn-Hâf Scott and Aryan Gupta, according to Wrexham.com. Cultural performances included Mared Emry Pugh-Evans, the Official Harpist to the King, and the Wales YFC Choir.

Among the invited guests was ten-year-old Noah Jones, whose great-grandfather survived the 1966 Aberfan coal tip disaster, Yahoo News reported.

A dropped poem and calls for a republic

Wales's National Poet, Hanan Issa, was ultimately excluded from the ceremony after Senedd officials rejected a poem she had submitted for the occasion, titled "To Grow", which referenced Gaza and trans healthcare. A revised version using more abstract language was also declined, according to Yahoo News.

The Senedd Commission said that, after a development process, it had concluded the poem was not the right fit for the occasion, Yahoo News reported.

Separately, the anti-monarchy campaign group Real Democracy Now urged Senedd Members to walk out during the King's speech and join a protest planned outside the building from 11am, Nation.Cymru reported. Campaigner Adam Johannes said it was wrong for an unelected king to open an elected Senedd, calling it an insult, and added that no sitting Senedd Member had publicly opposed the King's visit. Fellow campaigner Ann Davies said she planned to join the demonstration during her lunch break as a trade unionist, linking the monarchy to cost-of-living pressures facing working people in Wales.

Background

The Ceremonial Opening tradition dates to 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales held its first such ceremony with Queen Elizabeth II, who went on to officiate every opening that followed a Senedd election until her death in 2022, according to Nation.Cymru.