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Each time the monarch travels to Parliament for the State Opening, a ritual plays out that looks like a stage play. Hardly anyone watching at home notices the oddest part of it.
Before the Sovereign arrives, the Yeomen of the Guard, the royal bodyguards, search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. They carry lamps, and a member of parliamentary staff leads the way with a key.
UK Parliament says the search commemorates the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Guy Fawkes was found guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder, along with a fuse, a small lamp and matches, in a cellar beneath the building.
On 4 November, men loyal to the king searched the vaults and first came across a large pile of firewood. The gunpowder was hidden underneath. Sources differ on who made the key discovery, with Sir Thomas Knyvet often named.
Today the search is pure ceremony, and nobody expects to find anything. Yet it still happens, more than 400 years later, before the monarch steps inside the Palace.
The stranger tradition runs in the other direction. While the Sovereign is at Parliament, a Member of the Commons is ceremonially held hostage at Buckingham Palace, a guarantee that the monarch returns safely.
UK Parliament says the custom stems from the time of Charles I, whose conflict with Parliament ended with his beheading in 1649. The hostage is usually the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, and trust runs both ways.
