There’s a chance that the Queen’s Speech opening the new Parliament might be delayed, and one of the suggested reasons for the push-back has people scratching their heads all over the country.
Westminster is rife with speculation that the State Opening of Parliament might be delayed after May’s official spokesman declined to confirm whether it would go ahead on June 19, and the BBC is reporting that it understands it will be put back by a few days.
Apparently, one of the reasons for the delay might be the fact the Queen’s Speech is written on goatskin parchment paper, which requires several days for the ink to dry. Just let that sink in for a minute.
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Don’t worry, the paper doesn’t actually contain any goatskin but instead it’s high-quality archival paper guaranteed to last for at least 500 years. Sure it’s better than writing on a goat, but it still seems bizarre that it has the power to delay such an important speech.
For many, the news has been met with sheer bemusement.
So, let me get this straight…the Queen's speech has to be delayed because the ink won't be dry on the goatskin parchment…? WTAF???
— Ade Couper (@akc_0123) June 12, 2017
One of the reasons the Queen's speech is being delayed is because of the time it takes for the ink to dry on the goat skin. Not even a joke.
— stukulele (@stukulele) June 12, 2017
There you were thinking that English politics couldn’t get any more ridiculous…
Heard it all now. Queen's speech may be delayed in order to have time for the ink to dry on the vellum. ??
— Paul Gormley (@paulfg42) June 12, 2017
Delaying he queen's speech because the ink needs to dry on the paper is the most British thing I've ever heard ??
— Natasha Mitchell (@NL_Mitchell) June 12, 2017
Surely there has to be some way around this predicament? Some helpful people have suggestions to help keep the Queen on track.
Not convinced by the "waiting for the ink to dry" excuse for delaying the Queen's Speech. Someone in the cabinet must have a hairdryer.
— P J Byrne (@pjebyrne) June 12, 2017
Queen's speech delayed coz the ink has to dry on the goatskin it HAS to be written on.
OR
Go down Smiths, get a biro and pad for 2 quid.— Will Setchell (@willsetchell) June 12, 2017
The Queen’s Speech is delayed, partly due to ink drying on goat’s skin parchment? Can’t they do it in Word and print it out? #queensspeech
— Bill (@semanticpoetry) June 12, 2017
The more suspicious out there aren’t quite buying the whole ink excuse, instead seeing it as a way for the Conservatives to buy more time while they iron out a deal.
'Queen's speech delayed because ink takes days to dry'
Up there with 'The printer ran out of paper' and 'My dog ate my homework'— Amanda (@Pandamoanimum) June 12, 2017
We must delay the Queen's Speech
Why?
Er.. the.. the ink on the vellum takes a week to dry?
Oh, I see
Any more qs?
No that's fine. Carry on— Jennie Franks (@Jennie_Franks) June 12, 2017
Queen's speech. The excuse of waiting for the ink to dry on goatskin is the Tory equivalent of the dog ate my homework.
— ??j??a??n??e?? (@janewalsh13) June 12, 2017
One of the weirdest excuses for delaying the Queen's speech is that it takes a long time for the ink to dry on vellum. Can this be true?
— W Gwyn Williams (@wgwynwilliams) June 12, 2017
This uncertainty comes as May’s Conservatives continue talks with the Democratic Unionist Party.The Tories are trying to secure the support of the Northern Irish party’s 10 MPs to get their agenda through Parliament following an election result which left them short of an absolute majority in the Commons.Perhaps what’s worst is that any delay would risk affecting the Queen’s attendance at Royal Ascot next week – the horror!
