Queen Victoria rarely attended the state opening of parliament

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Yesterday Boris Johnson had a 93-year-old woman dress up in full fig and read a speech to bolster his political fantasies.

But the Queen could and should have said no.

Queen Victoria would certainly have told Johnson what he could do. She rarely bothered to attend the state opening.

As Queen Victoria's Scrapbook explains:

Queen Victoria declined to attend between 1862 (the year following Prince Albert’s death) and 1865, and during these years Parliament was opened by Commission. Between 1866 and 1901, Queen Victoria attended the State Opening of Parliament only seven times.

In the years that she did not attend the state opening, the gracious speech was read by the lord chancellor.