we re right outside the gates of buckingham palace. just up there, they ve already been swung open. the crowd s been pushed back a little bit. as clarissa was saying, we re waiting for the hearse here, the coffin of elizabeth ii to come through. i ve been here for six or seven hours and the crowd was already here. they ve been waiting here patiently in the pouring rain out of respect for the queen, but also out of a sense of historical moments as well. people are very conscious that this is a moment in history that they are able to witness so they re out here standing up very patiently filming, trying to capture that moment. now when the casket, when the hearse goes through these gates for the last time, in fact, in the duration of buckingham palace, it will be met by king charles iii, by his queen, queen camila, queen consort. it will be taken. we saw 50 or 60 palace guards marching in there as well. they ll obviously be playing a role in welcoming the casket to buckingham p
lines between them, ahead of an election. but first, the king acknowledged the significance of this moment. it is mindful of a legacy of service and devotion to this country set by my beloved mother, the late queen, that i deliver this, the first king s speech in over 70 years. the impact of covid and the war in ukraine have created significant long term challenges for the united kingdom. that is why my government s priority is to make the difficult but necessary long term decisions to change this country for the better. there was an announcement of a bill to issue annual extraction licences for oil and gas, and a focus on crime, including previously announced measures. my government will act to keep communities safe from crime, anti social behaviour, terrorism and illegal migration. a bill will be brought forward to ensure tougher sentences for the most serious offenders and increase the confidence of victims. there was a promise to make it easier for leasehold homeowners to