To this day, even in schools, the room where one hangs up one's coat on a coat peg is universally referred to as the cloakroom. It seems so natural that I had never thought of it as originally the room where you hung up your cloak! It takes the perspective of an outsider to illuminate such facts.

The significance of the door slam cannot be overstated. Unlike the US, the UK lacks a written constitution. The resounding closure of the door symbolizes the autonomy of elected MPs, free from the direct influence of the crown.

You mean the US Congress and Senate don't have gun lockers in their cloakroom or a doorkeeper with a box of free aderall/cocaine?

During the opening of parliament an MP goes to Buckingham Palace to act as a hostage to ensure the safety of the King while he is in parliament

A tradition that doesn't seem to come up here is when a new Speaker of the Commons is appointed. He's supposed to make look like he is being physically and unwillingly manhandled into the room.

Look I'm 50, so I guess I'm on the older side of an average youtuber, but I'm amazed there are adults in the world that haven't heard about snuff until this moment.

Cloakroom is the normal word here. We have them in schools, clubs and bars, restaurants etc.

UK schools have cloakrooms. It's where pupils keep their coats. You can still buy snuff in the UK. I used to work with someone who used it everyday. Old, antique snuff boxes are highly collected in the UK. Not ALL MPs are in the house at the same time , day, week. The State Opening of Parliament takes place once a year. The last one was on the 7th of November 2023. He forgot to say that it is illegal to die or wear a suit of armour in parliament.

"Toeing the line" is when a speaker at parliament paces up and down the line while addressing parliament. They are following the rules by "Toeing the line"

American governance was based on parliament’s three branches, as they were in the 18th century, along with the checks and balances. Or be it that:- The King became a President. The Lords became the Senate. The House of Commons became the House of Representatives. Some of our most important documents were later copied directly, such as The Bill of Rights of 1686. Congress has on display an extract from the Magna Carta of 1216. So I’m always puzzled by Americans not understanding British Governance when for me the American system looks so familiar. Sadly the American system remains trapped by its constitution in the 18th century, whilst the British system remains free to evolve.

No monarch has entered the House of Commons since Charles I did when trying to arrest 5 MPs.

State opening of Parliament / Kings speech happens Annually normally in November. It is televised so these traditions are visible to the general public. Black Rod represents the Crown and dates back to the 4th Jan 1642 when King Charles 1st attempted to arrest 5 members. Slamming of the door represents the fact that the monarch is not allowed to enter the House of Commons (The monarch is not a commoner). Just a point of interest the Australian Parliament also has a Black Rod, the official symbol of the usher of the Black Rod in the Senate.

Lots of weird traditions about the opening of parliament. The delivery of the parliamentary hostage - the keeping of one MP hostage during the state opening to ensure the safe return of the monarch. The Outlawries Bill - to signify its independence the House of Commons reads the Bill before starting to deal with the King's Speech. The search of the cellars before the opening by the Yeomen of the Guard to prevent a modern gunpowder plot. Yeomen are 'paid' for the services with a small glass of port.

Not only were the houses of Parliament bombed in WWII . Buckingham Palace Was hit by bombs nine times during WWII.

I used to work in a pub around the corner from the palace of Westminster with the bell still in place, on the second floor. It's not connected anymore but it's there. Very cool.

what else would you call a room where you hang coats beside cloakroom???

The monarch doesn't attend parliament every day, but only on the first day of a new parliamentary session (or shortly after a general election). This is marked by a ceremony called the State Opening, and the last one took place on 7 November 2023. King Charles read his first official monarch's speech on that occasion. The ceremony gave them a snappy title for the 2010 film about George VI's stammer and how they dealt with it.

The Royal Family has homes, furniture and even items of clothing that are older than the United States.

Happy St. George's day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

From a land where they refer to a toilet as a Rest room… how quaint is that a room to go and rest in or a Bathroom with no actual bath in it….

used to see Snuff boxes / tins lying around when i was young in the early 80's

Until 1998, there was a top hat kept within the House of Commons. The hat had to be passed to any MP who wanted to raise a point of order during a vote before they were allowed to speak. This is possibly the strangest British Parliamentary tradition. It often made debates take far longer than they otherwise would, due to the time spent passing the hat around, but it did have the benefit of ensuring that MPs wouldn't interrupt each other, and made it clear which member had permission to speak at which time. I sometimes think that they ought to bring that tradition back.

black rod dates to 1644, when charles arrived at parliamnet to arrest 6 mps, inc cromwell.....ended in him losing his head.

A major reason for wanting to move to the semicircular design is that MPs cannot talk directly at each other, they must address their comments to the house or speaker of the house. This means you get a lot of "Could the speaker please remind our right honourable member for Skegness that ..." or "I think that the honourable gentleman before me should be aware of ...", they're never going to talk directly at another MP. Arranging things in a semicircle would put the speaker in the middle and make the nature of how conversations happen more intuitive. Also the lack of talking is why when there's disagreement or cheering it's never words, if you say a word(including "boo") that's violating the rules, so they tend to use more guteral sounds like "Ooh" or "ehr". Breaking this rule comes under unparliamentary language, and can result in you being expelled from the chamber(although for those rules you'll likely be given a warning, there's cases though of repeated violators being ordered to leave). The speaker, as the one keeping this rule is weirdly semi-immune to it, they can address MPs directly and talk when someone else is talking(usually reserved for calling "Order! Order!" or remimding others of the rules), but abusing this exception to the rules can result in parliament voting them out of the role.

These days more than ever we need to be aware of and respect our heritage in this country. The gradualism of American infiltration in our daily lives is depressing. No disrespect intended but our language is being hijacked and ‘dumbed down’ mainly through American tech companies. Even subtitles on British films shown in the UK use American spelling which is jarring to see and eventually will be confusing to youngsters. France bans some words in the English language especially relating to gaming jargon with the aim of preserving the integrity of the native language with good reason.

Black Rod is the monarch's representative on the day. The Commons does not consider itself subserviant to the monarch and shows its defiance by slamming the door. Black Rod requests entry by knocking on the door with the staff of office - the said black rod. S/He then approaches the Speaker and invites the MPs to attend the monarch in the House of Lords. It's all quite normal.

Tyler

My elementary school k-8 in Hamilton Ontario Canada had cloakrooms.

Some of those relate to how the monarchy was reinstated after the civil war and Cromwell’s dictatorship. It kept the power of the monarch in check and gave the people more say in how things were run.

The amuzing thing is that Statute Law remains The Law so long as it is not repealled by another law in Act of Parliament or other jurisdictions falling under the Law of a given area. Thus, I understand that it remains illegal to consume mince pies on Christmas Day here in England. But that`s mild : Another example : If the Australian Parliament has not moved to repeal the Law then it is illegal to dress up as Batman in Australia. One may not take a lion with you to the cinema within the city limits of Chicago, Illenois. Nope - they `aint gonna put up with that ! There are other cases I forget. I forget the name of the city in which one may not cycle on ones bycicle at speeds in excess of 140 mph ! It makes me think that if I should sojourn the world I`d likely find at least one place where it is not allowed to self levitate ! No floating on thin air, etc. I`ve just turned 60 years old and remember just one chap in my lifetime so far snuffing snuff. He was a teacher at my Secondary School. To be serious for one moment, if MPs start their day with morning prayer they should take it as a time to listen to God, not talk to him.

There was a state opening of parliament this week. You'll be able to watch the whole ceremony online. All uk media outlets broadcasted it. It happens every year.

Reasons why you wouldn't want to hold every single MP. 1. Some issues of the day might not be relevant to them often leaving huge amounts of empty seats. So long as party leaders are briefed and given the relevant reports. The other MPs don't need to attend. They could be doing other essential work instead of simply sitting in doing nothing. 2. the sheer decibel level of all those people in an enclosed space could cause people to go deaf and I promise you, shouting contests do happen. 3. The heat of all those people would be horrible.

A cloakroom, known as a coatroom in North America, is a room for people to hang their coats, cloaks or other outerwear when they enter a building. Cloakrooms are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls. In the UK, a cloakroom may also refer to a lavatory.

It never occurred to me that the term "cloakroom" was strange. At a nightclub you might put your coat in the cloakroom on the way in, they give you a ticket and you collect it on the way out.

Snuff used to be very popular.. Its still available.and its addictive same as tobacco.... much less popular today. Its quite messy stuff....very fine ground tobacco powder...its often spilled on your clothes as it makes you sneeze..as it peppery.

Along with the snuff, the best one is that the Chancellor of the Exchequer (basically the Finance Minister, head of the treasury etc) reads their budget speech each year. When they do, they're permitted to have an alcoholic drink of their choice while delivering the speech. Nowadays nobody really does this and they just have water, but for British people reading this, am I right that it was Ken Clarke in the 90's who last had alcohol while giving the speech?

The current Palace of Westminster was built between 1840-76 to replace the previous one that was destroyed in a fire. Elements of the design included little features that had long fallen out of practical use but were retained for reasons of tradition alone.

By the way, the bell in the pub does work. As a politico involved in politics, I know the Red Lion. If you want to meet MPs it is the place to go. Plus, a certain bar if after 10pm. I am surprised they missed the whole opening of parliament and the slamming of the door in the King's face when he knocks and tries to get into Parliament.

The desire for a parliament designed to encourage an adversarial atmosphere is consistent with the idea of an adversarial legal system, which of course, the USA inherited from Britain.

Snuff was not only about the tobacco or caffeine hit, it was believed a good sneeze had health benefits, not to mention the 18th century obsession with its assumption of status...

I've never ever thought about cloakroom being a weird name for it - that's what we all called it at school

I visited the House of Commons on a school visit about three days before it reopened after the war. The MP (member of Parliament) showing us around was particularly proud of the green leather seating. With the House of Commons destroyed early in the war, members of the “Commons” sat in the House of Lords, which was actually part of the same building, but little damaged.

Many of these traditions are played out in the Canadian government

Australia, being also descended from the UK, has kept more than a few of the Westminster traditions but has dispensed with others. There are still sword lines on the floor of the House of Representatives chamber, for instance, but they're incorporated into the carpet since they're more symbolic than functional. Australian Parliaments also sit continuously election to election, so the ceremonial opening and King's Speech are only carried out once per term. The Black Rod doesn't have the door slammed in their face - the doors are kept closed for modern security practicalities - but they still have to knock three times to be allowed entry. The speech itself is delivered by the Governor-General, and in the State Parliaments by the State Governor, as representatives of the Monarch in the upper houses of their respective parliaments (even in Queensland, which abolished its upper house in 1922). The present-day Parliament House in Canberra was built to spec, from scratch, in a lengthy process which involved levelling a local hill. The building itself is big enough that its facilities are largely self-contained, so there's no need for any nearby pubs to be fitted with division bells, if only because there aren't any pubs that close by. 😉

By the way, the reason why Parliament has those rows of seats facing each other is because the original House of Commons was converted from a church. Parliament happens in "the Palace of Westminster". It used to be a Royal Palace, back before there was a Parliament and democracy. So when Parliament was created, where would all these democratic representatives - MPs - meet? Where would be this new British version of Rome's "Senate" be exactly? And, yeah, the MPs just took over one of the Royal palaces in London to conduct their business. But, in hijacking a Royal palace, the building was not, you know, originally designed for housing a Parliament and they had to adapt it for its new purpose. And, basically, the House of Commons took over what used to be the palace's church. Yeah, when you're a King or Queen, you get your own personal church in your extravagant palace. As you do. But that's basically why the House of Commons has that adversarial layout of rows of seats facing each other. It used to be a church and the two rows of seats facing each other - that's where the choir boys would have sat. The table in front of the MPs - where the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition stand to deliver their speeches and throw insults at each other - would have been where the altar used to be, and where the Speaker sits - which is an elevated position behind the "altar" table - would have been where the pulpit was. And, yes, MPs are well aware of the joke that they're sitting where the choir boys would have sat, despite none of them being remotely as innocent as the proverbial choir boy. They appreciate the irony.

The King's speech marks the State Opening of Parliament and it occurs once a year.

In the 1700s swords became ludicrously long items of foppish vanity. A law was passed that any sword entering the Old City of London would be clipped to 3 feet long.

The picture of snuff actually depicts the wet kind, that you put under your upper lip (a bit similar to chewing tobacco). It's VERY popular in Sweden

The video failed to point out that one reason for limiting seating in the Commons is that - for much Parliamentary business - MPs who need to be there are very few in number. They all have important things to do elsewhere. This means that a chamber designed for 630 MPs would look a lot emptier than it often does anyway. For the big occasions, such as weekly Prime Minister's Questions, there is standing room at the back, but a standing MP is not allowed to ask a question.

Pretty much every MP can fit into the chamber if theres a big debate. Its just that they have the squeeze a few more on a benches and have lots of people stood in the area by the door.

These little ceremonies are designed to reinforce memories and principles, and often to keep our leaders in their place.

The 'two sword lengths' thing is not really true, but may have been the case in the old House of Commons (which was destroyed by fire in 1834). AS for snuff, any well-read person today will have come across it in literature. Oh, and it is NEVER 'the Black Rod', it's 'Black Rod'.

Hi Tyler! 'Cloakroom' is the standard name in the UK for the place in a school, theatre, etc, where you can leave your coat and collect it after the play or whatever, dating back (obviously) to the 19th century when (some) people did still wear cloaks. It's also one euphemism for toilet/lavatory (older euphemisms). Snuff is still a thing in Europe. It's a while since I saw anyone in the UK using it, but it's more common on the Continent, and I have a tin of snuff I bought a few years ago when visiting Belgium. The number of seats in the Commons is limited simply because the Chamber isn't big enough for more (the number of constituencies and hence MPs has somewhat grown as our population has increased). It's rare that every MP has to be there (for votes, a predictable majority is sufficient, and MPs from opposing parties who would just cancel each other out can agree to 'pair' so neither has to turn up). If they do, the surplus have to stand at the back. Officially, the UK has an established State religion (Anglicanism) with the Monarch as its head (instead of the Pope), so for the sake of tradition we sometimes all pretend to go along with its customs - in return, its presentation in a State context is as inclusive as possible. In a political context, an MP's religion (or lack of it) is a private matter and never talked about in electioneering - contrast with the USA which explicitly "separates Church and State" but where most candidates are ostentatiously religious and declaring ones' self an atheist would be political suicide! Debates in the chamber are usually just done for appearances' sake, in reality most questions are thrashed out beforehand in Committees, and every MP knows how they're going to vote regardless of any 'debate'. When any tradition has been going on long enough, many of us in the UK feel obliged to keep it going even when we've forgotten what it means. Who would want to be responsible for breaking it?

up until my locals landlord died he would always offer a pinch of snuff and a glass of sloe gin when you popped in .maybe smokers should retake up snuff as there is no ban on it

One of the thing is there's about 20ish establishments for where they can get food and drinks, of which 8 of them are bars (pubs), is a tea room as well that provides food for all their meals per day as well, they also have their own party's sections like on the fly on the wall series in the commons (and later Lords) an MP was told by think her name's Gladys who runs this one in the show (or thats shown in the show) that he couldn't sit where he wanted as its for Labour and he was a Tory MP. One of the at the incumbent MPs or maybe some senior official who said she's lovely and never seen her once unhappy ever in the whole time she's worked there bless her haha.

The cloakroom is an everyday thing. I actually occurred to me about the fact that we don’t wear cloaks 🤔

Snuff is no longer as popular as it was but my dad used it and I have tried it myself, lots of sneezing

Each session of Parliament is opening with the "speech from the throne" the King's Speech which outlines his Governments legislative agenda. The phrase "other measures will be laid before you" is included which gives His Majesty's Government scope to legislate outside the measures set out in the speech.

They left out what he does with the Black rod when the door is slammed in his face. He uses it to tap very loudly on the door.

Not that Tyler reads chat. When the current HoP were built. There were a lot less MPs that we have now. This why there are not enough seats.

The King only attends Parliament once a year to open that year's session. You should watch a video of the opening of Parliament The parliamentary building, also known as Whitehall, used to be a palace owned by the king.

The Speaker of the House of Commons used to wear a long wig and buckled shoes,etc-especially at State opening of Parliament-but that and other related traditions have bern dropped in recent years🎩

You should watch a state opening of Parliament it's always worth a watch

An MP cannot technically resign their seat. If they wish to resign they have to apply for "an office of profit under the Crown", which is either the Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, or Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. Upon appointment they become ineligible to sit in the Commons.

cloakroom's are pretty common...you leave your outer coat there...

@8:55 - 427 seats that's an odd number considering they are mirror image of each other i would of thought 426/428

The kings speach is given once a year at the state opening of parliament usually around November unless there has been a general election, it will be held within a couple of weeks after the new government is elected. If its a new government then the state opening of parliament will have the full bells and whistles with full crowns and gowns and robes and if its normal yearly one , it'll be a paired down one and the the king with wear a suit or military uniform. Tomorrows Opening is the full bells and whistles

One of your best, Tyler!

Surprised there was nothing about the boxes, standing up to support the speakers or the braying and jeers and it's a faux pas to address someone directly instead of through the Speaker. Probably should have also mentioned that the Commons and Lords are mostly seating only a handful of people if it's not a major debate or ceremony.

All MPs can fit into parliament it’s just not all can sit down, during important debates standing room only. It would be undemocratic if members couldn’t attend just think about it

The door slamming is a symbol of the Commons' independence from the Crown. Just before the English Civil War began (and one of its key triggers), King Charles I entered the House of Commons to arrest five of its members on charges of conspiracy. The doors of the Commons chamber were shut against him while the conspirators fled. The Commons argued that the King's actions were unconstitutional and since then, monarchs haven't entered the Commons. Black Rod is the monarch's messenger in this ceremony, so the door being slammed in their face is a powerful reminder that the Commons doesn't do the Crown's bidding.

If you want to see the King's Speech, it's happening this week (17th July). We've had an election so there's a new parliament. The king will open the first session of the new parliament. The government writes the speech but the monarch delivers it. The speech sets out what laws the government plans to introduce in the session. It should be shown live so check it out!

Definitely watching you react toour British culture and traditions is funny. I love watching your channel, we don't often think we are weird until somebody points it out lol

House of commons cannot sit without the mace

The two lines existed way before weaponry was banned, and they were originally the length of the tallest members arm + sword length apart since standing on the line that was the limit of how far he could swing the sword. Obviously that doesn't really work if you need to redraw the lines any time a new taller member joins or the tallest member retires, so it just got made two sword lengths apart as an approximation that'd work well enough.

There are typically about 14 MPs present in the chamber at most time. The quorum is 40. Usually about 40 in the Lords. The quorum is 3.

I've used Snuff in my lifetime. My gran used it regularly because it was not seemly for a woman to be seen smoking unless she was at a dinner party or dance. It's still on sale in the U.K. but you have to be over 18 to buy it!

Too much ' responding ' to everything he sees with inane laughter. Let us see the video then respond. It would be less irritating.

My 1950s & 60s schools had cloakrooms for outdoor clothing to be hung-up to dry/air. What else would one call them?

It's interesting that you can kind of see the expected outcomes of decisions especially with regard to the swords issue. Just like American gun nuts, if something was passed to stop people bringing in swords they would have screamed about it and refused, so then the lines were put in to prevent injuries and deaths, but then that wasn't enough to stop it so they passed a new rule that swords had to be left in the cloakroom.

Tyler it's perfectly normal here to hear the downstairs toilet in a house called 'the cloakroom' ..... look at any (real)estate agents house details lol.

The kings speech is once a year usually. A session isn’t like one day, it’s many months and then prorogation happens and then parliament is reopened. Parliament is still “sitting” even when its recess

They still have bars in the commons sadly & often get up to no good. Last time was the reason they got rid of Boris.

Just a reminder the King's Speech is happening this morning 17th July. You don't want to miss this!

I'm 74 and I used to go to the local tobaconist to buy snuff for my Great Aunt, which was in the 1950's.

The Black Rod is properly referred to as just 'Black Rod', or more fully in the current incarnation, Lady Usher of the Black Rod - they are one of the officers of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Apparently 'back-in-the-day' knights might get a tad rowdy and someone with authority to keep them in line, dignified & following the precepts of their order, so someone with a staff of authority to whack 'em around their armoured heads might actually have been needed! The other ancient chivalric orders also have their own Ushers to fulfill similar roles, each of which holds a staff of office, the rod in question. Other rods are White, Green, Blue, Purple and somewhat unoriginally, a second Black. There's also an Usher to the Sword of State, for whenever that needs to be carted about!

Fact:all MPs can fit into the house of commons but not all get to sit. If you watch PMQ's you will see them standing at the bottom of the screen.

I graw up in a village in Scotland and it had loads pf Victorian Villas. They all had clockrooms, if you chucked a stone you would hit a turret, no kidding. Also every school or thearter and alot of clubs have clockrooms sp its very normal for us.

Look up snuff boxes; some were quite elegant made of silver or gold and adorned with diamonds and other gems. It's noteworthy that tobacco had only recently been discovered.

In the cloakroom for the Commons (suppose could be the same with the Lords I don't know) they have these ties on their coat hangers for the ones with the Righ/Rt honourable (Privy Council members), was for holding a sword on their coat hanger (its not for all MPs he states thats wrong, it was only Privy Council members). Though they don't any longer need to kneel but for the making of Sir's and Dame's (a knighthood or dameship) a sword is still placed on either side of the person receiving one, well for a Knighthood they are. Its rather what now Charles III uses is his Grandfathers sword George VI sword, is a ceremonial one so won't have ever seen any fighting at all (like even King Robert I is believed to be the one the heirloom for the chief of the clan).

There's typically about 14 MPs in the chamber at most times - infuriating because the quorum is 40. In the Lords there are usually about 40 and the quirum is 3.

I am curious how many of those traditions we across the ponds have adopted. The Canadian front benches on each side are also two sword lengths apart. We have bells when there is a vote too. You hear them when the MPs are in Committee and there is a vote. If there is a witness being questioned, they are impacted. Instead of the King in the House of Lords, we have the Governor General (King's stand-in) in the Senate. Same here with MPs and the Senate. You missed the tradition of the PM and leader of the official opposition dragging the new speaker in to the house and the speaker pretending to resist.

Laws assigned by the king and become enacted. A piece of Norman French is read out The king makes it so ? Something like that

You may find the Denis skinner and Black Rod interactions during his time in the house amusing.

Years ago, but well into the 20th century, I used to try snuff but it made my nose feel like it was on fire. I just ended up sneezing uncontrollably! I have not noticed it on sale for a long time now.

I’m from as old mining town, Ashington and even to us it’s always been known as a cloak room. That’s where we hang our coats

It's cute how you think it is archaic that MPs would go to the pub during their work day. Like they don't still do that every day.

Ryan, the tradition of Black Rod having the door slammed in his/her face is followed in the same way in the Australian federal parliament as well.

Snuff is more known than yhr video implies and it actually falls under the scope of many smoking laws. Im a former tobacconist owner and i remember getting the head of our local trading standards in an embarrassing situation where he told us pioe cleaners (if sold to clean pipes, which as a tobacconist is assumed) could not be sold to a child, but snuff could because the laws reference smoking tobacco and smoke accessories. Do love a good floral snuff personally

To this day, every school I have been in Canada has a cloakroom in each homeroom unless the hallway has lockers available (so elementary, junior, and some middle schools). As do our legislatures, and even some older colleges. But since it's Canada, no swmords. We need to be the equivalent of 2 hockey sticks apart. 🏒🏒