Bizarre reason the Queen’s speech has been delayed

The British are known for their staunch traditionalism, but a royal custom has delayed the Queen’s speech, which is meant to commence the opening of Parliament on June 19.

The annual speech is written by parliamentary members for the Queen to read out on their behalf. It sets the agenda for the year to come and lays out the government’s policy plans.

However, the speech isn’t typed up on a computer or written on any old scrap of paper. Instead, it’s penned onto a special archival goatskin paper, which can be preserved for up to 500 years.

So what’s the problem?

The BBC reports that difficulties in talks between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who they paired with to form a majority government, mean that they didn’t get around the writing the speech until much later than usual.

The ink used to write on the goatskin paper takes days to dry and won’t be ready in time for next Monday, when the speech was originally scheduled.

While the British public will have to wait to hear what their government has in store for them, it’s perhaps the Queen who will be most put out by the delay as it could interfere with her plans to attend The Royal Ascot horserace next week.

It’s not the first time the pesky goatskin paper has delayed the famed speech.

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In 2010, the speech was delivered 20 days after the general election, while in 1992 nearly a month elapsed between polling day and the government announcing its new agenda.

Do you love wacky royal traditions? Are you a fan of the monarchy?