The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-24 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS.

The doors were opened precisely at 12 o'clock,
and from that hour until about half-past one the
arrivals of company were continuous and rapid,
ladies forming, as is invariably the case on these
occasions, an overwhelming majority of the visitors.
They occupied the whole body of the house, with
the exception of the limited number of seats in the
centre, reserved for the peers and judges, as well as
all the galleries, and their rich, elegant, and taste-
ful attire of many hues gave variety and brilliancy
to a spectacle, which is admitted to be one of the
finest and most imposing to be witnessed in the
country.
On no occasion that we remember has there been
so large an attendance of Peers and Peeresses, and
so much interest apparently felt in the proceed-

in gs.
The corps diplomatic arrived in rapid sicces-
sion—the French, Sardinian, Turkish, Austrian,
Hanoverian, Swedish, American, Netherlands,
Spanish, Portuguese, Haytian, and a host of other
Ministers and Ambassadors.
At two o'clock an officer of the house requests
the ladies to be uncovered, for the Queen is ap-
proaching, and then there is a rustling of silks
and opera cloaks, rich shawls are laid aside, and
jewels, hitherto concealed, glisten on the necks
and bosoms of their wearers. A gentle buzz of
conversation rises from the expectant group, Lords
are seated, and all eyes are directed to the doors on
each side of the throne, through which her Majesty
is shortly to enter. The great officers of State leave
the house, and assemble at the foot of the staircase.
A few moments elapse, the State carriage is at the
grand entrance, and her Majesty on alighting is
received by the great officers in attendance. Here
a procession is formed, which passes along the
Royal Gallery into the Prince's Chamber in the
following order :

- --- - -
Pursuivants.
Heralds.
Equerry to H. R. H. Groom to IL It. 11.
the Prince Albert. the Prince Albert.
Gentlemen Ushers to her Majesty.
Equerry to her Majesty. Groom to her Majesty.
Clark Marshal.
The Comptroller of The Treasurer of
Her Majesty's Household. Her Majesty's Household.
Norroy King of Arms. Clarenceux King of Arms.
The Lord Privy Seal.
The Lord President of the Council.
The Lord High Chancellor.
The Gentleman Usher of Garter Principal King of
the Black Rod. Arms.
The Earl Marshal. The Lord Great Chamberlain.
Tho Sword of State.

THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY,
accompanid by his Royal Highness the Prince Albert,
and attended by the Mistress of the Robes,
and the Lady in Waiting.
The Lord Steward. Groom of the Stole to
11. R. H. the Prince Albert.
The Lord in 'Waiting to her Majesty.
Pages of Honour.
The Master of the Horse.

Lord in Waiting to H.R.R. the Prince Albert.
Captain of the Yeomen of Captain of the Corps of
the Guard. Gentlemen at Arms.
The Gold Stick.
Field 011icers of the Guard on duty.
An Officer of the respective Corps
of the Gentlemen at Arms and the Yeomen of the Guard,
closing the Procession within the Prince's Chamber.
After a short pause a flourish of trumpets is heard.
The whole company rise en masse, and the heralds
in their quaint dress and antique tabards enter ;
great officers of the household follow, then Garter
King of Arms, and range themselves on the left of
the Throne. Her Majesty, with her royal train
borne, and taking the arm of the Prince Consort,
enters, and is conducted to the chair of state upon
the throne. Her Majesty, on taking her seat, ro•

quests all to be seated, and the Usher of the Black
Rod proceeds to the Commons to summen them to
the Upper House.
The interior of the House of Lords, at this mo-
ment, with its magnificently gilded roof; its stained-
glass windows, of various hues, covered with pic-
tures of the kings and queens who through so many
centuries have sat on the throne of England ; the
fine statues of the barons who signed Magna
Charts that fill the niches at each side of every win-
dow ; the elaborately carved oak pannels that back
the peers' benches; and the brilliant frescoes that
adorn the walls in the front and at the rear of the
throne presents a scene of unparalleled grandeur.
The Peers of the United Kingdom wear their
scarlet robes ; while the peeressss and their
daughters, radiant with beauty, glittering with
priceless gems, are ranged upon each side, like par-
terres of variegated flowers, bordered by the scarlet
and ermine robes of the Peers who occupy the front
seats. They rise, • tier upon tier, with more than
Iris hues, and the light streaming through the
stained windows, sparkles on jewelled cornets, or
pendant brilliants, like sun rays upon the dew-
drops or choicest flowers. All eyes are directed
towards one spot. The Queen is seated upon
her glittering chair of state, representative of a
long line of monarchs whose cyphers and ,mona-
grams are emblazoned upon the throne. The
centre of the throne is occupied by her Majesty ;
the Prince Consort is on the left. Her Majesty
wears a robe of white satin embroidered with
gold, a purple velvet mantle falls in graceful
folds upon each side of the chair, covering the lions
that support it, and partly concealing the crimson
velvet footstool with its embroidery of fleur-de-lis.
There is a diadem upon her brow, and jewels flash
and glitter in the brilliant stomacher and ear drops
which she wears. The imperial crown is borne
upon its velvet cushion, upon her Majesty's right,
and close by is the Marquis of Winchester, with
the cap of maintenance. Seated upon the chair on
the left of the throne is the Prince Consort in the
uniform of a field marshal. The Lord Chancellor
stands behind the chair of the Prince of Wales, the
Lord President on the right, and the Privy Seal on
the left of her Majesty. Behind the chair in which
. the Prince Consort sits are the groom of the stole
and lord in waiting to the Prince, and at the back
of her Majesty's chair of state stands the stately
figure of the mistress of th 3 robes, and the ladies in
waiting.

Only a few minutes elapsed before the Speaker
of the lower branch of the Legislature, together
with the Sergnant-at-Arms and the Chief Clerk
(Sir Denis le Marchant), Lord Palmerston, Lord J.
Russell, the Right Hen. Sir Georgo Grey, the
Right Hon. G. C. Lewis, the Right Hon. W. E.
Gladstone, and Mr. Sidney Herbert, appeared
below the bar, followed by a great number of
other members, who engaged in a rather uncere-
monious struggle for places in the confined space
to which they are limited.
The Lord Chancellor then, kneeling at the foot

of the Throne, handed the Royal Speech to her
Majesty, who, after waiting until the noise caused
by the arrival of the Commons had somewhat sub-
sided, read it with that distinctness and pleasing em-
phasis which have been so repeatedly remarked
and admired.
The Speech will be found in another column.
The Queen then left the Throne, and after grace-
fully bowing to the spectators, retired from the
house in the same order in which she had entered.
This concluded the ceremony of opening the Impe-
rial Parliament.