The key facts

  • Charles III and Camilla opened the seventh Senedd — expanded to 96 members after the May elections
  • First official meeting between the King and First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru, a party with republican traditions)
  • National Poet of Wales Hanan Issa did not perform: the Senedd rejected her poem as insufficiently 'apolitical'

Opening ceremony in Cardiff Bay

King Charles III and Queen Camilla officially opened the seventh session of the Welsh parliament, the Senedd. The King's arrival in Cardiff was marked by a 21-gun salute in Cardiff Bay. On the steps of the building the King was greeted by Plaid Cymru leader and First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, the parliament's Presiding Officer Elin Jones... actually the Llywydd Hywel... — the presiding officer Huw Irranca-Davies, and Labour's Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Kinnock, representing the UK government. Most of the 96 members were present in the chamber, including the opposition Reform, Labour and Conservatives.

The King's speech: connection with Wales and climate

Charles III said that all his life he had felt an 'enormous privilege and pride' in his special connection with Wales, its language, culture and landscape. He emphasised the 'deep connection between place, people, culture and belonging' and urged members to draw inspiration from these shared values. The King also expressed concern about climate change, noting how the colours of the countryside had changed during summer heatwaves and wildfires in Wales. He announced his return to Wales next week — to Aberfan, for the 60th anniversary of the coal tip disaster of 21 October 1966, when a landslide buried the local school and houses. Survivor Gareth Jones, who was six years old at the time of the tragedy, showed the King a photograph of his father with the King and his sister, taken the day after the disaster.

First meeting with the Plaid Cymru first minister

The visit marked the first official meeting between Charles III and Rhun ap Iorwerth after Plaid Cymru's victory in the May elections, which ended Labour's rule — Labour had governed Wales since devolution in 1999. The party is historically associated with republican traditions. In an interview with Politics Home in 2025, ap Iorwerth said he does not believe in 'kings and princes', but that the issue is not a 'political priority' for him; at the same time he noted that the monarchy remains important to many in Wales, and argued that the title of Prince of Wales 'should be consigned to history'. At the ceremony the first minister called the opening a 'new chapter' in national democracy and stressed that the expansion of the Senedd from 60 to 96 members had strengthened its ability to scrutinise — to hold the government to account. Buckingham Palace said the King also held an audience with the first minister at the Millennium Centre.

Protests and the poet's cancelled performance

About 30 protesters at the steps of the Senedd loudly voiced their discontent throughout the visit; chants of 'not my king' and 'down with the crown' could be heard. One person was arrested on suspicion of breaching the Public Order Act. A separate controversy surrounded the performance of the National Poet of Wales Hanan Issa: the Senedd commission rejected her poem To Grow, citing the 'apolitical' nature of the ceremony. According to the poet, the poem mentioned Gaza and transgender healthcare, and a second, more abstract version was also rejected. 'I am disappointed above all. This is a chamber where political debates take place, and it shows that political discussion in the form of a poem is not welcome here,' Issa said on Instagram and in an interview with BBC Wales. The Senedd commission responded that after a process of revision it had concluded that the poem was 'not suitable for the occasion', emphasising its respect for the author's artistic independence.

Context of the ceremony

The official opening of the Senedd takes place after elections and formally marks a new session; the head of state attends in recognition of the parliament's role in Welsh public life. Elizabeth II opened every previous session since 1999, most recently in 2021 together with the current King and Queen. The Senedd building marks its 20th anniversary this year — it opened in 2006, and the ceremonial mace was gifted by the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Presiding Officer Irranca-Davies addressed the new members with a message: 'the institution performs at its best when we recognise that disagreement does not mean division', adding that 'energetic debate is part of a healthy democracy', but that all share a common responsibility to serve the people of Wales.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arriving at the Senedd.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The King said he was proud of his "special connection with Wales"

The King addressing the Senedd with Queen Camilla seated to his right.Image source, Senedd Cymru
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The King praised the "connection between place, people, culture and belonging" found in Wales

The King and Rhun ap Iorwerth shaking hands near the Senedd entranceImage source, Getty Images
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It was the King's first official meeting with Rhun ap Iorwerth since he became Wales' first minister

Hannan wearing a burgundy hijab and a black dress. She's stood on a balcony inside the BBC Wales building. There's desks with monitors on them in the background.
Image caption,

"I'm disappointed more than anything," Hanan Issa, the National Poet of Wales, told BBC Wales

Gareth Jones holding a black and white picture of the King's father meeting him and his sister after the Aberfan disaster.
Image caption,

Aberfan disaster survivor Gareth Jones showed the King a photograph of his father meeting him and his sister on the day after the tragedy

Three pictures of young people in a compilation, side by side. On the left and right are young girls with long dark, wavy hair. In the middle is a young man with short brown hair and facial hair, wearing a navy and blue Nike jacket.Baby Gwilym sleeping in his crib. He's a newborn and wearing a baby blue suit. He's wrapped in a blue blanket and lying on a floral sheet with a soft toy at the top of the photograph.This image is a composite of two pictures of Caroline. In the picture on the left, she is smiling at the camera in a restaurant setting. She has long brunette hair and dark eyes. she is wearing a spotty blouse in various shades of pink, brown, orange and white. In the picture on the right, she is seen smiling in a selfie sat in a hospital bed. She is bald, with medical tubing and catheter lines behind her ear and going down her left shoulder