"Gunpowder Plot"

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/queens-speech-in-parliament-black-rod-hostage-taking-and-a-gold-stick/ar-AAIHAe2

CNN
10/13/19

Queen's Speech in Parliament: Black Rod, hostage-taking and a gold stick

By Sarah Dean and James Frater

Monday's ceremony will begin when the Yeomen of the Guard -- effectively royal bodyguards -- dressed in red Tudor uniforms, search the cellars with lamps to prevent a modern "Gunpowder Plot."
Quick history lesson: in the Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes and four other conspirators tried (and failed) to blow up Parliament. The gang intended to detonate explosives on the day of the State Opening, killing King James I and the aristocracy of the House of Lords. The plotters were later executed.

The searching of the cellars is just one of many archaic traditions that live on. The Yeomen of the Guard -- not to be confused with Beefeaters who guard the Tower of London -- will later form a Guard of Honor for the Queen.

MP taken hostage
It's all fun and games these days, but in a reminder of the historical violence between the Commons and the Crown, an MP will be held "hostage" in Buckingham Palace while the Queen is in Westminster.
This tradition, stemming from the time of King Charles I, is intended to ensure the monarch's safe return….snip more including slides at link