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Commons Briefing paper by Emily Davis, Sarah Priddy, Anya Somerville and Claire Searle. It was first published on Wednesday, 12 November 2014. It was last updated on Thursday, 19 March 2026.


Addresses to Members of both Houses of Parliament

In addition to the King's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, formal addresses to both Houses of Parliament are made by the Monarch.

State or other visits to the UK by leading figures may be marked by a speech given to members of both Houses of Parliament. Formal addresses to both Houses can be made by Heads of State and by other foreign leaders. In some circumstances, visiting foreign dignitaries give speeches in Parliament which are not formal addresses.

The downloadable Excel file lists heads of state and dignitaries who have addressed MPs and members of the House of Lords since 1935. Source details are available in the Excel file.

Further information 

Additional commentary and analysis from the Hansard Society can be found at Addresses to both Houses of Parliament and Trump, State Visits and Parliament: Precedent and process.

Parliament: Facts and figures 

The Parliament: Facts and figures series covers topics including elections, government, legislation, Members and parliamentary business. 

Please get in touch with us at papers@parliament.uk with comments, corrections, or if you would like to access the data in a different format. 

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Secondary information

Type
Research briefing
Reference
SN04092 
Category
Parliament facts and figures
Related items
State visits to the UK
Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Research briefings
Subjects
House of Commons House of Lords Heads of state Parliament Speeches
Published by
Indexing and Data Management Section
House of Commons Library
Link
View this Research briefing on researchbriefings.parliament.uk