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# Is the British Queen’s Speech Delayed Because It’s Being Written on Goatskin Parchment?
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/is-drying-ink-on-goatskin-parchment-delaying-the-queens-speech/
- Published: 2017-06-12T22:25:07.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:27:07.000Z
- Description: The wait for the ink to dry links to a greater debate about how the UK creates its documents.
- Author: Allison Meier
- Tags: In Brief, Paper, Queen Elizabeth II, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/06/bigbennight.jpg)

Clock tower of London’s Palace of Westminster. The archives of Parliament are kept in the palace’s Victoria Tower. (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

The [*Guardian* reported today](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/12/no-10-refuses-to-confirm-queens-speech-will-go-ahead-next-monday?ref=hyperallergic.com) that a speech from Queen Elizabeth II to the UK Parliament initially planned for June 19 is being postponed. The cause? According to a “government source,” it could be the goatskin parchment on which the speech is written. It “needs several days to dry, meaning a speech cannot be amended at the last minute.”

As the [*Telegraph* points](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/12/queens-speech-delayed-has-printed-goatskin-paper-takes-days/?ref=hyperallergic.com) out, “goatskin paper is not actually made from goatskin,” but rather “high-quality archival paper which is guaranteed to last for at least 500 years.” The real reason for the delay, though, might be more political: the newspaper adds that “critics have suggested that the Government is playing for time as it tries to hammer out the terms of a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.” In other words, it could be [a wait](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40243782?ref=hyperallergic.com) for Prime Minster Theresa May’s talks with the Democratic Unionist Party to [form a minority government](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/world/europe/uk-theresa-may-minority-government.html?%5Fr=0&ref=hyperallergic.com) after the recent elections.

On its surface, goatskin seems like a quaint oddity of the monarchy — complete with [concerns](https://www.racingpost.com/news/political-turmoil-could-mean-queen-s-speech-clashes-with-ascot/289164?ref=hyperallergic.com) about the Queen missing some of the Royal Ascot horse racing — yet it links into a greater [debate](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/17/vellum-laws-parliament-paper-costs?CMP=twt%5Fgu&ref=hyperallergic.com) about how the UK government creates its documents. [*BBC Magazine* had a thorough story on the issue last February](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35569281?ref=hyperallergic.com), following a decision by the House of Lords to stop printing laws on vellum due to the cost; subsequently, the Cabinet Office decided to budget the funds itself. The reason for vellum’s continued use combines a bit of anxiety about digital archiving with respect for a [tradition](https://www.abaa.org/Blog/post/the-history-of-vellum-and-parchment?ref=hyperallergic.com) that goes back to the 16th century — in fact, the Queen’s speech was historically written on the material, which is made from animal skin. This March, [the *Telegraph* reported](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/21/anger-mps-bow-peers-pressure-end-500-year-old-tradition-printing/?ref=hyperallergic.com) that the members of parliament had agreed to a new compromise, in which bills would be printed on vellum and interior pages on archival paper. For now, vellum remains a part of the UK’s lawmaking process, and issues like ink drying on fancy parchment are part of a lingering political legacy.