What is the 'humble address' to King Charles which is designed to reassure unionists of Northern Ireland's place in the UK?

But what actually is a “humble address”, and what does this particular one say?

Basically, such an address is a statement made by Parliament to the head of state, now King Charles.

Such statements are usually made following the opening of each term of Parliament, and are done under the auspices of thanking the monarch for his or her speech, which sets out the government’s plans at the start of each new term.

In this case, the humble address is designed to reinforce the strength of the Union, as part of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s deal with the government to restore Stormont.

It asks the Commons and Lords to agree the following:

“That an humble address be presented to His Majesty welcoming the return of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, re-affirming the importance of upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 in all its strands, acknowledging the foundational importance of the Acts of Union 1800, including the economic provisions under article 6 of those acts, and recognising that, consistent with section 23(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, executive power in Northern Ireland shall continue to be vested in His Majesty, and that joint authority is not provided for in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 in respect of the UK and Irish governments.”

It was already read in the Commons on Monday (details here), after being introduced by Steve Baker, the Tory junior Northern Ireland minister (who said his boss, the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris, was unavailable de to travel), and supported by the Labour Party.

The same wording will be presented to the Lords tonight by Lord Caine, Tory undersecretary-of-state at the Northern Ireland Office.