Australia has rated a brief mention in the King’s speech as he officially opened Britain’s parliament in a ceremony of pomp and pageantry and dripping with royal diamonds.

The King set out new British PM Keir Starmer’s legislative agenda before an audience of robed and wigged lords and MPs.

He read out the laws the government will prioritise after Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party won a large majority at the election less than a fortnight ago.

Towards the end of the speech, the King enthusiastically referenced his upcoming tour to Australia.

“The Queen and I look forward to our visit to Samoa alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October, and our visit to Australia,” he said.

But it was a seemingly frustrating wardrobe moment that attracted the attention of media outlets closely scrutinising the monarch’s every move.

At one point his weighty robe of state appeared to cause an issue for the page boy who was trying to arrange the regalia around the Sovereign Throne.

The King seemed annoyed as a page boy fussed with the heavy robe of state. Photo: Getty

Headlines reported the King “snapping” at the page boy and getting “frustrated”. The King then took the matter into his own hands and flipped the robe out.

In video footage, he can be heard saying “thank-you” afterwards.

The King was dressed in the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet Royal Naval No.1 Dress with cap and sword. On top of that ensemble he added the heavy robe of state and Imperial State Crown.

The Queen was also robed and glittering in a diamond collet necklace, diamond Van Cleef & Arpels earrings and a diamond bracelet.

Earlier this week, the King reportedly snapped at an aide to help the Queen as she struggled to slip her arm into a trench coat while holding an umbrella at a military parade in Jersey.

The King will visit Australia in October for the first time since he became sovereign.

It will also be the first visit by a reigning monarch since 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II went to Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

The King has visited 15 times previously, including spending time at a school in Victoria in 1966.

His last visit in 2018 – to open the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast – also took in parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

King’s speech

The King’s speech, written by the government, sets out the new government’s agenda.

Labour’s package of more than 35 bills will focus on growing the economy, reforming planning laws to make it easier to build homes and speeding up the delivery of major infrastructure projects, improving transport and creating jobs.

“My government will govern in service to the country,” he said.

“My government’s legislative program will be mission-led and based on the principles of security, fairness and opportunity for all.”

He added that his ministers would “get Britain building”.

The King and Queen travel in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach from Buckingham Palace to parliament. Photo: Getty

Starmer won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history on July 4, making him the most powerful national leader since former prime minister Tony Blair.

But he faces daunting challenges, including improving struggling public services with little room for more spending.

In an introduction to the proposed legislation, Starmer announced “the era of politics as performance and self-interest above service is over”.

But he also had a warning for voters who might hope the new Labour government can quickly fix the problems buffeting Britain.

“Rebuilding our country will not happen overnight,” he wrote.

“The challenges we face require determined, patient work and serious solutions.

“We will unlock growth and take the brakes off Britain, turning the page for good on the economic irresponsibility and pervasive inability to face the future that we saw under the Conservative government.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (left) and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak lead MPs through the Palace of Westminster. Photo: Getty

The government announced legislation to “speed up and streamline the planning process” to help resolve Britain’s acute housing shortage and long delays that dog infrastructure projects.

The government signalled it would restrict the ability of local people to block developments, saying there would be “democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built”.

The government also set out plans to gradually renationalise passenger rail and set affordable fares to draw people back on to trains by handing the state control of rail contracts held by private companies, once they have expired.

This decision would mostly reverse the privatisation of the railways conducted in the 1990s by the then-Conservative government.

The King and Queen in the Royal Gallery at the State Opening of Parliament. Photo: Getty

The speech also made clear the government’s drive to reset relations with the European Union after years of Brexit rancour, with the King saying his ministers “will seek a new security pact to strengthen co-operation”.

It is a goal Starmer can work towards when he hosts a meeting of the European Political Community, a group of more than 40 states formed in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Following meetings at last week’s NATO summit in Washington, Starmer and his team hope to press on with those conversations. However, any talks on a security pact will most likely come later in the year.

-with AAP