The five most important things to take away from the Queen's Speech

What was included and what was notably absent?

The Queen has listed the proposals the government hope to put into action over the next two years to mark the official state opening of parliament.

In a ceremony that was much more laid-back than preceding years – the Queen wore a blue dress and hat instead of traditional crown and gown due to lack of rehearsals – HRH addressed MPs and Lords in parliament.

The speech had been delayed by two days after talks between the Conservative party and the DUP continued as Theresa May tried to form a minority government.

So, after all the political upheaval of the past couple of years, what was actually included in the speech?

1. There will be eight separate bills concerning Brexit

The main part of the Conservative government's agenda for the next two years revolves around the UK leaving the EU. While this might not be surprising, we have known little about the actual detailed process of leaving. Today, it was announced that there will be eight separate bills concerning Brexit put forward to MPs. They are the Repeal Bill, a Customs Bill, a Trade Bill, an Immigration Bill, a Fisheries Bill, an Agriculture Bill, a Nuclear Safeguards Bill and an International Sanctions Bill.

2. "Unfair tenant fees" will be banned immediately

A surprising inclusion of the Queen's speech was the announcement that "unfair tenant fees" will be banned immediately. This means tenants will no longer have to pay those pesky agency fees when they have simply found somewhere to live. According to The BBC, the average fee is £223 but the housing charity Shelter found that one in seven pays more than £500 in fees.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn walk through the lobby of the Houses of Parliament

3. Several proposals affecting women were mentioned

Several proposals affecting women were also mentioned in the speech. This includes the Tory manifesto pledge to close the gender pay gap but the government did not specifically say how they plan on doing this. They also announced a number of measures to combat domestic violence. Firstly, they plan to implement a Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill that will protect victims by drafting what domestic violence is in law, they will appoint a domestic violence and abuse commissioner and create a civil domestic abuse prevention scheme. Under a proposed 'Courts Bill', they will end the direct cross-examination of domestic-violence victims by their alleged abusers in family courts.

4. Mental-health legislation will be reformed

The Conservatives stayed true to their manifesto by pledging to reform mental-health legislation and ensure that people with mental-health conditions are treated the same as those who have physical conditions under the NHS. They did not announce any additional funding for resources for improving or treating mental health.

5. Trump won't be visiting

While people have speculated on what Theresa May included in the Queen's Speech, much has also been made of what she missed out. Most probably due to her surprise disappointing election result, the Prime Minister scrapped a number of controversial measures included in the party's manifesto. The scrapping of children's free school meals, a free vote on fox hunting and the re-introduction of grammar schools were all left out of the speech as was any mention of a state visit by US president Donald Trump.

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