The red carpet is bolted to the stairs, the flags are raised and the thrones have been dusted as Parliament goes full pomp for the State Opening.
It's day two of official ceremonies to open the 52nd Parliament - a procedure made necessary by the dissolution of the last Parliament which had to happen so the election could be held.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
The election results came back and then there was a period when reporters went a bit loopy waiting for political parties to negotiate who would partner up for the next government.
But a decision was made and New Zealand now has one of its youngest Prime Ministers.
But before the MPs can start moving election promises through the House, the 52nd Parliament needs to be officially opened.
Technically, Parliament has already been opened at the Commission Opening on Tuesday but at that point the Governor General did the equivalent of responding "maybe" to a Facebook invite and sent commissioners to attend in her place.
She's not being slack though - her absence is traditional and constitutional. About 350 years ago Britain's King Charles I busted into the House to arrest five MPs suspected of conspiring with Scots to invade.
Unfortunately for the King, he failed and lost the follow-up civil war and his head. The House has had a "no sovereign allowed" rule ever since which also extends to the Sovereign's representative in New Zealand - the Governor General.
But the State Opening is entirely focussed on her and roughly splits into three parts: the arrival, the summoning, and the speech.
A step-by-step guide to the state opening. Photo: Supplied / Office of the Clerk
Arriving in style
This arrival of the Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy includes a fair amount of protocol which blends traditions from Aotearoa New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
As Dame Patsy exits the car in front of Parliament House she is formally welcomed with a pōwhiri (which wasn't part of the proceedings until the 1980s).
A conch shell will sound three times summoning the three winds of Tāwhirimātea and the visitor and her party are then challenged (rākau tapu) by toa (warriors) with taiaha to find out if they're friend or foe.
Placed on the ground in front of the Governor General is a taki, a small branch or dart symbolising peace, which is accepted by her party.
Then karanga (women's calls of welcome) and haka pōwhiri follow as the Governor General meets kaumatua.
To make sure New Zealand's British connections are not forgotten trumpeters sound a fanfare, the national anthem is belted out by the Air Force band (but only the first verse), and a 21 Gun Salute is fired from Point Jerningham.
While this is happening MPs assemble in the House to wait for the Governor General to finish what is becoming quite a long walk into the building.
The freshly chosen Speaker, Trevor Mallard, opens the House with a prayer and reports on his Tuesday meeting with the Governor General, who confirmed him in the role and granted privileges to the House like freedom of speech in debate and free access to the Sovereign.
After that, the House sits and waits.
Yup, they wait.
The Governor General is still outside and on her way has to inspect the Air Force, Navy and Army Royal Guards of Honour. It's usual to stop and chat with some of the Honour Guard, so MPs might want to have a book handy.
Then there are more fanfare, waiata and karanga as the Governor General is lead (finally) into the Council Chamber by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (whose role is specially activated for state occasions since the Upper House that he once served in has long been abolished).
Once seated on the throne (white enamel and gilt upholstered in red silk if you're curious), the Governor General sends Black Rod to summon the MPs from the House. He walks backwards out of the Council Chamber to fetch the MPs.
The Summoning
By tradition the door to the House is locked as Black Rod approaches, which might seem rude until you consider that the UK Commons actually slam it in his face as he walks up.
So Black Rod's only option is to knock three times on the door with his staff of ebony and gold which is called... wait for it... the black rod.
New Zealand's Government got given this fancy stick with a gold sovereign set in the base from the then Governor General in 1931, who we can only assume thought the black billiard cue they'd been using up until then wasn't fancy enough.
Fun fact: as it turns out, the nice staff (which is a replica of the one used in the House of Lords) is a little too fancy to hit the door with, so they use another stick - also black for the actual banging. No telling if the other stick is a billiard cue.
After whacking on the door Black Rod has to wait for the Speaker to have the door unlocked and then wait again for the Speaker to call for the 'bar' across the entrance to be opened, lest we forget Charles I who thought he could barge on in there 350 years ago.
Black Rod is eventually allowed to enter the House and calls everyone into the Council Chamber for the Governor General's Speech from the Throne.
The ceremony of knocking and being barred and then not barred may seem like overkill but it's intended to symbolise the independence of the House from the executive (to which the Governor General belongs).
Black Rod leads the Speaker's procession through the Grand Hall into the Council Chamber where the Governor General is waiting on the throne to give the speech which is why, believe it or not, it's called the Speech from the Throne.
The Speech
Velvet ropes and locked doors are required for this part which is not as threatening as it sounds, so bear with me.
Once MPs are in their seats defence personnel move down the aisle and rope in the MPs (not at all scary), again harking back to when Parliament and the Sovereign were a little tense with each other.
The Speech is an opportunity for the Governor General to explain why she called for Parliament to be opened but the speech is written by someone else.
That responsibility falls to the Government which uses the speech to announce its legislative plans, but may also mention international and domestic affairs making it similar to a state of the nation speech.
Once it's delivered a copy is given to the Speaker and the Governor General gets to finally go home but not the MPs.
They are "untied" and released to follow the Speaker back to the House where the Speech from the Throne is tabled for a debate over it (and therefore the Government's programme) that will last up to 19 hours.
And we're done! Parliamentary pomp complete.
