Baroness D'Souza, Lord Speaker﻿>> This is our year to celebrate Parliament in the Making.
Not just the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta, but also, as you will know,
the 750th anniversary of Simon de Montfort’s Parliament.
Rt Hon John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons>> Today’s events, bringing together
the four surviving originals of Magna Carta in Parliament will provide a truly extraordinary
opportunity for all those participating. Very Reverend June Osborne>> We have been
custodians of the Magna Carta, that in a moment I hope you’ll all see, since 1215. It has
never been outside our archives. Professor David Carpenter>> Magna Carta lays
down the first constitution of Parliament. It doesn’t use the name, but the thing is
really there. Well in a way, Magna Carta is the birth of Parliament, we see the beginnings
of Parliament in Magna Carta, so to have the four original Magna Cartas brought here in
the Mother of Parliaments is a momentous, exciting and atmospheric event.
Lara Artemis>> We’ve been working for about two-and-a-half to three years, trying to bring
four very important constitutional documents, the only surviving of the 1215 Magna Carta,
to Parliament has been the biggest challenge. Some of that has been around making sure we
have the correct environment, including lighting. The items will be shown in the Robing Room.
The Magna Cartas arrive, they will be checked by conservators, to make sure that we comply
with conditions of loan, which includes any damage that may have been caused through transit.
Constitutional documents, particularly very, very important constitutional documents, are
the most challenging for a loans registrar to manage. And it’s unlikely that this kind
of event will happen again in my lifetime. David Prior>> In the exhibition that’s behind
me we’ve actually brought together a whole series of documents that relate very strongly
to Magna Carta. If you believe, as we do, that Magna Carta is essentially the beginning
of Parliament, the documents behind me are kind of their family tree, Parliament’s
family tree really, over eight centuries. The highlight in many ways is the Petition
of Right of 1628, which many people hold to be on a level with Magna Carta. Sitting alongside
the Petition of Right, three really important seventeenth century documents as well, the
Habeus Corpus Act, the draft Declaration of Rights and the Bill of Rights of 1689.
Visitor>>It’s the first time the four Magna Cartas have been together for 800 years – it’s
an event in history and I feel really lucky to be here.
[Background noise] Visitor>>It was amazing to see a document
that I think is so significant to all our countries, Commonwealth countries as well
as the UK, and to see something that’s so well preserved, after 800 years, I think it’s
so impactful – and I wish that sometimes we could look back and have more of that,
more preservation of our documents, because that’s our history, that’s our background
and that’s something we should all be excited to see and experience.
Visitor>>A very good foundation for human rights as well, because it served as the foundation,
the founding stone for human rights. Visitor>>The could be a once in a lifetime
experience and something I might never see again in my life, so I’m just trying to
make the most of it.