a speech given by the Queen at the official opening of the British Parliament each year, usually in October. The speech is actually written by the government, and it gives details of the government's plans for the next year, including the new laws it intends to make. When a king is ruling instead of a queen, it is called the "King's Speech".
a way of reporting what someone said without repeating their exact words. For example, in the sentence 'Julia said that she didn't want to go', the clause 'that she didn't want to go' is indirect speech. Her actual words were 'I don't want to go'.