Cayman Islands Governor Duncan Taylor spent Wednesday morning watching proceedings in the Legislative Assembly from the upstairs viewing gallery with the rest of the general public.  

Although UK-appointed governors typically meet with local legislators at the LA building in downtown George Town before and after scheduled legislative sittings, they rarely – if ever – sit in the audience to watch.

Since the 1991 appointment of Cayman Islands national hero Sybil McLaughlin as Speaker of the House, governors have been required to perform a ceremonial “knock” on the door of the Legislative Assembly before receiving permission to enter and give their annual Throne Speech prior to government’s budget address.

Before Mrs. McLaughlin was nominated as the first speaker, governors acted in the speaker’s role and sat at the head of the assembly.

Current House Speaker Mary Lawrence said she invited Mr. Taylor to come observe the proceedings on Wednesday as her guest.

Mr. Taylor appeared quite interested in the goings-on, constantly leaning over the second floor balcony to look around at the audience and lawmakers down below.

After the meeting broke for lunch, the governor was mobbed by students from Savannah Primary – many of whom wanted his autograph. He signed every request.

”I was very interested to see how the Legislative Assembly operates,” he said. “My first morning that I’ve been here I would has been a little bit on the procedural side, we haven’t had much in way of serious procedural debate – but that’s the nature of the business.”

The governor said he intended to make several more appearances in the assembly as a spectator. As a rule, any member of the public is able to watch LA meetings that are held in open chambers, but typically few people – other than reporters and government staff – attend.

“I’m certainly looking forward to coming back to the Legislative Assembly, just to see how the house deals with its business,” he said.