Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, born 21 April 1926), styled Her Majesty The Queen, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. About 125 million people live in the countries of which she is Head of State. She is thirty-eighth in line of descent from Egbert, King of Wessex.

Constitutional role

Role in government

In theory, the Queen is an essential part of the legislative process of her Realms. The Queen-in-Parliament (the Queen, acting with the advice and consent of Parliament), in each country, is an integral part of Parliament, along with the upper and lower houses. In practice, however, the Queen's role in the legislative process is in all forseeable circumstances entirely ceremonial. The Queen may legally grant or withhold Royal Assent to Bills, but no monarch has refused his or her assent to a Bill since 1708. The Queen, or her Governors-General in the realms outside of Britain, also gives a speech at the annual State Opening of Parliament, outlining the government's legislative agenda for the year, but the speech is written by ministers.

Related Topics:
Queen-in-Parliament - Upper - Lower - Royal Assent - 1708 - Governors-General - State Opening of Parliament

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The Queen also has a functional role in executive government. Constitutionally she chooses her prime minister (though in reality no actual choice is required as the issue of who to ask to form a government is clear from who controls the House of Commons, except in exceptional circumstances). She also decides the basis on which a person is asked to form a government. That is, whether a government should be formed capable of surviving in the House of Commons - the standard requirement - or capable of commanding majority support in the House of Commons - i.e., a requirement to form a coalition if no one party has a majority. This requirement was last set in 1940, leading to the formation of the National Government of Winston Churchill. This request is normally only made in emergencies or in war-time. The Queen also appoints ministers and all government is carried out legally in her name.

Related Topics:
House of Commons - 1940 - Winston Churchill

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Orders-in-Council are issued only when approved by her at Privy Council meetings. She has access to all government minutes and documentation, and has a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister when parliament is in session. She also signs executive order, financial and treasury papers, with her signature required on all major financial transactions of state (countersigned by the relevant minister). The role of Commander-in-Chief is held in each realm either by the Queen or by her Governor-General as her representative.

Related Topics:
Orders-in-Council - Privy Council - Commander-in-Chief

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Appointment of prime ministers: 3 controversies

On three occasions during her reign the Queen has had to deal with constitutional problems over the formation of governments. In 1957 and again in 1963 the absence of a formal open mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that following the sudden resignation of Sir Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan it fell on the Queen to decide who to commission to form a government. In both these cases Rab Butler was passed over, in controversial circumstances in October 1963 when outgoing Prime Minister Harold Macmillan advised the Queen to appoint the Earl of Home instead.

Related Topics:
1957 - 1963 - Conservative Party - Anthony Eden - Harold Macmillan - Rab Butler - Earl of Home

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On the third occasion, in February 1974, an inconclusive general election result meant that in theory outgoing prime minister Edward Heath, who had won more of the popular vote, could stay in power if he formed a coalition government with the Liberals. Rather than immediately resign as prime minister he explored the option and only resigned when the discussions floundered. (Had he chosen to, he could have remained on until defeated in the debate on the Queen's Speech.) Only when he resigned was the Queen able to ask the Leader of the Opposition, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson, to form a government. His minority government lasted for 8 months before a new general election was held.

Related Topics:
1974 - Edward Heath - Liberals - Queen's Speech - Leader of the Opposition - Labour Party - Harold Wilson - Minority government

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In all three cases, she appears to have acted in accordance with constitutional tradition, following the advice of her prime minister.

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• See also Prime Ministers of Queen Elizabeth II

Relations with ministers

British Prime Ministers take their weekly meetings with the Queen very seriously. One Prime Minister said he took them more seriously than Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, because she would be better briefed and more constructive than anything he would face at the dispatch box. Elizabeth also has regular meetings with her individual British ministers, and occasional meetings with ministers from her other Realms. Even ministers known to have republican views speak highly of her and value these meetings.

Related Topics:
Prime Minister's Questions - House of Commons - Republican

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As with her British Prime Ministers, some Canadian Prime Ministers have commented on The Queen?s knowledge of Canadian and international affairs. Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau stated: "I was always impressed not only by the grace she displayed in public at all times, but by the wisdom she showed in private conversation." (Memoirs, Pierre E. Trudeau)

Related Topics:
Canadian Prime Ministers - Pierre Trudeau

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The Queen also meets the Scottish First Minister. The royal palace in Edinburgh, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, once home to Scottish kings and queens like Mary, Queen of Scots, is now regularly used again, with at least one member of the Royal Family (often the Prince of Wales or Princess Royal) in residence. She also receives reports from the new Welsh Assembly, and is continually kept abreast of goings on with her other governments.

Related Topics:
Scottish First Minister - Edinburgh - Palace of Holyroodhouse - Mary, Queen of Scots - Welsh Assembly

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Though bound by convention not to intervene directly in politics, her length of service, the fact that she has been a confidante of every prime minister since Winston Churchill in Britain, Louis St. Laurent in Canada, Alexander Bustamante in Jamaica, Sidney Holland in New Zealand, and many others, combined with her knowledge of world leaders, means that when she does express an opinion, however cautiously, her words are taken seriously. In her memoirs, Margaret Thatcher offered this description of her weekly meetings with Elizabeth:

Related Topics:
Winston Churchill - Louis St. Laurent - Canada - Alexander Bustamante - Jamaica - Sidney Holland - New Zealand - Margaret Thatcher

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"Anyone who imagines that they are a mere formality or confined to social niceties is quite wrong; they are quietly businesslike and Her Majesty brings to bear a formidable grasp of current issues and breadth of experience."

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During an argument within the Commonwealth over sanctions on South Africa, Elizabeth made a pointed reference to her role as Head of the Commonwealth which was interpreted at the time as a disagreement with Thatcher's policy of opposing sanctions.

Related Topics:
Commonwealth - South Africa

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The Queen and the Judiciary

The Queen's role in the judiciary is again ceremonial: the courts act in her name and prosecutions are brought on her behalf.

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The Queen may not be brought to trial in the courts in her capacity as head of state, nor can she be sued personally for any official act carried out by her or in her name (although the Crown may be sued as a legal entity). The Queen is, however, a natural person under common law, subject to the law like any other person. The question of whether the monarch could be tried for an offence committed in a personal capacity has never been tested. During the English Revolution of the 17th century, Parliament tried Charles I for treason, but after the Restoration of Charles II these proceedings were deemed to have been unlawful.

Related Topics:
Natural person - Common law - English Revolution - 17th century - Charles I - Treason - Restoration - Charles II

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Constitutional controversies

Rhodesia

Elizabeth has been involved in some political controversies during her reign, in which her actions appear to have stated her political views. On 18 November 1965, the Governor of Rhodesia (Sir Humphrey Vicary Gibbs) was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour in the personal gift of the Queen, a week after Ian Smith had made his Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Gibbs was intensely loyal to Rhodesia and although he had refused to accept UDI, the award was criticised as badly timed at the very least. Others praised it as indicating support for her Rhodesian representative in the face of an illegal action by the Rhodesian prime minister.

Related Topics:
18 November - 1965 - Rhodesia - Humphrey Vicary Gibbs - Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order - Ian Smith - Unilateral Declaration of Independence

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The United Kingdom

In her speech to Parliament at the Silver Jubilee in 1977, Elizabeth stated "I cannot forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". This reference came at a time when the Labour government was attempting to introduce a controversial devolution scheme to Scotland and Wales, and was interpreted as opposition to devolution. However, in the late 1990s after referenda approved a devolution scheme, Elizabeth sent her best wishes to the new Scottish Parliament.

Related Topics:
1977 - Devolution - Scotland - Wales

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