07 The Monarchy
Unit 07 The Monarchy
Appearance
The Monarchy in Britain illustrates the contradictory nature of the constitution. It is believed that the Queen has almost absolute power and all seems very undemocratic.
Every years when the Parliament begins its activities, Queen Elizabeth II makes a speech in which she announces what “my government” will do along the year. So the government belongs to her instead to the people. It is very different from the situation in other countries like USA or Argentina, where the government is from the people.
It is believed that the queen has power to choose anybody. She likes to run the government for her or fill some ministerial positions and there are not restriction on who she chooses, as well as she decides who will be her ministers she has the power to fire or dismiss them.
It said that the queen also has authority on the parliament. She can summon a meeting or dissolve it and nothing that the parliament has decided become a low without the royal assent.
The queen embodies the law in the courts; if someone commits a crime, it is the “Crown” that makes the accusation. In other countries is the State who makes it.
The Reality
However the reality is very different. The Queen cannot choose anyone to be PM and is the PM who decides who the other government ministers are going to be.
In Parliament, it is the PM who requests dissolution, when he or she wants to call for election. The queen cannot refuse this “request”. The Queen can refuse the royal assent to a bill passed by the Parliament, but it has not actually done since the year 1708.
It is no necessary that the queen gives the royal assent in person. Somebody else signs the document for her.
To sum up, the Queen has almost no power at all. Her discourse is written by another person and if she disagrees with one of the policies of the Parliament, she might ask the ministers change the wording in the speech but she cannot stop the government going ahead with its policies.
The Role
Appearance
The Monarchy in Britain illustrates the contradictory nature of the constitution. It is believed that the Queen has almost absolute power and all seems very undemocratic.
Every years when the Parliament begins its activities, Queen Elizabeth II makes a speech in which she announces what “my government” will do along the year. So the government belongs to her instead to the people. It is very different from the situation in other countries like USA or Argentina, where the government is from the people.
It is believed that the queen has power to choose anybody. She likes to run the government for her or fill some ministerial positions and there are not restriction on who she chooses, as well as she decides who will be her ministers she has the power to fire or dismiss them.
It said that the queen also has authority on the parliament. She can summon a meeting or dissolve it and nothing that the parliament has decided become a low without the royal assent.
The queen embodies the law in the courts; if someone commits a crime, it is the “Crown” that makes the accusation. In other countries is the State who makes it.
The Reality
However the reality is very different. The Queen cannot choose anyone to be PM and is the PM who decides who the other government ministers are going to be.
In Parliament, it is the PM who requests dissolution, when he or she wants to call for election. The queen cannot refuse this “request”. The Queen can refuse the royal assent to a bill passed by the Parliament, but it has not actually done since the year 1708.
It is no necessary that the queen gives the royal assent in person. Somebody else signs the document for her.
To sum up, the Queen has almost no power at all. Her discourse is written by another person and if she disagrees with one of the policies of the Parliament, she might ask the ministers change the wording in the speech but she cannot stop the government going ahead with its policies.
The Role