1.
Sovereign as head of state
The
United States Constitution declares that, "The executive power shall be
vested in a President of the United of America. By contrast, where the British
system of cabinet government is practiced, the formal statement that the
executive power is vested in the Crown corresponds much less closely with the
reality of government. The Sovereign may reign, but it is the Prime Minister
and other ministers who rule. Yet within the executive in Britain, it is not
possible to dismiss the position of the Sovereign as a legal archaism since the
Sovereign as head of state performs some essential constitutional functions.
a. Queen
and Crown
The
Crown refers to a permanent institution whereas the use of the word sovereign,
ruler, monarch, King or Queen; points out the person in whose name all,
governmental authority is exercised.
b. Title
to the Throne
The
title to the Throne is both statutory and hereditary.
The
successor to the Crown must take the Coronation Oath, in the manner and from
prescribed by statute and must sign and repeat the declaration prescribed by
the Bill of Rights. Any person who comes to the possession of the Crown must
join in communion with the Church of England as by law established.
c.
Accession
When
a Sovereign dies his successor, accedes to the Throne immediate. As soon as
conveniently possible after the death or abdication of a Sovereign, an
Accession Council meets to acclaim the new Sovereign.
d. Coronation
Coronation
customary takes place in Westminster Abbey some months after accession, and is
conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Archbishop of York.
e. Abdication
There
is no precedent for a voluntary abdication before 1936, when Edward VIII was
given the choice of abdicating or giving up his proposed marriage with Mrs.
Simpson.
f. Royal
Style and Titles
The
Royal Style and Titles are altered from time to time by Act of Parliament, or
by proclamation issued there under. Several changes have been made in the present
century to take account of constitutional developments in the commonwealth.
g. The
Royal family
The
official duties of the Queen in her capacity as Sovereign of the United Kingdom
and of the other self-governing Commonwealth monarchies and the remaining
colonial territories, Head of the Armed Services, and Supreme Governor of the
Church of England and with her special responsibility to the Established Church
of Scotland, include:
i. Work
arising .out of the government such as approving and signing commissions, and
reading ministerial, cabinet, parliamentary and diplomatic papers for several
hours a day;
ii. Private
audiences with ambassadors etc., receiving the Prime Minister and other
Ministers, holding a Privy Council and investitures;
iii.
Attending at state occasions such as the opening of Parliament, Trooping the Color
and religious services; and
iv. Exchanging
state visits and visiting Commonwealth countries.
h.
Royal marriage
The
archaic Royal Marriages Act 1772, by restricting the right of a descendant of
George Ii to contract a valid marriage without the consent of the Sovereign,
seeks to guard against undesirable marriages which might affect the succession
to the throne. Until the age of twenty five the Sovereign's assent is
necessary, except in respect of the issue of princesses who have married into
foreign families. After the age a marriage may take place without consent after
a year's notice to the Privy Council, unless Parliament expressly disapproves.
i.
Accession and coronation
There
are two ceremonies which mark the accession of the new Sovereign. Immediately
on the death of his predecessor the Sovereign is proclaimed by the As session
Council, a body which comprises the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and other
leading citizens.
The
proclamation is afterwards approved at the first meeting of the new Sovereign's
Privy Council. Later there follows the coronation, the ancient ceremony which,
before the hereditary principle was established, gave religious sanction to
title by election and brought to a close the interregnum between the death of
one king and the election of his successor.
j. Minority
and incapacity
The
Regency Acts 1937-53 make standing provision for the Sovereigns minority,
incapacity and temporary absence from the realm. Until the Sovereign attains
the age of 18, the royal functions are to be exercised by a regent, who will
also act in the event of total incapacity of an adult Sovereign. Normally the
regent will be the next person in the line of succession who is not excluded by
the Act of Settlement and is a. British subject domiciled in the United
Kingdom.
k. Illness
and temporary absence
In
the event of illness which does not amount to total incapacity of absence or
intended absence from the United Kingdom, the Sovereign may appoint. Counselors
of State to exercise such of the royal functions as may be conferred upon them
by letters patent.
l. Demise
of the Crown
Formerly
the death of the Sovereign involved the dissolution o Parliament and the
termination of the' tenure of all offices under the Crown. The duration of
Parliament is now independent of the death of the Sovereign. The Demise of the
Crown Act 1901 provided that the holding of any office should not be affected
by the demise of the Crown and that no fresh appointment should be necessary.
m. Financing
the monarchy
In
the 17th century, when the Sovereign himself carried out the functions of
government, the revenue from the taxes which Parliament authorized was paid
over to the Sovereign and merged with the hereditary revenues already available
to him. Today a separation is made between the expenses of government and the
expenses of maintaining the monarchy. Since the time of George III, it has been
customary at the beginning of each reign for the Sovereign to surrender to
Parliament for his life the ancient hereditary revenues of the Crown, including
the income from Crown lands. Provision is then made by Parliament for meeting
the salaries and other expenses of the royal household. This provision, Known
as the Civil List, was granted to the Queen for her reign and six months after,
by the Civil List Act 1952. In 1952 the total annual amount paid was £ 475,000
but following an inquiry into the financial position of the monarchy by a
select committee of the House of Commons, the amount was raised to £ 980,000 by
the Civil List Act 1972.
The
idea behind the Civil List used to be that Parliament should not be asked to
vote money for the expenses of the royal household each year.
2. Duties of the Sovereign
No
attempt can be made to list the full duties which fall to the Sovereign to
perform in person. Many formal acts of government require her participation.
Many state documents require her signature and she receives copies of all major
government papers, including reports from ambassadors abroad and their
instructions for the Foreign Office, and also minutes of Cabinet meetings and
other Cabinet papers.
a. Private
Secretary to the Sovereign
The
Private Secretary to the Sovereign plays a significant role in conducting
communications between the Sovereign and her ministers and, in exceptional
circumstances where this is constitutionally proper, between the Sovereign and
other political leaders. This office is filled on the personal selection of the
Sovereign; usually it goes to a member of the royal household who has extensive
experience in the service of the Court.
b. Personal
prerogatives of the Sovereign
Personal
prerogatives of the Sovereign may be summed up as under:
i. The
appointment of a Prime Minister
1.
In appointing a Prime Minister the Sovereign must appoint that person who is
.in the best position to receive the support of the majority in the House of
Commons. This does not involve the Sovereign in making a personal assessment of
leading politicians since no major party could fight a general election without
a recognized leader.
2.
Where a Prime Minister resigns because of ill-health or old age, or dies while
in office, a new leader of the governing party must be found.
3. In
1957, when Eden resigned because of illness, he left two possible successors,
Butler and Macmillan; the Queen consulted with Sir Winston Churchill, a former
Prime Minister, and with Lord Salisbury, to whom the views of the Cabinet
ministers were known. This established that Macmillan commanded much the
greater support, and he was invited by the Queen to be Prime Minister.
ii. Dissolution
of Parliament
1. In
the absence of a regular term for the life of Parliament fixed by statute, the
Sovereign may by the prerogative dissolve Parliament and cause a general
election to be held. The Sovereign normally accepts the advice of the Prime
Minister and grants dissolution when this is requested.
2. It
is doubtful whether there can be grounds for the refusal of dissolution to a
Prime Minister who commands a clear majority in the Commons. Political practice
accepts that a Prime Minister may choose his own time for a general election
with the five-year life of Parliament prescribed by the Parliament Act 1911.
(3)
In the last, 100 years there are no instances of the Sovereign having refused
dissolution in the United Kingdom.
(4)
That the Sovereign should not refuse a Prime Minister's request for dissolution
except for very strong reason is obvious. In practice, the political
significance of the Prime Minister's power to decide when Parliament, should be
dissolved is much greater than the possibility of the Sovereign's refusal of a
dissolution.
iii.
The dismissal of minister
The
refusal of a Prime Minister's request for a dissolution is but brie aspect of a
larger question, namely whether the Sovereign may ever reject the advice of the
Prime Minister on a major issue, for example, by refusing to make an
appointment to ministerial office "which the Prime Minister had
recommended, by refusing to give the royal assent to a Bill which has passed
through both Houses or by insisting that a general election is held before the
royal asset is given.
Where
the question is that of assent to a Bill which has passed through Parliament, it
would not be prudent for the Sovereign to challenge the wishes of a majority in
the House of Commons. Yet the relationship between Sovereign and Prime Minister
is bilateral in the sense that both persons hold office subject to some
principles of constitutional behavior, however vague these principles often
appear to be.
iv.
The Queen in the Privy Council
The
Tudor monarchs governed mainly through the Privy Council, a select group of
royal officials and advisers, having recourse to Parliament only when
legislative authority was considered necessary for matters of taxation or to
give effect to royal policies.
As
the Cabinet system developed, so did the English Privy Council lose its
policy-making and deliberative role? The council had lost its political
authority; politicians began to remain members of the Council after they had
ceased to be ministers, a practice which has continued 'until today.
v.
Office of a Privy Councilor
Membership
of the Privy Council is today a titular honor. Appointments are made by the
Sovereign on ministerial advice. By convention all Cabinet ministers become
Privy Councilors. Members of the royal family and holders of certain high offices
of a non-political character such as Archbishops and Lords Justices of Appeal
are appointed members of the Council.
vi. Functions
of Privy Council
The
functions of the Privy Council are quite- distinct from those of the Cabinet.
The first gives legal form to certain decisions of the governments; the second
exercises the policy-making function of the executive in major matters. The
Cabinet is summoned by the Prime Minister; the Council is convened by the Clerk
of the Council, whose Office dates back to the 16th century. The Lord President
of the Council Usually a senior member of the Cabinet.
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