How powerful is the Queen of England

How powerful is the Queen of England

You’ve probably been wondering about this for some time. Here are ten reasons to elaborate on this issue that I explored on.

Parliament and passports

Queen Elizabeth has the power to give just about anyone a title. She can also appoint ministers and members of parliament though.

The queen is also responsible for officially opening parliament every May by wearing the Imperial State Crown and giving a formal address to both Houses of Parliament at the Royal Gallery at the Palace of Westminster.

A few other things Queen Elizabeth can issue whenever she so pleases include: passports and driver's licences – even though she doesn't require one herself.

Driver's licences

You may have seen images of the queen driving around Buckingham Palace in her Range Rover – her dookie and glasses just visible above the steering wheel. But by the power of the "royal prerogative", while driver's licences are issued in the queen's name, she's not required to have one, nor is she required to have a licence plate on her car.

The queen loves driving too, even famously taking Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdullah around her country estate when he came for a visit.

Sherard explained that at that time, women were not yet allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. "Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman," he recounted, "let alone a queen."

The Australian government

You may not know that although Australia is an independent country, it still forms part of the Commonwealth Nations. This means, technically, Queen Elizabeth is also the Queen of Australia and has the power to intervene whenever she sees fit.

In 1975, she had no choice when the Australian government found themselves at a deadlock over a budgetary issue. There was a complete shutdown until Queen Elizabeth intervened in the form of an official representative (one she probably appointed herself) who dismissed the then prime minister, appointed another, who immediately passed the bill.

The Queen then fired the rest of Parliament for elections to be reheld and new officials to be chosen to govern. The Australian government hasn't had a shutdown since. Fancy that.

The swans, the dolphins and all the "royal fish" in the sea

Back in the 13th century, swans were considered a commodity to be eaten and enjoyed by only a select few who could afford them. Soon after, the majestic birds on and around the River Thames became a symbol of the British royal family, and according to medieval legislation, is owned by the Queen herself if the Dyers or Vintners don't claim them.

Now, we're sure very few people replace their sausages in their bangers and mash with swan these days, but the queen ensures the conservation of the birds every year anyway

According to TIME, the queen also owns all the sturgeons in and around UK waters as per a 1324 statute that was never repealed. These sturgeons include whales and dolphins and are referred to as "royal fish".

Royal pardons

While not very many have been granted recently, Queen Elizabeth, as part of her royal prerogative, can give criminals a "royal pardon". Originally it was brought into effect to counter the death penalty, although the queen did use it to pardon Alan Turing in 2013 – his story was turned into the film, The Imitation Game, a year later.

Alan Turing was a mathematician thought to have significantly contributed to ending World War II, when he cracked the Enigma codes used by German U-boats. But despite his work, he was convicted of gross indecency for having a relationship with a Manchester man, BBC explains, for which he was castrated. Alan later committed suicide.

In 2013 the Queen used her power to posthumously pardon the codebreaker, and Alan has since been recognised for the man he indeed was – "a hero".      

Appointing the Prime Minister

One of the queen's most important reserve powers is to appoint a new prime minister. Queen Elizabeth has appointed 14 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill in 1951 through Boris Johnson in 2019. The ceremony is called "kissing hands," but there's no actual kissing anymore.

According to convention, the day after a general election, the queen invites the leader of the party that won the most seats in Parliament to Buckingham Palace. The queen asks the leader whether he or she will form a government. The queen's question is fully ceremonial at this point, but Murphy says it underscores one of the monarch's main responsibilities — to ensure the continuity of the British government.

Opening and Closing Parliament

Another of the queen's official powers is to open and close sessions of Parliament. She officially opens each new session of Parliament with the "Queen's Speech." For a telling example of the queen's lack of real political power, the speech is written by the incoming government, not her.

Royal Assent

As part of Britain's constitutional monarchy, the queen is obliged to give "Royal Assent" to all bills passed by Parliament before they can become law. The queen's approval is purely a formality at this point since the last time Royal Assent was refused was 1707, when Queen Anne blocked a bill to send a militia to Scotland.

Head of the Armed Forces

As the sovereign head of state, the queen is also the head of the Armed Forces, which gives her the power to declare war and sign treaties. But like her other reserve powers, she exclusively acts under the advice of government ministers, including the prime minister.

She Celebrates Two Birthdays

The monarch's birthday is always celebrated officially in June, regardless of when he or she was really born – it's a month guaranteed to have good weather. She also gives out knighthoods and other awards for exceptional achievement and service twice a year, at New Year and in June on her official birthday (But these honors are not hers to decide; committees of experts, along with government reps, present the list of people to be honored to her via the prime minister.)