The Consellors of State are there to take care of “state business” if needed. So what is state business? Ribbons don’t need to be cut. What are the thing’s that have to be done if the monarch is unable to do them? Are there any actual responsibilities that can’t be put off? Opening parliament? Anything else?
Well, just for one example, in a constitutional monarchy no laws can come into effect without royal assent, much like the US president signing a bill before it can become law.
Worth adding detail: potential confusion arose because both women were called “Queen Elizabeth.” If:
- the monarch following George VI had been a boy;
- George VI’s wife had predeceased him;
- QE II had chosen a different regnal name; or
- if QE II’s parents (or whoever) hadn’t chosen to give their eldest child the same first name as her mother,
there wouldn’t have been nearly the potential for confusion. But fair play to her, 50 years of “The Dowager Queen Elizabeth” would probably have gotten old much faster than “The Queen Mother.”
There is an entire red box of things that must be done.
They did open Parliament in 2022 (they’re not actually essential for that as there’s another way to deal with the monarch being absent) but counsellors of state mostly just deal with paperwork. There are all kinds of appointments and government actions that go through the monarch.
The major difference, of course, being that POTUS can actually veto bills presented to them, while the UK monarch cannot*.
- I mean, technically they can, but it would cause 14 different kinds of constitutional crises. In the US, it’s a specifically enumerated power of the office and happens with relative frequency.
- Royal assent to bills passed by Parliament.
- signing off on orders-in-council passed by cabinet (eg regulations under a statute)
- signing off on ministerial orders that an individual minister is authorized to present
- confirming appointments (military, civil, judicial and ecclesiastical)
- appointing the PM if the existing PM dies or retires
- dissolving Parliament and calling elections, if advised by the PM or after the PM loses a vote of confidence in the Commons.
Just a few off the top of my head.
The mayfly monarch?
Correction ‘Was’. As it was in the US at some point. Even Wimbledon has finally got with the programme on that one.
There was also a case, exactly fifty years ago to the day, when the counsellors of state agreed to call a general election. The late Queen was in New Zealand when Edward Heath wanted to call one. The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret approved his request, although they did so only after seeking permission from the Queen.
It should be noted however that Counsellors of State have “no power to dissolve Parliament otherwise than on the express instructions of the Sovereign”.
Presumably these days the Queen could just hop on a zoom call.
At the present time a zoom call with the Queen would involve extremely long distances for which possibly even the British royal family couldn’t afford the long-distance charges. However a Ouija board, although less reliable, would be a far more economical alternative.
She did for a fair few bits of business during the pandemic.
Yes, that’s correct. I was just giving examples of acts of state that the monarch can do, and for several of the examples, needs to do on a daily basis. That’s the origin of the « red boxes » of paperwork that the Queen did daily.
When Elizabeth II was sick and (probably) dying in 2022, didn’t Chuck take over some of her official, queen-only duties? Or am I misremembering?
Both Charles l and Charles ll dissolved Parliament. It’s a tradition.
But can the monarch say no to any of it? Just more ribbon cutting.
That’s what I’m thinking. It’s just ceremonial and meaningless in reality.
If no-one cuts the ribbon, the shopping mall / hospital / community centre can still open and operate.
If the King isn’t available to grant Royal assent, or sign an oc, the legislation doesn’t come into force and no appointment is made. Somebody has to be able to do it if the King is not able to do so.
In Canada, the provincial lieutenant governors carry out the Royal functions. There is no provision for a person to act if the office of lieutenant governor is vacant. There’s been a few cases where a provincial Lt Governor has died in office. When that happens, provincial parliaments can’t be summoned or prorogued, the Cabinet can’t pass any oc’s, and no legislation gets Royal assent. Government stalls until a new lt gov gets appointed.
Hardly a ribbon cutting formality.