The King's Constitutional Role
The King's constitutional position is foundational to the operation of the British state. It is from the Crown that executive, legislative, and judicial authority formally derives, the three pillars upon which the governance of the United Kingdom constitutionally rests.
His Majesty is kept closely informed of the business of government through His daily red briefing boxes, meetings of the Privy Council and the weekly audience with the Prime Minister. This is considered the foundational right which, if exercised wisely over many years, would accumulate a depth of political knowledge and institutional memory far exceeding that of any individual minister.
"The prime minister is bound to take care that she [Queen Victoria] knows everything which there is to know as to the passing politics of the nation. She has by rigid usage a right to complain if she does not know of every great act of her ministry, not only before it is done, but while there is yet time to consider it."
— Walter Bagehot, The English ConstitutionThe King is able to express support or enthusiasm when he judges that the government is proceeding wisely. In his collection of essays, The English Constitution, constitutional scholar Walter Bagehot points out that this is not a trivial right. The Crown carries a unique authority in our constitution, completely distinct from party politics and the electorate, and is therefore a kind of soft influence difficult to find anywhere else.
"The king would say to his minister: 'The responsibility of these measures is upon you. Whatever you think best must be done. Whatever you think best shall have my full and effectual support.'"
— Walter Bagehot, The English ConstitutionHis Majesty may, in His private audiences, caution ministers against a course of action He judges to be unwise or unconstitutional. This is considered the most consequential of the three rights in practice. The King embodies the Nation, its history and heritage, and His children and grandchildren are its future. This, combined with a level of public support that far exceeds any politician, provides within our constitution, when deployed wisely, a safeguard which few ministers could contend.
"The king could say: 'Have you referred to the transactions which happened during such and such an administration, I think about fourteen years ago? They afford an instructive example of the bad results which are sure to attend the policy which you propose.'"
— Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution
The King is the constitutional Head of State of the United Kingdom. In this capacity He formally appoints the Prime Minister, opens and dissolves Parliament, grants Royal Assent to legislation, approves Orders in Council, and carries out the full range of parliamentary functions.
Appointing the Prime Minister: The King formally invites the leader able to command a House of Commons majority to form a government.
State Opening of Parliament: delivering the King's Speech, outlining His Government's legislative programme.
Royal Assent: His Majesty grants Royal Assent, giving bills the force of law and making them Acts of Parliament.
Appointments: receiving and approving ministerial appointments on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Signing and approving Orders in Council.
Approving and signing proclamations, commissions, and warrants.
Dissolving, proroguing and summoning Parliament on ministerial advice.
Exercising the Royal Prerogative (see: Powers).
Reading and reviewing government papers. Red boxes containing state papers are delivered daily.
The right, as articulated by Bagehot, to be consulted, to encourage, and to warn (see: Rights).
Beyond His constitutional role, The King serves as the personal embodiment of the Nation: present at its moments of great joy and grief, leading its ceremonies of remembrance and celebration, and representing the continuity of British life across generations.
A focus for patriotism and unity above commercial or political interests.
Preserving and transmitting traditions for the benefit of future generations.
Hosting thousands of guests at garden parties every summer in recognition of public service.
Taking the salute at Trooping the Colour and Remembrance Sunday, attending the Royal Variety Performance and other national and cultural events.
Opening major national infrastructure and institutions.
His Majesty serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. Every officer holds their commission in the Sovereign's name, and all military authority stems from the Crown. The King takes an active interest in the welfare and operations of His forces.
All officers hold their commission in the Sovereign's name.
Presents operational honours and awards.
Conducts military reviews.
Visits regiments, ships, and squadrons of which the Sovereign is Colonel-in-Chief, Captain-General, or equivalent.
Authorises declarations of war and peace, and approves deployments (by prerogative, or on ministerial advice).
The King is the Fount of Justice. All prosecutions in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are brought in His name, and the courts derive their authority from the Crown, with the Sovereign deemed always to be present in court.
All prosecutions are brought in His Majesty's name.
All senior judges and magistrates are appointed by, and swear allegiance to, The King.
His Majesty may exercise the royal prerogative of mercy, granting pardons on ministerial advice.
The King is the Fount of Honour, the sole source of all dignities, titles, and orders of chivalry in the United Kingdom. Honours are conferred in His name and, in some cases, at His personal discretion.
Personally confers honours such as knighthoods, CBEs, and MBEs.
Appoints Knights of the Garter, Thistle, and other orders of chivalry.
Makes Crown appointments, such as the Poet Laureate, Master of the King's Music, Astronomer Royal, Historiographer Royal and others.
Grants Royal Warrants to tradesmen supplying the Royal Household.
The King serves as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, a constitutional position established since the Elizabethan Reformation. In this role He formally appoints senior clergy and is the symbolic head of the established Church.
Serves as Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Appoints Archbishops, Bishops, and Deans of the Church of England.
The King serves as patron of hundreds of charities and organisations across the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. Royal patronage lends profile and credibility to causes the Sovereign judges to be of national importance.
Serves as patron of hundreds of charities and organisations.
Encourages and promotes charitable giving and voluntary service nationally.
The King's Awards for Enterprise, Innovation, and Voluntary Service are made in His name.
The King's relationships with foreign heads of state, built over decades, provide a continuity of diplomatic trust that no elected head of state could replicate within the limits of a single term. His Majesty also serves as Head of the Commonwealth, a non-hereditary role spanning 56 nations and over two billion people.
Receives the Letters of Credence from incoming ambassadors and high commissioners.
Makes and hosts State Visits to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations.
Serves as Head of the Commonwealth across 56 member nations encompassing over 2 billion people.
Attends Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM).
Maintains close relationships with the 15 other Commonwealth realms of which He is also head of state.
His Majesty The King is the United Kingdom's Sovereign and Head of State. He is a symbol of government authority and British sovereignty. Although His Majesty plays little direct part in the day-to-day running of government, vast powers are nominally possessed by Him through the Royal Prerogative.
The Royal Prerogative powers are a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity recognised under Common and Civil Law, and attached to the British monarch. The King is regarded as the absolute authority and source of the executive power of the British government.
"The prerogative appears to be historically and as a matter of fact nothing else than the residue of discretionary or arbitrary authority which at any given time is legally left in the hands of the crown."
— Albert Venn DiceyThe true extent of the Prerogative powers has never been fully revealed, but we know of some. The following powers are nominally vested in the Crown, and exercised with ministerial advice:
- The appointment and dismissal of the Prime Minister.
- The appointment and dismissal of Ministers of the Crown.
- The summoning and prorogation of Parliament.
- The dissolution of Parliament.
- The commanding of His Majesty's Armed Forces.
- The regulation of His Majesty's Civil Service.
- To make war and peace.
- To ratify treaties.
- To issue passports.
- To create both life and hereditary Peers of the Realm.
- The appointment and dismissal of Bishops and Archbishops of the Church of England.
The King may only exercise the Royal Prerogative without, or contrary to, ministerial advice in the event of a constitutional crisis. This is often defined as Reserve Power. These are authorities exercisable in extremis during a protracted crisis threatening the Nation's constitutional order, as revealed by the House of Commons Public Administration Committee in 2003.
