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Technically however they have ALL the power.

by Ardit20 16y ago

arethuza 16y ago
No they don't - the last king of England to claim anything like absolute power had his head cut off after a civil war. Certainly all European monarchies are constitutional: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy
- Ardit20 16y ago
  I said technically. That is legally. The last monarch to not sign a bill was around 1700, but the queen has the legal right to not sign a bill. Also, the prime minister has the power, but he derives it from the royal prerogative, that is the queen, who can disolve parliament, appoint prime ministers, ministers, dismiss them. So too, the entire united Kingdom is owned by the Queen, by a right of conquest from William the conqueror in 1066. The queen can declare war, the judiciary derives power from the Crown, etcetera etcetera. Of course in practice things are much more sensible, but legally, all power rests with the monarch. She can not create new powers, but the powers she does have can be given or taken away. Also, the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution. It does have an unwritten constitution, so it is indeed a constitutional monarchy, but that kind of deals with the rule of law, conventions which are not binding, etcetera. There are some legal restrictions, for example the queen can not make law without the assent of Parliament, she can not dismiss judges, it of course is not an absolute monarchy. However, legally all power derives from her, thus, she has all the powers.
  - _delirium 16y ago
    You're right that many of the restrictions on the Queen's power are customary rather than official, but there are some official restrictions on her powers as well--- she isn't an absolute monarch. Since at least the 17th century, the Monarch has been unable to impose taxes without Parliament's consent, cannot make new laws through proclamation (they must be passed by Parliament), cannot imprison people without a judgment by the judiciary, etc.
  - Luc 16y ago
    > The last monarch to not sign a bill was around 1700, but the queen has the legal right to not sign a bill. When King Baudouin of Belgium refused to sign the abortion bill in 1990 (for religious reasons), the Government declared him 'temporarily unable to reign' for a day, and signed it for him.
    - Ardit20 16y ago
      Hahaha. Belgium is a strange country from the point of view of governance. In the United Kingdom however I think there would be great constitutional crises if the Queen does not give assent. You can not simply declare her unable to reign for a day as all power is derived from her, thus, all others would have no power to sign either. It would be an interesting time though, I wonder if it will ever come to pass.

Technically however they have ALL the power.

by Ardit20 16y ago

Technically however they have ALL the power.

No they don't - the last king of England to claim anything like absolute power had his head cut off after a civil war. Certainly all European monarchies are constitutional: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy

Ardit20 16y ago
I said technically. That is legally. The last monarch to not sign a bill was around 1700, but the queen has the legal right to not sign a bill. Also, the prime minister has the power, but he derives it from the royal prerogative, that is the queen, who can disolve parliament, appoint prime ministers, ministers, dismiss them. So too, the entire united Kingdom is owned by the Queen, by a right of conquest from William the conqueror in 1066. The queen can declare war, the judiciary derives power from the Crown, etcetera etcetera. Of course in practice things are much more sensible, but legally, all power rests with the monarch. She can not create new powers, but the powers she does have can be given or taken away. Also, the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution. It does have an unwritten constitution, so it is indeed a constitutional monarchy, but that kind of deals with the rule of law, conventions which are not binding, etcetera. There are some legal restrictions, for example the queen can not make law without the assent of Parliament, she can not dismiss judges, it of course is not an absolute monarchy. However, legally all power derives from her, thus, she has all the powers.
- _delirium 16y ago
  You're right that many of the restrictions on the Queen's power are customary rather than official, but there are some official restrictions on her powers as well--- she isn't an absolute monarch. Since at least the 17th century, the Monarch has been unable to impose taxes without Parliament's consent, cannot make new laws through proclamation (they must be passed by Parliament), cannot imprison people without a judgment by the judiciary, etc.
- Luc 16y ago
  > The last monarch to not sign a bill was around 1700, but the queen has the legal right to not sign a bill. When King Baudouin of Belgium refused to sign the abortion bill in 1990 (for religious reasons), the Government declared him 'temporarily unable to reign' for a day, and signed it for him.
  - Ardit20 16y ago
    Hahaha. Belgium is a strange country from the point of view of governance. In the United Kingdom however I think there would be great constitutional crises if the Queen does not give assent. You can not simply declare her unable to reign for a day as all power is derived from her, thus, all others would have no power to sign either. It would be an interesting time though, I wonder if it will ever come to pass.