The English Constitution and the Monarchy

Extract

[...] the electoral system in May 2011 The Rule of Law No one is above the law Changing the Constitution • An unwritten constitution can be amended more easily – by the voting of an Act of Parliament Recent examples of reform: • Abolition of hereditary peers in the Lords • The 1998 Human Rights Act • Devolution in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland Role of the Monarchy • Head of State – a Constitutional Monarch • “Head of Nation” – less formal duties performed by the Queen and Royal family: a focus for national identity, stability, rewards excellence Queen Elizabeth II • • • • Born 1926 Crowned Queen at the age of 25 (in 1952) Married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh She has four children and eight grandchildren The Monarch's duties today • reading the Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament • governing the Church of England • creating peers, conferring knighthoods and honours • meeting the Prime Minister once a week • entertaining visiting heads of state at Buckingham Palace • touring other nations on official state visits • chairing meetings of the Privy Council • attending “ Trooping of the Colour” - the monarch's annual birthday parade The Queen and her Prime Ministers David Cameron, Sir John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown before a Diamond Jubilee lunch hosted by Mr Cameron at 10 Downing Street. Daily Mail 24 July 2012 The Privy Council • The oldest form of legislative assembly still functioning in the UK • Meets once a month at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or Balmoral (Scotland), gives formal approval e.g. [...]

[...] The English Constitution and the Monarchy The Constitution The Monarchy Major Sources of the British Constitution • • • • • • • Statute law – Acts of Parliament Common law – superior court decisions Conventions – unwritten rules Parliamentary rules and procedures Works of authority – Walter Bagehot (1867) European Union law The European Convention on Human Rights A Unitary State The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland • Sovereignty of Westminster Parliament • Devolution = delegation of power to: Scotland (Scottish Parliament, 1999) Northern Ireland (New N. [...]

[...] Royal assent to laws Greeting the Queen To curtsy To bow Greeting the Queen To shake hands or to hug?? . [...]