Even if power is mainly held by Parliament, the UK is still a monarchy. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 is the landmark event that started the gradual transfer of power from the monarchy to Parliament. Today, the monarch ‘reigns but not rules’: this means the legislative, executive and judicial powers are carried out by others in the name of the monarch.
The king or queen is supposed to stay above party politics and has no right to vote in elections. She only acts on the advice of the current government.
The monarch is the symbol of unity and continuity of the UK within the Commonwealth of Nations. The roles of the monarch include being: head of state (of the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada), head of the Commonwealth, head of the armed forces, head of the Church of England and the Church of Scotland and head of the executive. The monarch is also in charge of opening the Parliament (the King’s or Queen’s speech is written by the Prime Minister and defines the programme of the forthcoming session of Parliament), dissolving the Parliament (especially before a general election), granting Royal Assent (approving bills once they’ve been through both House of Commons and House of Lords), appointing or dismissing the Prime Minister (in reality, it is the leader of the party who won most seats who becomes PM), liaising with the Prime Minister (every Tuesday, in order to discuss current issues), granting royal pardon (for people accused of common law crimes), attributing honours (such as damehoods, knighthoods, CBEs – Commander of the Order of the British Empire, MBEs – Members of the Order of the British Empire, OBEs – Officer of the Order of the British Empire) and presiding ceremonial duties and pageantry.
The monarch benefits from his or her personal wealth and also from public money, in the form of annuities (annual grant of money) voted by Parliament every year for the upkeep of the Royal Family. Since the 1990s the Queen has been paying taxes and efforts to reduce the spending of the Royal Household have been made.
