I know they once had all the power, but is the parliamentary government in full control now, or can the royals actually affect politics, administration, and control over the country?
Edit: Thank all of you so much for taking the time to answer. This includes all of you with theories of power behind the curtains. It’s actually quite fascinating, and I am still combing through comments.
A very special thanks goes out to all the people that have “politely” corrected my use of the word, “England”. I would remind you that questions are for the point of learning. I appreciate your contribution.
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The most important thing to understand is that the monarchy is not just a person with a title: it is an institution in the shape of a person. The institution and its established practices dictate how the person who occupies the position acts.
As others have indicated, there are very wide formal powers which are very rarely used practically; but I would personally argue that the fact that they haven’t been used recently doesn’t mean that they are simply vestigial, or that it is impossible that they won’t be used in the future. For example, the House of Commons has only passed a successful explicit vote of no confidence twice since 1900; but the ability of the House to do so is still a vital element of our constitution.
The extent to which a monarch can personally intervene in the major political sphere depends on the extent to which the political context of the day would allow the monarch to carry the day despite political opposition, hypothetically. To give an example: when Asquith resigned in 1916, George V made clear to the leading members of the Cabinet that he would not consent to a dissolution in wartime. This effectively ruled out any Tory becoming Prime Minister, as they would have been unable to commit to securing enough Liberal, Labour (or, indeed, Irish Nat) MPs to support them. Thus, the King ensured that Lloyd George would be the only feasible PM.
The fact that the monarch receives information on all important and sensitive aspects of government on a regular basis also makes a difference. Bagehot, the Victorian political commentator whose works are taught as a constitutional authority, wrote that the role of the modern monarch has three rights: “the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn”. All those powers can be exercised more effectively by an experienced monarch who diligently takes in the information from government papers. Bagshot himself underestimated the extent to which Victoria could influence, if not unilaterally change, government policy, as this was not publicly well known until after her letters were posthumously published.
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