A summary of lecture notes on UOL's concept of Royal Prerogative . Very helpful to understand and grasp basic concepts and use as a starting point for a detailed exam preparation and revision.
The Crown, monarch and the royal prerogative powers
Definition
A prerogative is an exclusive privilege or right exercised by a person or group of people holding a
particular office or hereditary rank. Historically this meant that the power of the state lied in the
monarch. Although that power is now severely curtailed, the monarch continues to enjoy some
personal and non-personal prerogative. As such, the doctrine remains an important characteristic of
the British Constitution.
The royal prerogative does not only pertain to those personal privileges and rights that are enjoyed by
the monarch. In fact, there are two types of prerogatives: personal prerogatives which attaches to the
sovereign personally and non-personal prerogatives which the sovereign exercises as the Crown-a
collective force.
Dicey describe the royal prerogative as “the residue of discretionary or arbitrary authority which at any
time is legally left in the hands of the Crown. Every act which the executive government can lawfully
do without the authority of an act of parliament is done by virtue of this prerogative”
Hence the student will have to ask himself the following questions here:
1. Is the granting of an exclusive privilege or right to the Queen equate with the rule of law and
democracy? Should the Queen continue to be given any additional power than that which she actually
exercises?
2. Should government be vested with certain specific privileges-which it exercises as the Crown-rights
which are above the rights guaranteed to the individuals. Again, how does that equate with the rule of
law and democracy?
Before those questions can be answered, we must look at the different prerogatives that the
Sovereign enjoys as a person and those which it enjoys as the Crown.
The personal prerogatives of the Sovereign
“That special pre-eminence which the king hath over and above all other persons, and out of the
ordinary common law, in right of his real dignity” per Blackstones. Those privileges or rights are
provided by the following:
Act of settlement
(1) The Crown shall remain and continue to the most excellent Princess Sophai and the heirs of her
body being protestant.
(2) It recognizes the right of primogeniture
(3) It disqualifies from succession Roman Catholics and those who marry Roman Catholics.
(4) The sovereign must swear to maintain the churches of England and Scotland.
Styles & Titles
The Royal Titles Act provides for the style and title of the Queen. The latter is also head of the
Commonwealth. However, it needs to be pointed out that as far as the latter title is concerned, with
the decolonisation process most states have rejected the idea of having the Queen as head of state.
Some states have a symbolic representation in the name of Governor-General.
Royal marriages
Before any descendant can contract a valid civil marriage, the consent of the Sovereign is required.
The exception is where the member of the Royal family is over 25 years of age, the latter can marry
without the Sovereign’s consent after having given one-year notice to the Privy Council. But even in
this case, Parliament can disapprove of the marriage and in that case, the notice of one year to the
privy council would no longer be valid.
Financing of Monarchy
At the start of each reign the sovereign surrenders to Parliament for his life the ancient hereditary
revenues of the Crown, including the income from Crown Lands. Out of this money Parliament makes
provision for the payment of salaries and expenses of the Royal Household. The sovereign continues
to enjoy the same privilege as before insofar as the financing of her expenses are concerned.
However, it is to be noted that the Queen has shown a willingness and undertaking to be less
dependent on public money.
Duties of the sovereign
The latter performs many duties which are formally allocated to her. The Queen has domestic and
international duties. She has the right to be consulted, to encourage and to warn.
However, it should be noted that all those powers are used with great caution and in consideration of
the respect of the Rule of Law.
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