1. Does King Charles III actually have anything to say in the UK?
If King Charles III does not agree with a law passed in parliament, he can block it. He can dismiss the prime minister on his own initiative if he does not like him, can refuse to dissolve parliament if the prime minister asks for it and has the power to declare war on countries.
At least, that’s all in theory. The practice is different. For example, the last time a British monarch refused to sign a law was in 1708. Today, the power associated with the ‘royal prerogative’ – the royal prerogative – has been outsourced to the British cabinet. Incidentally, the restrictions are often not regulated by law: they are weighty conventions.
Yet it is not inconceivable that the monarch can use some power. So put The Guardian At the beginning of last year, the spotlight was placed on the so-called ‘royal consent’, the royal approval. Upcoming bills that directly affect the royal family must first pass the monarch. It always agrees, is the custom, but documents from the National Archives would show that in the 1970s, after some lobbying behind the scenes, the royal house did get amendments to bills. This included a law that was supposed to lead to transparency about the finances of the royal family. The head of state was excluded.
2. What about the weekly talks between King and Prime Minister?
No minutes are taken of such meetings and nothing is allowed to come out. The king will not be able to force the prime minister to do anything and must remain politically neutral, but can exert influence with ‘advice and warnings’, such as the Royal House writes.
Charles will not only see the Prime Minister. As the formal chief of the British army, for example, he receives minutes of meetings concerning national security, a matter on which he will regularly discuss with the Secretary of State for Defence. In addition, he will have conversations behind closed doors with all kinds of other important visitors, from foreign diplomats to religious leaders.
3. What about Charles’ influence as king outside the UK?
He is king of no fewer than fourteen other countries, including Canada, Australia, the Bahamas and the Solomon Islands. So here too he will appear on coins and stamps, and government officials and soldiers will swear allegiance to him. These countries are all members of the Commonwealth of Nations: the Commonwealth. This partnership stems from the British Empire and Charles, as British King, is its ceremonial chairman.
Over the past few decades, the Commonwealth has lost a lot of importance, and the number of members seeking the British monarch as head of state is shrinking. It is indicative of the United Kingdom’s crumbling status as a world power.
Last year, the Caribbean island state of Barbados chose to become a republic. is significant a speech that Charles gave this summer. He emphasized that each member state can decide for itself whether it wants to be a monarchy and that the process of becoming a republic can be “calm and without resentment”, he said.
4. Does the king have any special privileges?
Secure. For example, Charles is the only Briton who does not need a passport if he wants to go abroad, according to the royal family. Furthermore, the special privileges of the monarch clearly show that British law is based on many hundreds of years of history. For example, in addition to all the important issues about dissolving parliaments and appointing prime ministers, the ‘royal prerogative’ gives Charles the right to claim all whales, dolphins and sturgeon in British waters as his property.
Furthermore, in addition to two centuries-old clothing stores in London, the king is the only one who can formally lay claim to mute swans. The waterfowl were once a precious delicacy. Delegates from the three parties traveled the Thames every year to count and subdivide the numbers of swans, the so-called swan upping. This still happens, but mainly to check how the protected animals are doing.