CONSITITUTIONAL MONARCHY IN UNITED KINGDOM
Monarchy began in United Kingdom since 800 CE and the first king of united England was Athelstan, born in 895 CE. Since 1922 United Kingdom is made up of four countries-England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
The government of United Kingdom is constitutional monarchy with parliamentary system. As a Constitutional Monarchy, the King or Queen is the head of the state and the government is headed by the Prime Minister. However, the ability to make and pass the legislation belongs to Parliament.
The Prime Minister has no fixed tenure and can remain in office as long as he has the majority of support of the members of the parliament (MPs). New Prime Minister will be elected if the Prime Minister resigns or no-confidence motions passes.
The other two parts of the parliament are-House of Common (Lower house) and the House of Lords (Upper House). House of Common has 650 seats while the House of Lords has no defined numbers of seats, holding lesser power than House of Common. Members of House of Commons are elected through . House of Lords is a advisory body and the people in it mostly hold
The United Kingdom monarchy have no real power and acts as the figurehead for the state. His power includes acting as the Head of Armed Forces, appoint the minister and signing the bill to pass the law.
The British Government has called the monarchy ‘a unique soft power and diplomatic asset’. The Crown occupies unique cultural role serving as unofficial brand ambassador and identity of the nation. With different countries under United Kingdom ‘the monarch’ provides a feeling of unity and stability to the citizens.
HISTORY OF MONARCHY IN UNITED KINGDOM
The monarchy of United Kingdom lost their power gradually over the years. It began with the signing of Magna Carta in 1215 which laid the groundwork for modern democracy and set up the advisors which later became the ‘parliament’.
The roots of parliamentary system solidified in 1649 when Charles I believed that he could govern the country without the advice and consent of parliament. Later he was executed by parliamentary supporters and parliament supporters under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell abolished the monarchy and formed a republic.
Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 and the country was left without any leadership which lead to the restoration of monarchy. Charles II, son of Charles I was invited to become king. Later since Charles II had no heir his brother James III succeeded him.
The Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to establish parliamentary privilege and limit monarchy power. It set out a set of basic civil rights and changed the succession to the English Crown. The Bill sets out the constitutional requirement for the Crown to seek the consent of the people as represented in Parliament, established free election and freedom of speech.
After WW2 majority of British colonies and territories became independent bringing the Empire to the end and since 1999 all the countries under British Government had their own government, self-governing yet the central government holds the supreme authority.
