Prince Charles: the conventions that will stop him from meddling as King
This article by Stephen Clear Lecturer in Constitutional and Administrative Law, and Public Procurement at the School of Law is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
Categorised by some as a 鈥溾��, for decades constitutional lawyers have debated whether Prince Charles will be a reformist when he succeeds the Queen. Specifically, his 鈥溾�� to government ministers 鈥� which evidence his views on political issues such as climate change 鈥� have been used as an indication that he would not be 鈥溾��, and would reformulate the relationship between the Crown and parliament.
Fictional speculation on what will happen when Charles becomes king has been abound too. In the 2017 stage play adaptation , the monarch tries to enforce his will by refusing to laws. It insensitively suggests Charles would be a king who would use 鈥� and 鈥� to dissolve the UK parliament, while using the Crown鈥檚 role as to defend its position.
The Prince of Wales on Christmas Day 2017: By Mark Jones - click for link CC by 2.0Recently, however, the 鈥渒ing in waiting鈥� gave that the status quo will be maintained. When asked in an interview whether he would be a 鈥渕eddling鈥� or activist king, Prince Charles stated, 鈥溾��. He referred to how suggestions that he would continue to make interventions 鈥� 鈥� were 鈥渘onsense鈥�, and that he would operate within the 鈥渃onstitutional parameters鈥�.
His comments are a clear signal of respect for and go someway to quelling calls from . But if you look into what the UK monarchy can actually do now, it is unlikely in reality that the Crown would be able to reclaim historical powers 鈥� even if it wanted to.
The monarch鈥檚 powers
Since the reign of and the 1215 signing of the , the UK has had a system of monarchy limited by law 鈥� but it has not been smooth running. The long-standing tension between the Crown and its subjects was seen when to arrest parliamentarians for treason. The revolution, and for a short period the UK becoming a 鈥渞epublic鈥� under , serve as reminders of the consequences of monarchs trying to arbitrarily enforce their powers. The restoration of the Crown in 1660 with , the 鈥� which stated that the king cannot make law without the consent of parliament 鈥� and the , forced the monarch to accept the democratic will of parliament.
Today, the UK has a constitutional monarchy 鈥� a head of state limited by parliament. The ability to make laws . While the monarch does have to give before a bill can become law, it is regarded as a exercise. In fact the last monarch to refuse to assent .
Although the monarch no longer has a direct legislative or executive role, they do nonetheless hold . For example, they can dissolve or summon back parliament. They can also appoint and remove ministers, including the prime minister. The Queen also has the power to issue (a regulation made on advice of ministers), passports, and royal pardons 鈥� and declare war. The monarch also holds several other titles such as Head of the Church of England, Commonwealth and Civil Service. They also have power to award honours and peerages.
However, the reality is the monarch will, by convention, only exercise such powers on the advice of their government. Furthermore, that such conventions extend more widely to the advice of parliament, for example in relation to when the UK will go to war.
Not so reformist after all
These legal and political safeguards tells us that concerns about the future king forcing his will upon the people, by dissolving governments and shutting down parliaments, are unlikely to come to fruition. The reality being that 鈥� because of the system of conventions and checks on their power 鈥� the Crown only acts on the advice of their parliamentarians.
2018 has been an important year of change for the royal family, with Prince Charles taking over . In addition, the of the Commonwealth have unanimously decided that Charles (something that was not guaranteed). Some go as far as to suggest that plans are already in place for the Queen to abdicate within the next .
The Prince鈥檚 recent comments have likely come about due to the need to address his public image as an interventionist before he takes the throne. It was necessary for him to provide reassurance that stability will be maintained in the UK during his reign. And, though Charles is unlikely to publicly change the role of the monarch 鈥� in his own words 鈥� privately he would see it as his duty to 鈥溾��, but publicly remain , like the Queen.
Publication date: 13 November 2018