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General Synod

General Synod

The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations.

Church of England

In the Church of England, General Synod was instituted in 1970 and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s. The General Synod is unique in that it is the only body to which Parliament had delegated the power to pass Measures, which become part of English law. The Church Assembly, the predecessor of the General Synod, was in 1919 given the power to pass legislation on any matter to do with the Church of England; if Parliament accepts the Measures, then they become law – if MPs or members of the House of Lords are not happy with a Measure then they can reject it, but not amend it. General Synod is elected every five years by a system of Single Transferable Vote and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. It is divided into the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity. All diocesan bishops are members of the House of Bishops ex-officio; in addition, nine suffragan bishops are elected by all suffragan bishops. Membership of the House of Clergy is by election through the House of Clergy in each Diocesan Synod. Membership of the House of Laity is by election through the House of Laity in each Deanery Synod. There are 574 General Synod members in total. There are two synodical sessions per year (4-5 days each), one in Church House, Westminster, the other at the University of York. General Synod deals with three main areas:
- Central church business
- Relations with other churches
- Public issues The General Synod elects some members to the Archbishops' Council General Synods of other churches within the Anglican Communion
- Anglican Church of Australia
- Anglican Church of Canada
- Church of Ireland
- Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
- Scottish Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church of the United States

In the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the equivalent is General Convention.

Other Churches

The United Church of Christ in the United States also calls their main governing body a General Synod. It meets every two years and consists of over 600 delagates from various congregations and conferences. External Links
- [http://www.etoile.co.uk/Speech/Inaug7thSynod2000.html Queen's Speech at inauguration of seventh General Synod]
- [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/gensynod/ Church of England's General Synod website]
- [http://www.peter-owen.myby.co.uk/articles/gsmembers.html List of current members]
- [http://www.ely.anglican.org/ministry/leaflets/gensynod.html Ely Diocese's General Synod Leaflet] Category:Anglicanism Category:Christian group structuring

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the 'mother' and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. Porvoo Communions, many with histories stretching back centuries.]]

Theology and sociology

The Church of England considers itself to stand both in a reformed tradition and in a catholic (but not Roman Catholic) church tradition: Reformed insofar as many of the principles of the Protestant Reformation have influenced it, and insofar as it does not accept Papal authority; Catholic, in that it views itself as the 'unbroken continuation of the early apostolic and later medieval' "universal church", rather than as a 'new formation'. In its practices, furthermore, the Church of England remains closer to Roman Catholicism than most Protestant Churches. It holds many relatively conservative theological beliefs, its liturgical form of worship can feature tradition and ceremony, and its organisation embodies a belief in apostolic succession through the historical episcopal hierarchy of archbishops, bishops, and dioceses. In many people's eyes, however, the Church of England has as its primary distinguishing mark its breadth and 'open-mindedness'. In addition to the traditional mainstream, the church has long included "high church" and "low church" factions with their own particular preferences. Today, practices range from those of the Anglo-Catholics, who emphasise liturgy and sacraments, to the far less ceremonial services of Evangelicals and Charismatics. But this "broad church" faces various contentious doctrinal questions raised by the development of modern society, such as conflicts over the ordination of women as priests (accepted in 1992 and begun in 1994), and the status of noncelibate homosexual clergy (still unsettled today). In July 2005, the divisions were once again apparent, as the General Synod voted to "set in train" the process of allowing the ordination of women as bishops, scheduling debate on the specific legislation for February, 2006.

Governance and administration

The British monarch (at present, Elizabeth II), has the constitutional title of "Supreme Governor of the Church of England". In practice, however, the effective leadership falls to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The worldwide Anglican Communion of independent national or regional churches recognises the Archbishop of Canterbury as a kind of 'symbolic' leader. Dr Rowan Douglas Williams has served as Archbishop of Canterbury since 2002. The Church of England has a legislative body, the General Synod. However, fundamental legislation still has to pass through the UK Parliament. The church has its own judicial branch, known as the Ecclesiastical courts, which likewise form a part of the UK court system. In addition to England proper, the jurisdiction of the Church of England extends to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. In recent years, expatriate congregations on the continent of Europe have become the Diocese in Europe.

History

Main article: History of the Church of England The Church of England traces its formal corporate history from the 597 Augustinian mission, stresses its continuity and identity with the primitive universal Western church, and notes the consolidation of its particular independent and national character in the post-Reformation events of Tudor England. Christianity arrived in Britain in the first or second centuries (probably via the tin trade route through Ireland and Spain), and existed independently of the Church of Rome, as did many other Christian communities of that era. Records note British bishops as attending the Council of Arles in 314. The Pope sent Saint Augustine from Rome in the 6th century to evangelise the Angles in (597). With the help of Christians already residing in Kent, he established his church in Canterbury, the capital of Kent, and became the first in the series of archbishops of Canterbury. Simultaneously, the Celtic Church of St.Columba continued to evangelise Scotland. The Celtic Church of North Britain submitted in some sense to the 'authority' of Rome at the Council of Whitby in 644. Over the next few centuries, the Roman system introduced by Augustine gradually absorbed the pre-existing Celtic Christian churches. England remained a Roman Catholic country for nearly a thousand years, but then the church separated itself from Rome in 1534, during the reign of King Henry VIII, though it briefly rejoined Rome during the reign of Queen Mary I, in 1555. Since that time, England has been known as a 'stronghold' of Protestantism, and of world-wide Christian evangelism, eventually being eclipsed in these activities during the twentieth century by one of her former colonies, the United States.

Related churches

In Scotland, the Church of Scotland is recognised in law (Church of Scotland Act 1921) as the "national church", but since 1929 it has not been "established" in the same manner as the Church of England. In particular, the state 'recognises' the independence of the Church of Scotland in matters spiritual, thus no ministers are appointed by the Crown or the State. The Church of Scotland has a Presbyterian system of government. A smaller Anglican church also exists in Scotland, known as the Scottish Episcopal Church, which is in full communion with the Church of England. The Church in Wales underwent disestablishment in 1920, and became an independent member of the Anglican Communion. The Church of Ireland had official established church status in Ireland until 1871, although the bulk of the Irish people in practice remained mostly Roman Catholic. The Church of England stands in full communion with the other churches in the Anglican Communion, and separately with the other signatories of the Porvoo Communion. The Church of England is also a full member of the Conference of European Churches.

Financial situation

The Church of England, although an established church, does not receive any direct government support. Donations comprise its largest source of income, though it also relies heavily on the income from its various historic endowments. As of 2005, the Church of England had estimated total [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/funding/ outgoings] of around £900 million. Historically, individual parishes both raised and spent the vast majority of the Church's funding, meaning that clergy pay depended on the wealth of the parish, and parish advowsons (the right to appoint clergy to particular parishes) could become extremely valuable gifts. Individual dioceses also held considerable assets: the Diocese of Durham possessed such vast wealth and temporal power that its Bishop became known as the 'Prince-Bishop'. Since the mid-19th century, however, the Church has made various moves to 'equalise' the situation, and clergy within each diocese now receive standard stipends paid from diocesan funds. Meanwhile, the Church moved the majority of its income-generating assets (which in the past included a great deal of land, but today mostly take the form of financial stocks and bonds) out of the hands of individual clergy and bishops to the care of a body called the Church Commissioners, which uses these funds to pay a range of non-parish expenses, including clergy pensions, and the expenses of cathedrals and bishops' houses. These [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/churchcommissioners/annualreport/ funds] amount to around £3.9 billion, and generate income of around £164 million each year (as of 2003), around a fifth of the Church's overall income. The Church Commissioners give some of this money as 'grants' to local parishes; but the majority of the financial burden of church upkeep and the work of local parishes still rests with individual parish and diocese, which meet their requirements from donations. Direct donations to the church (not including legacies) come to around £460 million per year, while parish and diocese reserve funds generate another £100 million. Funds raised in individual parishes account for almost all of this money, and the majority of it remains in the parish which raises it, meaning that the resources available to parishes still vary enormously, according to the level of donations they can raise. Most parishes give a portion of their money, however, to the diocese as a 'quota'. While this is not a compulsory payment, dioceses strongly encourage and rely on it being paid; it is usually only withheld by parishes either if are unable to find the funds or as a specific act of protest. As well as paying central diocesan expenses such as the running of diocesan offices, these diocesan funds also provide clergy pay and housing expenses (which total around £260 million per year across all dioceses), meaning that clergy living conditions no longer depend on parish-specific fundraising. Although asset-rich, the Church of England has to look after and maintain its thousands of churches nationwide — the lion's share of England's built heritage. As current congregation numbers stand at relatively low levels and as maintenance bills increase as the buildings grow older, many of these churches cannot maintain economic self-sufficiency; but their historical and architectural importance make it difficult to sell them. In recent years, cathedrals and other famous churches have met some of their maintenance costs with grants from organisations such as English Heritage; but the Church Commissioners and [http://www.churchcare.co.uk/fundraising.html local fundraisers] must foot the bill entirely in the case of most small parish churches. (The government, however, does provide some assistance in the form of tax breaks, for example a 100 percent VAT refund for renovations to religious buildings.) In addition to consecrated buildings, the Church also controls numerous ancillary buildings attached to or associated with churches, including a good deal of clergy housing. As well as vicarages and rectories, this housing includes residences (called 'palaces') for each of the Church's 114 bishops. In some cases, this name seems entirely apt; buildings such as Archbishop of Canterbury's Lambeth Palace in London and Old Palace at Canterbury have truly palatial dimensions, while the Bishop of Durham's Auckland Palace has 50 rooms, a banqueting hall and 30 acres (120,000 m²) of parkland. However, many bishops have found the older palaces inappropriate for today's lifestyles, and some bishops' 'palaces' are simply ordinary 4-bedroomed houses. Many dioceses which have retained large palaces now employ part of the space as administrative offices, while the bishops and their families live in a small apartment within the palace; and in recent years some dioceses have managed to put their palaces' excess space and grandeur to profitable use as conference centres. The size of the bishops' households has also shrunk dramatically and their budgets for entertaining and servants form a tiny fraction of their pre-20th-century levels.

External link

- [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/ Church of England website] ja:イギリス国教会 Category:Church of England Category:Religion in the United Kingdom Category:State churches (Christian)

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). At its head is the Sovereign; it is bicameral, including an Upper House, called the House of Lords, and a Lower House, called the House of Commons. The House of Lords includes two different types of members—the Lords Spiritual (the senior clergy of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the Peerage); it is a wholly unelected body. The House of Commons, on the other hand, is a democratically elected chamber. The House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster (commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament"), in the British capital, London (more precisely, in the borough (and city) known as the City of Westminster). By constitutional convention, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister are drawn exclusively from the House of Commons or House of Lords. Parliament evolved from the ancient council which advised the Sovereign. In theory, power is vested not in Parliament, but in the "Queen-in-Parliament" (or "King-in-Parliament"). The Queen-in-Parliament is often said to be a completely sovereign authority, though such a position is debatable. In modern times, real power is vested in the democratically elected House of Commons; the Sovereign acts only as a figurehead, and the powers of the House of Lords are greatly limited. The British Parliament is often called the "Mother of Parliaments," as the legislative bodies of many nations—most notably, those of the members of the Commonwealth—are modelled on it. However, it is a misquotation of John Bright, who had actually remarked on 18 January 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments", in the context of supporting demands for expanded voting rights in a country which had pioneered Parliamentary government.

History

In the medieval period there were three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, and these developed separate parliaments. The 1707 Act of Union brought England and Scotland together under the Parliament of Great Britain, and the 1800 Act of Union included Ireland under the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Parliament of England

The English Parliament can trace its origins to the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot. In 1066 William of Normandy brought a feudal system where he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws. In 1215 the tenants-in-chief secured from John the Magna Carta, which established that the King may not levy or collect any taxes (except the feudal taxes to which they were hitherto accustomed), save with the consent of his royal council which slowly developed into a Parliament. In 1265, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester summoned the first elected Parliament. The franchise in parliamentary elections for county constituencies was uniform throughout the country, extending to all those who owned the freehold of land to an annual rent of 40 shillings (Forty-shilling Freeholders). In the boroughs, the franchise varied across the country; individual boroughs had varying arrangements. This set the scene for the so-called "Model Parliament" of 1295 adopted by Edward I. By the reign of Edward III Parliament had been separated into two Houses: one, including the nobility and higher clergy, the other, including the knights and burgesses, and no law could be made, nor any tax levied, without the consent of both Houses as well as of the Sovereign. When Elizabeth I was succeeded in 1603 by the Scottish King James VI who also became James I of England the countries both came under his personal rule but each retained its own Parliament. James I's successor, Charles I, quarrelled with Parliament and after he provoked the Wars of the Three Kingdoms their dispute developed into the English Civil War. Charles was executed in 1649 and under Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth of England the House of Lords was abolished, and the House of Commons remained subordinate to Cromwell. After Cromwell's death the Restoration of 1660 restored the monarchy and the House of Lords. Amidst fears of a Roman Catholic succession, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 deposed James II in favour of the joint rule of Mary II and William III whose agreement to the English Bill of Rights introduced a constitutional monarchy, though the supremacy of the Crown still remained clear.

Parliament of Scotland

From the time of Kenneth mac Alpin the Scottish kingdom of Alba was ruled by chieftains and petty kings under the suzerainty of a High King, all offices being filled through election by an assembly under a system known as tanistry which combined a hereditary element with the consent of those ruled. After Macbeth was overthrown by Malcolm III in 1057 the feudal system of primogeniture was introduced as Scotland came under the influence of the Norman Conquest. In the Middle Ages the King's Council of Bishops and Earls evolved into a parliament, becoming the "colloquium" of 1235 which already had a political and judicial role. From 1326 the "three estates" had clerics, lay tenants-in-chief and the burgh commissioners sitting in a single chamber, with powers over taxation and a strong influence over justice, foreign policy, war, and legislation. The three estates chose a committee called the Lords of the Articles to draft legislation which was then presented to the full assembly to be confirmed. Following the Reformation and pressure from the Kirk, Catholic clergy were excluded from 1567, and after protestant bishops were abolished in 1638 Parliament became an entirely lay assembly. During the reign of James VI, the Lords of the Articles came more under the influence of the crown, and following his accession to the throne of England in 1603 he used them to run Scotland from London. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the Covenanting period (1638–1651) the Scottish Parliament took control of the executive, effectively wresting sovereignty from King Charles I. After Scotland was invaded by Oliver Cromwell his Commonwealth government imposed a brief Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union in 1657. The Scottish Parliament returned after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660. After the Glorious Revolution formally changed England's monarch in February 1689 William summoned a Convention of the Estates which considered letters from himself and from James VII, set out its terms and duly proclaimed William and Mary II at Edinburgh on April 11 1689.

Parliament of Ireland

The Irish Parliament was founded to represent the English community in the Lordship of Ireland while the native or Gaelic Irish were ineligible to vote or stand for office, the first known meeting being in 1264. The English presence shrank to an enclave around Dublin known as the Pale. In 1541 Henry VIII declared the Kingdom of Ireland and emabarked on the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland. The Gaelic Irish lords were now entitled to attend the Irish Parliament as equals to the majority of English descent. Disputes followed the introduction of Protestantism as the state religion when most of the population remained Roman Catholic, and in 1613–1615 constituencies were fixed so that Protestant settlers held the majority in the Irish Parliament. After the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Irish Catholics were barred from voting or attending the Parliament altogether in the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652. Under James II & VII the Catholics regained ground and during the Jacobite war in Ireland he agreed to the Irish Parliament's demands for autonomy and restitution of lands, but after the victory of William III of England these gains were reversed with the Penal Laws making things worse. Poyning's Law made the Irish legislature subordinate to the Parliament of Great Britain, but the Constitution of 1782 removed these restrictions and about a decade later Catholics gained the right to vote, though they were still debarred from membership.

Parliament of Great Britain

Following the Treaty of Union in 1707 twin Acts of Union were passed in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland which created a new Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts dissolved both parliaments, replacing them with a new Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain based in the former home of the English parliament. While Scots law and Scottish legislation remained separate, the legislation was now dealt with by the new parliament. After the Hanoverian George I ascended the Throne in 1714 power began to shift from the Sovereign, and by the end of his reign the position of the ministers—who would in turn have to rely on Parliament for support—was cemented. Towards the end of the 18th century the monarch still had considerable influence over Parliament which itself was dominated by the English aristocracy and by patronage. At general elections the vote was restricted to landed gentry, in constituencies which were out of date so that in many rotten boroughs seats could be bought while major cities remained unrepresented. Reformers and Radicals sought parliamentary reform, but as the Napoleonic Wars developed the government became repressive and progress toward reform was stalled. Napoleonic Wars

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801 by the merger of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. The principle of ministerial responsibility to the Lower House did not develop until the nineteenth century. The House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an antiquated electoral system, under which constituencies of vastly different sizes existed. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, could elect two members, as could the borough of Dunwich, which had completely disappeared into the sea due to land erosion. In many cases, members of the Upper House controlled tiny constituencies, known as pocket boroughs or rotten boroughs, and could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. Many seats in the House of Commons were "owned" by the Lords. After the reforms of the nineteenth century (beginning in 1832), the electoral system in the Lower House was much more regularised. No longer dependent on the Upper House for their seats, members of the House of Commons began to grow more assertive.

Modern era

The supremacy of the House of Commons was clearly established during the early twentieth century. In 1909, the Commons passed the so-called "People's Budget," which made numerous changes to the taxation system in a manner detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which mostly consisted of powerful landowning aristocrats, rejected the Budget. On the basis of the Budget's popularity and the Lords' consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party won a general election in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, which sought to restrict the powers of the House of Lords. (He did not reintroduce the land tax provision of the People's Budget.) When the Lords refused to pass the bill, Asquith approached the King and requested the creation of several hundred Liberal peers so as to erase the Conservative majority in the House of Lords. In the face of such a threat, the House of Lords reluctantly passed the bill. The Parliament Act 1911, as it became known, allowed the Lords to delay a bill for a maximum of three sessions (reduced to two sessions in 1949), after which it could become law over their objections. The Irish Free State became independent in 1922 and in 1927 the UK was renamed as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Further reforms to the House of Lords have been made during the twentieth century. In 1958, the Life Peerages Act authorised the regular creation of life peerage dignities. By the 1960s, the regular creation of hereditary peerage dignities had ceased; thereafter, almost all new peers were life peers only. More recently, the House of Lords Act 1999 has removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the Upper House (although it made an exception for ninety-two of them on a temporary basis). The House of Lords is now a chamber that is, in practice, subordinate to the House of Commons. The Scottish Parliament was established as the national unicameral legislature of Scotland by the Scotland Act 1998, and held its first meeting as a devolved legislature on 12 May 1999.

Composition

At the head of Parliament is the British Sovereign. The Sovereign's role, however, is merely ceremonial; in practice, he or she always acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and other ministers, who are in turn accountable to the two Houses of Parliament. The Upper House, the House of Lords, is mostly made up of appointed members ("Lords of Parliament"). The whole House is formally styled The Right Honourable The Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled, the Lords Spiritual being clergymen of the Church of England and the Lords Temporal being Peers of the Realm. The Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal are considered separate "estates," but they sit, debate and vote together. The Lords Spiritual formerly included all of the senior clergymen of the Church of England—archbishops, bishops, abbots and priors. Upon the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, however, the abbots and priors lost their positions in Parliament. All diocesan bishops continued to sit in Parliament, but the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847 and later acts provide that only the twenty-six most senior are Lords Spiritual. These twenty-six always include the incumbents of the "five great sees," namely, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Winchester. The remaining twenty-one Lords Spiritual are the most senior diocesan bishops, ranked in order of consecration. The Lords Temporal are all members of the Peerage. Formerly, they included hereditary peers, of the ranks of Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. The right of some hereditary peers to sit in Parliament was not automatic: after Scotland and England united into Great Britain in 1707, it was provided that all peers whose dignities had been created by English Kings could sit in Parliament, but those whose dignities had been created by Scottish Kings were to elect a limited number of "representative peers." A similar arrangement was made in respect of Ireland when that nation merged with Great Britain in 1801. But when Southern Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922, the election of Irish representative peers ceased. By the Peerage Act 1963, the election of Scottish representative peers also ended, but all Scottish peers were granted the right to sit in Parliament. Under the House of Lords Act 1999, only life peerage dignities (that is to say, peerage dignities which cannot be inherited) automatically entitle their holders to seats in the House of Lords. Of the hereditary peers, only ninety-two—the individuals exercising the offices of Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain, in addition to ninety hereditary peers elected by other peers—retain their seats in the House. The Commons, the last of the "estates" of the Kingdom, are represented in the House of Commons, which is formally styled The Honourable The Commons in Parliament Assembled. The House consists of 646 members. Previously, the House consisted of 659 members, but the number of Scottish MPs was reduced by the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004. Each "Member of Parliament" or "MP" is chosen by a single constituency according to the First-Past-the-Post electoral system. Universal adult suffrage exists for those 18 and over; citizens of the United Kingdom, as well as citizens of the Republic of Ireland and of Commonwealth nations resident in the United Kingdom, are qualified to vote. The term of members of the House of Commons depends on the term of Parliament; a general election, during which all the seats are contested, occurs after each dissolution (see below). The three components of Parliament are supposed to be kept separate from each other; no individual may form a part of more than one component of Parliament. Lords of Parliament are legally barred from voting in elections for members of the House of Commons; furthermore, the Sovereign by convention does not vote, although there is no statutory impediment.

Procedure

Each of the two Houses of Parliament is presided over by a Speaker. In the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor, a member of the Cabinet, is the ex officio Speaker. Where there is a vacancy in the office, a Speaker may be appointed by the Crown. Deputy Speakers, who take the place of an absent Lord Chancellor, are also chosen by the Crown. The House of Commons has the right to elect its own Speaker. Theoretically, the approval of the Sovereign is required before the election becomes valid, but it is, by modern conventions, always granted. The Speaker's place may be taken by three deputies, known as the Chairman, First Deputy Chairman and Second Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means. (They take their name from the Committee of Ways and Means, of which they were once presiding officers, but which no longer exists.) In general, the Lord Chancellor's influence as Speaker is very limited, whilst the powers belonging to the Speaker of the House of Commons are vast. Decisions on points of order and on the disciplining of unruly members are made by the whole body in the Upper House, but by the Speaker alone in the Lower House. Speeches in the House of Lords are addressed to the House as a whole (using the words "My Lords"), but those in the House of Commons are addressed to the Speaker alone (using the words "Mr Speaker" or "Madam Speaker"). Both Houses may decide questions with voice voting; members shout out "Aye" and "No" (in the House of Commons), or "Content" and "Not-Content" (in the House of Lords), and the presiding officer declares the result. The pronouncement of the Lord Chancellor or Speaker may be challenged, and a recorded vote (known as a division) demanded. (The Speaker of the House of Commons may choose to overrule a frivolous request for a division, but the Lord Chancellor does not possess an equivalent power.) In each House, a division requires members to file into one of the two lobbies alongside the Chamber; their names are recorded by clerks, and their votes are counted as they exit the lobbies to re-enter the Chamber. The Speaker of the House of Commons, who is expected to remain non-partisan, does not cast a vote except in the case of a tie; the Lord Chancellor, however, votes along with the other Lords. (For further details on procedure, see the separate articles on the House of Lords and the House of Commons.)

Term

Following a general election, a new Parliamentary session begins. Parliament is formally summoned forty days in advance by the Sovereign, who is considered the source of parliamentary authority. On the day indicated by the Sovereign's proclamation, the two Houses assemble in their respective chambers. The Commons are then summoned to the House of Lords, where Lords Commissioners (representatives of the Sovereign) instruct them to elect a Speaker. The Commons perform the election; on the next day, they return to the House of Lords, where the Lords Commissioners confirm the election and grant the new Speaker the royal approval in the Sovereign's name. The business of Parliament for the next few days of its session involves the taking of the oaths of allegiance. Once a majority of the members have taken the oath in each House, the State Opening of Parliament may occur. The Lords take their seats in the House of Lords Chamber, the Commons appear at the Bar (immediately outside the Chamber), and the Sovereign takes his or her seat on a throne. The Sovereign then reads the Speech from the Throne—the content of which is determined by the Ministers of the Crown—outlining the Government's legislative agenda for the upcoming year. Thereafter, each House proceeds to the transaction of legislative business. By custom, before considering the Government's legislative agenda, a bill is introduced pro forma in each House—the Select Vestries Bill in the House of Lords and the Outlawries Bill in the House of Commons. These bills do not actually become laws; they are merely ceremonial indications of the power of each House to debate independently of the Crown. After the pro forma bill is introduced, each House debates the content of the Speech from the Throne for several days. Once each House formally sends its reply to the Speech, the proper legislative business of the House may commence. At once, each House becomes fully active in appointing committees, electing officers, passing resolutions and considering legislation. A session of Parliament is brought to an end by a prorogation. There is a ceremony similar to the State Opening, but it is much less well-known. Normally, the Sovereign does not personally attend the prorogation ceremony in the House of Lords; rather, he or she is represented by Lords Commissioners. The next session of Parliament begins under the procedures described above, but it is not necessary to conduct another election of a Speaker or take the oaths of allegiance afresh at the beginning of such subsequent sessions. Instead, the State Opening of Parliament is proceeded to directly. Each Parliament, after a number of sessions, comes to an end, either by the command of the Sovereign or by effluxion of time, the former being more common in modern times. The dissolution of Parliament is effected by the Sovereign, but always on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister may seek a dissolution because the time is politically advantageous to his or her party. Furthermore, if the Prime Minister loses the support of the House of Commons, he must either resign or seek a dissolution of Parliament to renew his or her mandate. Originally, there was no fixed limit on the length of a Parliament, but the Triennial Act 1694 set the maximum duration at three years. As the frequent elections were deemed inconvenient, the Septennial Act 1716 extended the maximum duration to seven years, but the Parliament Act 1911 reduced it to five years. During the Second World War, the term was temporarily extended to ten years by Acts of Parliament. Since the end of the war in 1945, however, the maximum term has remained five years. Modern Parliaments, however, rarely continue for the maximum duration; normally, they are dissolved earlier. For instance, the Fifty-Second Parliament assembled in 1997, but was dissolved after only four years. Formerly, the demise of the Sovereign automatically brought a Parliament to an end, for the Crown was seen as the caput, principium, et finis (beginning, basis and end) of the body. It was, however, deemed inconvenient to have no Parliament at a time when succession to the Crown could be disputed. Thus, a statute passed during the reign of William III and Mary II provided that a Parliament was to continue for six months after the death of a Sovereign, unless dissolved earlier. The Representation of the People Act 1867 brought this arrangement to an end; now, a demise in the Crown does not affect the duration of a Parliament. After each Parliament concludes, a general election is held, and new members of the House of Commons elected. The membership of the House of Lords, however, does not change due to a dissolution. Each Parliament which assembles following a general election is deemed to be distinct from the one which just concluded. Thus, each Parliament is separately numbered, the present Parliament being the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom (that is to say, the fifty-fourth Parliament summoned since the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801). Previous Parliaments were "of Great Britain" or "of England."

Legislative functions

1801 Laws can be set by Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament. While some Acts can apply to the whole of the UK including Scotland, due to the continuing separation of Scots law many Acts do not apply to Scotland and are either matched by equivalent Acts which apply to Scotland alone or, since 1999, by legislation set by the Scottish Parliament relating to devolved matters. Laws, in draft form known as bills, may be introduced by any member of either House. Usually, however, a bill is introduced by a Minister of the Crown. A bill introduced by a Minister is known as a "Government Bill"; one introduced by another member is called a "Private Member's Bill". A different way of categorising bills involves the subject. Most bills, involving the general public, are called "Public Bills". A bill that seeks to grant special rights to an individual or small group of individuals is called a "Private Bill." A Private Bill which has broader public implications is called a "Hybrid Bill". Private Members' Bills only make up about one in eight of bills, and are far less likely to be passed than government bills. There are three methods for an MP to introduce a Private Member's Bill. The Private Members' Ballots puts names into a ballot, and those who win are given time to propose a bill. The Ten Minute Rule is another method, where MPs are granted ten minutes to outline the case for a new piece of legislation. Standing Order 58 is the third method, which allows a bill to be introduced without debate if a day's notice is given to the Speaker. Filibustering is a danger, as an opponent to a bill can waste much of the limited time allotted to it. However, all Private Members' Bills have no chance of success if the current government opposes them, but they are on occasion used in moral issues. The bills to legalise homosexuality and abortion were Private Members' Bills, for example. Governments can sometimes attempt to use Private Members' Bills to pass things it would rather not be associated with. "Handout bills" are when a government hands proposed bills to MPs that win Private Members' Ballots. Each Bill goes through several stages in each House. The first stage, called the first reading, is a mere formality. At the next stage, the second reading, the general principles of the bill are debated. At the second reading, the House may vote to reject the bill (by refusing to pass the motion "That the Bill be now read a second time"), but defeats of Government Bills are extremely rare, the last being in 2005. Following the second reading, the bill is sent to a committee. In the House of Lords, the Committee of the Whole House or the Grand Committee is used. Each consists of all members of the House; the latter operates under special procedures, and is used only for uncontroversial bills. In the House of Commons, the bill is usually committed to a Standing Committee, consisting of between sixteen and fifty members, but the Committee of the Whole House is used for important legislation. Several other types of committees, including Select Committees, may be used, but are in practice only rarely employed. A committee considers the bill clause-by-clause, and reports its proposed amendments to the entire House, where further detailed consideration occurs. However a device known as the kangaroo (Standing Order 31) allows the speaker to select which amendments are debated. This device is commonly used under Standing Order 89 by the committee chairman on behalf of the government to restrict debate in committee. Once the House considers the bill, the third reading follows. In the House of Commons, no further amendments may be made, and the passage of the motion "That the Bill be now read a third time" amounts to passage of the whole bill. In the House of Lords, however, further amendments to the bill may be moved. After the passage of the third reading motion mentioned above, the House of Lords must vote on another motion "That the Bill do now pass." Following its passage in one House, the bill is sent to the other House. If passed in identical form by both Houses, it may be presented for the Sovereign's Assent. If, however, one House passes amendments that the other will not agree to, and the two Houses cannot resolve their disagreements, the bill fails. Since the passage of the Parliament Act 1911, however, the power of the House of Lords to reject bills passed by the House of Commons has been restricted. Further restrictions were placed by the Parliament Act 1949. Under the Parliament Act, if the House of Commons passes a public bill in two successive sessions, and the House of Lords rejects them both times, then the Commons may direct that the bill be presented to the Sovereign for his or her Assent, disregarding the rejection of the Bill in the House of Lords. In each case, the bill must be passed by the House of Commons at least one calendar month before the end of the session. The provision does not apply to bills originated in the House of Lords, to bills seeking to extend the duration of a Parliament beyond five years or to Private Bills. A special procedure applies in relation to bills classified by the Speaker of the House of Commons as "Money Bills". A Money Bill solely concerns national taxation or public funds; the Speaker's certificate is deemed conclusive under all circumstances. If the House of Lords fails to pass a Money Bill within one month of its passage in the House of Commons, the Lower House may direct that the Bill be submitted for the Sovereign's Assent immediately. Even before the passage of the Parliament Acts, the Commons possessed pre-eminence in cases of financial matters. By ancient custom, the House of Lords may neither introduce a bill relating to taxation or Supply, nor amend a bill so as to insert a provision relating to taxation or Supply, nor amend a Supply Bill in any way. The House of Commons, however, is free to waive this privilege, and sometimes does so to allow the House of Lords to pass amendments with financial implications. The House of Lords, however, remains free to reject bills relating to Supply and taxation, but may be easily overruled if the bills are Money Bills. (A bill relating to revenue and Supply may not be a Money Bill if, for example, it includes subjects other than national taxation and public funds). The last stage of a bill involves the granting of the Royal Assent. Theoretically, the Sovereign may grant the Royal Assent (that is, make the bill a law) or withhold the Royal Assent (that is, veto the bill). Under modern notions of a constitutional monarchy, however, the Sovereign always grants the Royal Assent. The last refusal to grant the Assent came in 1708, when Anne withheld her Assent from a bill "for the settling of Militia in Scotland". Every bill, thus, obtains the assent of all three components of Parliament before it becomes law (except as provided by the Parliament Acts where the House of Lords is over-ridden). All laws are in theory "enacted" by the Sovereign, with the consent of the Lords and Commons. The words "BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's [King's] most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-" form a part of each Act of Parliament (where the House of Lords' authority has been overridden through the usage of the Parliament Acts, the words "BE IT ENACTED by The Queen's [King's] most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-" are used instead). These words at the beginning of every Act is known as the enacting formula.

Judicial functions

In addition to its legislative functions, Parliament also performs several judicial functions. The Queen-in-Parliament constitutes the highest court in the realm for most purposes, but the Privy Council has jurisdiction in some cases (for instance, appeals from ecclesiastical courts). The jurisdiction of Parliament arises from the ancient custom of petitioning the Houses to redress grievances and to do justice. The House of Commons ceased considering petitions to reverse the judgements of lower courts in 1399, effectively leaving the House of Lords as the realm's court of last resort. In modern times, the judicial functions of the House of Lords are performed not by the whole House, but by a group of "Lords of Appeal in Ordinary" (judges granted life peerage dignities under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 by the Sovereign) and by "Lords of Appeal" (other peers with experience in the judiciary). The Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and Lords of Appeal (or "Law Lords") are Lords of Parliament, but normally do not vote or speak on political matters. In the late 19th century Acts allowed for the appointment of Scottish Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and ended appeal in Scottish criminal matters to the House of Lords so that the High Court of Justiciary became the highest criminal court in Scotland. Nowadays the House of Lords legislative committee usually has a minimum of two Scottish Judges to ensure that some experience of Scots law is brought to bear on Scottish appeals in civil cases, from the Court of Session. Certain other judicial functions have historically been performed by the House of Lords. Until 1948, it was the body in which peers of the Realm had to be tried for felonies or high treason; now, peers are tried by normal juries. Furthermore, when the House of Commons impeaches an individual, the trial takes place in the House of Lords. Impeachments, however, are now rare; the last impeachment occurred in 1806. There are currently a number of MPs attempting to revive the custom who have signed a motion for the impeachment of the Prime Minister, but this will definitely not succeed.

Relationship with the Government

The British Government is answerable to the House of Commons. However, neither the Prime Minister nor members of the Government are elected by the House of Commons. Instead, the Queen requests the person most likely to command the support of a majority in the House, normally the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons, to form a government. So that they may be accountable to the Lower House, the Prime Minister and most members of the Cabinet are members of the House of Commons instead of the House of Lords. The last Prime Minister to be a Lord of Parliament was Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home, who became Prime Minister in 1963. Nevertheless, to adhere to the convention under which he was responsible to the Lower House, Lord Home disclaimed his peerage dignity and procured election to the House of Commons within days of becoming Prime Minister. Governments have a tendency to dominate the legislative functions of Parliament, by using their inbuilt majority in the House of Commons, and sometimes using their patronage power to appoint supportive peers in the Lords. In practice, governments can pass any legislation (within reason) in the Commons they wish, unless there is major dissent by MPs in the governing party. But even in these situations, it is highly unlikely a bill will be defeated, but dissenting MPs may be able to extract concessions from the government. In 1976, Lord Hailsham created a now widely used name for this behaviour, in an academic paper called "elective dictatorship". Parliament controls the executive by passing or rejecting its Bills and by forcing Ministers of the Crown to answer for their actions, either at "Question Time" or during meetings of the parliamentary committees. In both cases, the Ministers are asked questions by members of their Houses, and are obliged to answer. Although the House of Lords may scrutinise the executive through Question Time and through its committees, it cannot bring about the end of a Government. A ministry must, however, always retain the confidence and support of the House of Commons. The Lower House may indicate its lack of support by rejecting a Motion of Confidence or by passing a Motion of No Confidence. Confidence Motions are generally originated by the Government in order to reinforce its support in the House, whilst No Confidence Motions are introduced by the Opposition. The motions sometimes take the form "That this House has [no] confidence in Her Majesty's Government" but several other varieties, many referring to specific policies supported or opposed by Parliament, are often used. For instance, a Confidence Motion of 1992 used the form, "That this House expresses the support for the economic policy of Her Majesty's Government." Such a motion may theoretically be introduced in the House of Lords, but, as the Government need not enjoy the confidence of that House, would not be of the same effect as a similar motion in the House of Commons; the only modern instance of such an occurrence involves the No Confidence Motion that was introduced in 1993, and subsequently defeated. Many votes are considered votes of confidence, although not specifically involving the language mentioned above. Important bills that form part of the Government's agenda (as stated in the Speech from the Throne) are generally considered matters of confidence. The defeat of such a bill by the House of Commons indicates that a Government no longer has the confidence of that House. Furthermore, the same effect is achieved if the House of Commons "withdraws Supply", that is, rejects the budget. Where a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister is obliged either to resign, or seek the dissolution of Parliament and a new general election. Where a Prime Minister has ceased to retain a majority in that vote and requests a dissolution, the Sovereign can in theory reject his request, forcing his resignation and allowing the Leader of the Opposition to be asked to form a new government. This power however is supposed to be used extremely rarely. The conditions that should be met to allow such a refusal are known as the Lascelles Principles. Note, however, that these conditions and principles are merely informal conventions; it is possible, though highly improbable, for the Sovereign to refuse a dissolution for no reason at all. In practice, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the Government is very weak. Since the First-Past-the-Post electoral system is employed in elections, the governing party tends to enjoy a large majority in the Commons; there is often limited need to compromise with other parties. Modern British political parties are so tightly organised that they leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. In many cases, MPs may be expelled from their parties for voting against the instructions of party leaders. During the twentieth century, the Government has lost confidence issues only thrice—twice in 1924, and once in 1979.

Sovereignty

Several different views have been taken of Parliament's sovereignty. According to the jurist Sir William Blackstone, "It has sovereign and uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical, or temporal, civil, military, maritime, or criminal … It can, in short, do every thing that is not naturally impossible." A different view, however, has been taken by the Scottish judge Lord Cooper of Culross. When he decided the case of MacCormick v. Lord Advocate as Lord President of the Court of Session, he stated, "the principle of unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctively English principle and has no counterpart in Scottish constitutional law." He continued, "Considering that the Union legislation extinguished the Parliaments of Scotland and England and replaced them by a new Parliament, I have difficulty in seeing why the new Parliament of Great Britain must inherit all the peculiar characteristics of the English Parliament but none of the Scottish." Nevertheless, he did not give a conclusive opinion on the subject. Thus, the question of Parliamentary sovereignty appears to remain unresolved. Parliament has not passed any Act defining its own sovereignty. Parliament's power has often been eroded by its own Acts. Acts passed in 1921 and 1925 grant the Church of Scotland complete independence in ecclesiastical matters. More recently, its power has been restricted by the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, which has the power to make laws enforceable in each member state. In the Factortame case, the European Court of Justice ruled that UK courts could have powers to overturn legislation contravening EU law. This new power is a breach of parliamentary sovereignty, which is part of the UK constitution. Parliament has also created national devolved assemblies with legislative authority in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, Parliament still has the power over areas for which responsibility lies with the devolved institutions, but would usually ask permission of those institutions to act on its behalf. Similarly, it has granted the power to make regulations to Ministers of the Crown, and the power to enact religious legislation to the General Synod of the Church of England. (Measures of the General Synod and, in some cases, proposed statutory instruments made by ministers must be approved by both Houses before they become law.) In every case aforementioned, however, authority has been conceded by Act of Parliament, and may be taken back in the same manner. It is entirely within the authority of Parliament to, for example, abolish the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland or to leave the EU. However, especially in the case of withdrawing from EU membership, the political costs (the UK's economy and reputation in Europe would most likely be hugely damaged) of such a move would surely prevent it from occurring. Legally, Parliament's sovereignty has not been curtailed; however, in a political sense, its own Acts have reduced Parliament’s sovereignty, especially the European Communities Act 1972 (UK), which made the UK a member of the EU. One well-recognised exception to Parliament's power involves binding future Parliaments. No Act of Parliament may be made secure from amendment or repeal by a future Parliament. For example, although the Act of Union 1800 states that the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland are to be united "forever," Parliament permitted Southern Ireland to separate into a distinct nation, the Irish Free State, in 1922.

Privileges

Each House of Parliament possesses and guards various ancient privileges. The House of Lords relies on inherent right. In the case of the House of Commons, the Speaker goes to the Lords' Chamber at the beginning of each new Parliament and requests representatives of the Sovereign to confirm the Lower House's "undoubted" privileges and rights. The ceremony observed by the House of Commons dates to the reign of Henry VIII. Each House is the guardian of its privileges, and may punish breaches thereof. The extent of parliamentary privilege is based on law and custom. Sir William Blackstone states that these privileges are "very large and indefinite," and cannot be defined except by the Houses of Parliament themselves. The foremost privilege claimed by both Houses is that of freedom of speech in debate; nothing said in either House may be questioned in any court or other institution outside Parliament. Another privilege is that of freedom from arrest except for high treason, felony or breach of the peace; it applies from during a session of Parliament, as well as forty days before or after such a session. Members of both Houses are also privileged from service on juries. Both Houses possess the power to punish breaches of their privilege. Contempt of Parliament — for example, disobedience of a subpoena issued by a committee — may also be punished. The House of Lords may imprison an individual for any fixed period of time, but an individual imprisoned by the House of Commons is set free upon prorogation. The punishments imposed by either House may not be challenged in any court.

References

- Blackstone, Sir William. (1765). Commentaries on the Laws of England. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld/ldcomp/compso.htm Davies, M. (2003). Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords, 19th ed.]
- Farnborough, Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron. (1896). Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George the Third, 11th ed. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- "Parliament." (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.

External links

- [http://www.parliament.uk/ The Parliament of the United Kingdom. Official website.]
- [http://www.parliamentlive.tv/ The Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament Live TV.]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/ The British Broadcasting Corporation. (2005). "A–Z of Parliament."]
- [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/commons/ The Guardian. (2005). "Special Report: House of Commons."]
- [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/lords/ The Guardian. (2005). "Special Report: House of Lords."]
- [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/law/hamlyn/statutor.htm Parliamentary procedure site at Leeds University]
- Category:National legislatures Category:Westminster Category:Politics of the United Kingdom Category:United Kingdom constitution United Kingdom United Kingdom

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor), born 21 April 1926, is the Queen regnant of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. About 128 million people live in the countries of which she is Head of State. She is thirty-eighth in line of descent from Egbert, King of Wessex. She also holds the positions of Head of the Commonwealth, Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Lord of Mann since the death of her father, King George VI on 6 February 1952. She is the second-longest-serving current head of state in the world, after King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great of Thailand. Her reign of over five decades has seen ten different Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and numerous Prime Ministers in the other personal union nations of which she is or was Head of State.

Early life

Elizabeth was born at 21 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London on 21 April, 1926. Her father was HRH The Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), the second eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was HRH The Duchess of York (née Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), the daughter of Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife, the Countess of Strathmore. She was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace by Cosmo Lang, the then Archbishop of York and her godparents were King George and Queen Mary, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Connaught, the Earl of Strathmore and Lady Elphinstone. Lady Elphinstone Elizabeth was named after her mother, while her two middle names are those of her paternal great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and grandmother Queen Mary respectively. As a child she was known as 'Lilibet' by her close family. As a granddaughter of the British sovereign in the male line, she held the title of a British princess with the style Her Royal Highness. Her full style was HRH Princess Elizabeth of York. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession to the crown, behind her father and her uncle, HRH The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII. Although her birth generated public interest, no one could have predicted that she would become Queen. It was widely assumed that her uncle, the enormously popular Prince of Wales, would marry and have children in due course.

Education

The young Princess Elizabeth was educated at home, as was her younger sister, Princess Margaret, under the supervision of her mother, then the Duchess of York. Her governess was Marion Crawford, better known as "Crawfie". She studied history with C. H. K. Marten, Provost of Eton, and also learned modern languages. She now speaks fluent French, as she has shown on several occasions, most recently during her 2004 state visit to France to commemorate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale but also on numerous visits to Canada. She was instructed in religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury and has always been a strong believer in the Church of England.

Heiress Presumptive

When her father became King in 1936 upon her uncle King Edward VIII's abdication, she became heiress presumptive and was henceforth known as HRH The Princess Elizabeth. There was some demand in Wales for her to be created The Princess of Wales but the King was advised that this was the title of the wife of the Prince of Wales and not a title in its own right. Some feel the King missed the opportunity to make an innovation in Royal practice. She was thirteen years old when World War II broke out. She and her younger sister Princess Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle, Berkshire. There was some suggestion that the princesses be sent to Canada, but their mother the Queen refused to consider this, saying, "The children could not possibly go without me, I wouldn't leave without the King, and the King won't leave under any circumstances". In 1940 Princess Elizabeth made her first broadcast, addressing other children who had been evacuated.

Military service

1940 In 1945 Princess Elizabeth convinced her father that she should be allowed to contribute directly to the war effort. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (the ATS) where she was known as No 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, and was trained as a driver. This training was the first time she had been taught together with other students. It is said that she greatly enjoyed this and that this experience led her to send her own children to school rather than have them educated at home. She was the first (and as of 2005 the only) female member of the royal family to actually serve in the military, though other royal women have been given honorary ranks. During the V-E Day celebrations in London, she and her sister dressed as ordinary subjects and slipped into the crowd secretly in order to celebrate with everyone without being recognised. Elizabeth made her first official visit overseas in 1947, when she accompanied her parents to South Africa. On her 21st birthday she made a broadcast to the British Commonwealth and Empire, pledging to [http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4098.asp devote her life] to the service of the people of the Commonwealth and Empire.

Marriage and motherhood

Empire Elizabeth married HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947. The Duke is Queen Elizabeth's third cousin; they share Queen Victoria as a great-great-grandmother. They are also both descended from Christian IX of Denmark (she being a great-great granddaughter through Alexandra of Denmark, and the Duke is a great-grandson through George I of Greece). Prince Philip had renounced his claim to the Greek throne and was simply referred to as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten before being created Duke of Edinburgh before their marriage. This marriage, although not arranged as such, was eminently suitable for a female heir to the throne, as Philip had been trained for royal responsibilities. After their wedding Philip and Elizabeth took up residence at Clarence House, London. On 14 November 1948 she gave birth to her first child Prince Charles of Edinburgh. Several weeks earlier letters patent had been issued so that her children would enjoy a royal and prince status they would not otherwise have been entitled to. Otherwise they would have been styled merely as children of a duke. They had four children (see below) in all. Though the Royal House is named Windsor, it was decreed via a 1960 Order-in-Council that the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip should have the personal surname Mountbatten-Windsor.

Children and grandchildren

Succession

King George's health declined during 1951 and Elizabeth frequently stood in for him at public events. She visited Greece, Italy and Malta (where Philip was then stationed) during the year. In October she toured Canada and visited President Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC. In January 1952 Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand. They had reached Kenya when word arrived of the death of her father, on 6 February 1952, from lung cancer. At the exact moment of succession, she was in a treetop hotel – a unique circumstance for any such event. She was the first British monarch since the Act of Union in 1801 to be out of the country at the moment of succession, and also the first in modern times not to know the exact time of her accession. The Treetops Hotel, where she went up a princess and came down a queen, is now a very popular tourist retreat in Kenya. Elizabeth's coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.

Life as Queen

1953 and holding the Sceptre with the Cross and the Orb at her Coronation (2 June 1953).]] After the Coronation, Elizabeth and Philip moved to Buckingham Palace in central London. It is believed, however, that like many of her predecessors she dislikes the Palace as a residence and considers Windsor Castle, west of London, to be her home. She also spends time at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and at Sandringham House in Norfolk. Queen Elizabeth is the most widely travelled head of state in history (in front of Pope John Paul II). In 1953–54 she and Philip made a six-month round-the-world tour, becoming the first reigning monarch to circumnavigate the globe, and also the first to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji (which she visited again all at once during the 1977 jubilee). In October 1957 she made a state visit to the United States, and in 1959 she made a tour of Canada. In 1961 she toured India and Pakistan for the first time. She has made state visits to most European countries and to many outside Europe. She regularly attends Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings. At the time of Elizabeth's accession there was much talk of a "new Elizabethan age". Elizabeth's role has been to preside over the United Kingdom as it has shared world economic and military power with a growing host of independent nations and principalities. As nations have developed economically and in literacy, Queen Elizabeth has witnessed over the past 50 years a gradual transformation of the British Empire into its modern successor, the Commonwealth. She has worked hard to maintain links with former British possessions, and in some cases, such as South Africa, she has played an important role in retaining or restoring good relations.

Views and Perceptions

Elizabeth is a conservative in matters of religion, moral standards and family matters. She has a strong sense of religious duty and takes seriously her Coronation Oath. This is one reason why it is considered highly unlikely that she will ever abdicate. Like her mother, she blamed Edward VIII for, as she saw it, abandoning his duty and forcing her father to become King — a strain which she believed shortened his life by many years. She used the authority of her position to prevent her sister, Princess Margaret, from marrying a divorced man, Peter Townsend. For years she refused to acknowledge her son Prince Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles but since their marriage an appearance of acceptance has been established. Elizabeth's political views are supposed to be less clear-cut (she has never said or done anything in public to reveal what they might be). She preserves cordial relations with politicians of all parties. It is believed that her favourite Prime Ministers have been Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson. She was thought to have very good relations with her current Prime Minister, Tony Blair, during the first years of his term in office; however, there has been mounting evidence in recent months that her relationship with Blair has hardened. She reportedly feels that he does not keep her informed well enough on affairs of state. The only public issue on which Elizabeth makes her views known are those affecting the unity of each of her Realms, including Canada and the United Kingdom. She has spoken in favour of the continued union of England and Scotland, angering some Scottish nationalists. Her statement of praise for the Northern Ireland Belfast Agreement raised some complaints among some Unionists in the Democratic Unionist Party who opposed the agreement, Ian Paisley calling her a parrot of Tony Blair. Also, while not speaking directly against Quebec Sovereignty in Canada, she has publicly praised Canada's unity and expressed her wish to see the continuation of a unified Canada. However when during a separatist referendum campaign she was tricked into speaking with a DJ pretending to be then Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien she pointedly refused to accept "Chrétien"'s advice that she intervene on the issue without first seeing a draft speech sent by him. (Her tactful handling of the call won plaudits from the DJ who made it.) Her personal relationships with world leaders are warm and informal. On a BBC documentary broadcast in 2002 she was shown teasing a former Prime Minister about how he could travel to world trouble spots like Iraq because he was seen by politicians as "expendable". (He laughed at the comment.) Mary McAleese, now President of Ireland recounted how as Pro Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast she was, to her shock, invited to a lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, on the basis that the Queen wished to talk to her, as a leading Northern Ireland nationalist, and hear her views on Anglo-Irish relations. The two women struck up an instant rapport, with McAleese, during the 1997 Irish presidential election, calling the Queen "a dote" (a Hiberno-English term meaning a 'really lovely person') in an Irish Independent interview. Nelson Mandela in the BBC documentary repeatedly referred to her as "my friend, Elizabeth". Nelson Mandela: from left: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince William, Prince Charles, Prince Henry, Prince Andrew]] Despite a series of controversies about the rest of the royal family, particularly the marital difficulties of her children throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Queen Elizabeth remains a remarkably uncontroversial figure and is generally well-respected by the people of her Realms. However, her public persona remains formal, though more relaxed than it once was. Queen Elizabeth has never suffered from severe public disapproval. However, in 1997 she and other members of the Royal Family were perceived as cold and unfeeling when they were seen not to participate in the public outpouring of grief at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. This brought sharp criticism from the normally royalist tabloid press. It is widely believed that Elizabeth held negative feelings towards Diana and thought that she had done immense damage to the monarchy. However, the sight of the entire Royal Family bowing to Diana's coffin as it passed Buckingham Palace, together with a rare live television broadcast by Queen Elizabeth, addressed the public grief. Elizabeth's change of attitude is believed to have resulted from strong advice from the Queen Mother and Tony Blair. Many biographers of both the Queen and Diana agree that there indeed was a fondness between the two women, however, the Queen did not always understand Diana's motivations. Elizabeth remains a highly respected head of state. However, she and her family have come under increasing pressure from UK based newspapers. In 2002 she celebrated her Golden Jubilee, marking the 50th anniversary of her accession to the Throne. The year saw an extensive tour of the Commonwealth Realms, including numerous parades and official concerts. The Jubilee year coincided with the deaths, within a few months, of Elizabeth's mother and sister. Elizabeth's relations with her children, while still somewhat distant, have become much warmer since these deaths. She is particularly close to her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex. She is known to have disapproved of Prince Charles's long-standing relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, but with their recent marriage, has come to accept it. On the other hand, she is very close to her grandchildren, noticeably Prince William and Zara Phillips. In late February 2003, Queen Elizabeth II's reign, then just over 51 years, surpassed the reigns of all four of her immediate predecessors (King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI) combined. King George VI] In 2003 Elizabeth, who is often described as robustly healthy, underwent three operations. She had two operations by the end of the year concerning both of her knees, and also had several lesions removed from her face. This had prompted some debate in the media about whether the evolving monarchy should have monarchs abdicating as in some other nations, or even enforce a retirement age for reigning monarchs. In June 2005 she was forced to cancel several engagements after contracting what the Palace described as a bad cold. 2005 in 2005]] As Elizabeth approaches her 80th birthday, she has made it clear that she has no intention of abdicating. Those who know her best have stated that she intends to reign as Queen until the day she dies. She has, however, begun to hand over some public duties to her children, as well as other members of the royal family. It was rumoured in 2005, that she and Prince Philip would be reducing their international travel. The subsequent, perhaps pointed, announcements that they would be visiting Canada, Malta, Australia, and Singapore in the space of the next year served to effectively deny these rumours, however. It is often made clear that she intends to do as much as she can until she is physically unable. Despite this, many historians are now claiming the we are witnessing the start of the end of the Queen's reign. The wedding of the Prince of Wales to Camilla in 2005, was seen by many as a message from the Queen that we are in the final years (perhaps decades) of her reign. By allowing Charles to marry, she is attempting to ensure that Charles' succession to the throne will go as smoothly as possible. In 2004, a copy of the Queen's newly revised funeral plans were stolen, much to the Queen's anger. And for the first time in September 2005, a mock version of the Queen's funeral march was held in the middle of the night (this was also done once a year after the late Queen Mother turned 80). If the Queen lives until 2008, she will become the oldest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing King George III and Queen Victoria, both of whom died before the age of 82. Should she still be reigning on September 9, 2015 at the age of 89, her reign will surpass that of Queen Victoria and she will become the longest reigning monarch of the British monarchy. Elizabeth's public image has noticeably softened in recent years, particularly since the death of the Queen Mother. Although she remains reserved in public, she has been seen laughing and smiling much more than in years past, and to the shock of many she has been seen to shed tears during emotional occasions such as at Remembrance Day services, the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral for those killed in the 11 September terrorist attacks and in Normandy, France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where, for the first time, she addressed the Canadian troops, even while fighting sadness and loss for U.S. President George W. Bush, since it was happening the day after the passing of former president Ronald Reagan, which people in Britain felt quite deeply, since she was in Normandy for the 40th anniversary with Reagan.

Constitutional role

Role in government

In theory, the Queen is an essential part of the legislative process of her Realms. The Queen-in-Parliament (the Queen, acting with the advice and consent of Parliament), in each country, is an integral part of Parliament, along with the upper and lower houses. In practice, however, the Queen's role in the legislative process is in all forseeable circumstances entirely ceremonial. The Queen may legally grant or withhold Royal Assent to Bills, but no monarch has refused his or her assent to a Bill since 1708. The Queen, or her Governors-General in the realms outside the United Kingdom, also gives a speech at the annual State Opening of Parliament, outlining the government's legislative agenda for the year, but the speech is written by ministers. The Queen also has a functional role in executive government. Constitutionally she chooses her prime minister (though in reality no actual choice is required as the issue of whom to ask to form a government is clear from who controls the House of Commons, except in exceptional circumstances). She also decides the basis on which a person is asked to form a government. That is, whether a government should be formed capable of surviving in the House of Commons — the standard requirement — or capable of commanding majority support in the House of Commons — i.e., a requirement to form a coalition if no one party has a majority. This requirement was last set in 1940, when King George VI asked Winston Churchill to form a government capable of commanding a majority in parliament. This necessitated a coalition. The requirement is normally only made in emergencies or in war-time, and happened only twice in the 20th century: with David Lloyd George in 1916 and Churcill in 1940. To date Queen Elizabeth II has never set it. All her prime ministers have had to meet the lower requirement of simply surviving in the House of Commons. The Queen also appoints ministers and all government is carried out legally in her name. Theoretically she stills holds a large proportion of power in international affairs the Queen, as Head of State, has the power to declare war and make peace, to recognise foreign states, to conclude treaties and to take over or give up territory. Orders-in-Council are issued only when approved by her at Privy Council meetings. She has access to all government minutes and documentation, and has a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister when parliament is in session. She also signs executive order, financial and treasury papers, with her signature required on all major financial transactions of state (countersigned by the relevant minister). The role of Commander-in-Chief is held in each realm either by the Queen or by her Governor-General as her representative.

Appointment of prime ministers: 3 controversies

On three occasions during her reign the Queen has had to deal with constitutional problems over the formation of governments. In 1957 and again in 1963 the absence of a formal open mechanism within the Conservative Party for choosing a leader meant that following the sudden resignation of Sir Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan it fell on the Queen to decide whom to commission to form a government. In both these cases Rab Butler was passed over, in controversial circumstances. In 1957 Eden did not proffer advice and so the Queen consulted Lords Salisbury and Kilmuir for the opinion of the Cabinet and Winston Churchill, as the only living former Conservative Prime Minister (following the precedent of George V consulting Salisbury's father and Arthur Balfour upon Andrew Bonar Law's resignation in 1923). In October 1963 the outgoing Prime Minister Harold Macmillan advised the Queen to appoint the Earl of Home. On the third occasion, in February 1974, an inconclusive general election result meant that in theory outgoing prime minister Edward Heath, who had won more of the popular vote, could stay in power if he formed a coalition government with the Liberals. Rather than immediately resign as prime minister he explored the option and only resigned when the discussions floundered. (Had he chosen to, he could have remained on until defeated in the debate on the Queen's Speech.) Only when he resigned was the Queen able to ask the Leader of the Opposition, the Labour Party's Harold Wilson, to form a government. His minority government laste

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Appointment of prime ministers: 3 controversies