The Monarch and the Crown

Introduction

For most of English history, the **Monarch** dominated all three branches of state power: the Crown made the law (**legislature**), governed the country (**executive**) and was the sole dispenser of justice (**judiciary**). This chapter traces how that absolute power was gradually curtailed — from the alliance with the **nobility** and the **Magna Carta 1215** to the modern position in which the Monarch's role is **largely ceremonial**. You will study the **royal prerogative**, the **Monarch's four constitutional prerogatives** (advising ministers, appointing the Prime Minister, summoning/proroguing/dissolving Parliament, and granting **Royal Assent**), and the way these powers are now controlled by **constitutional conventions** and, in some cases, by **judicial review** (R (Miller) v The Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41, 'Miller 2').

Assessment focus

For the SQE1 FLK1 assessment, you need to understand the **constitutional role of the Monarch and the Crown** within the United Kingdom's constitution. You should be able to explain the **royal prerogative** and identify which prerogative powers survive, who now exercises them, and how they are constrained. Questions are single best answer questions (SBAQs) set in **realistic scenarios** — for example, who the Monarch should invite to form a government after an inconclusive election, or whether the Monarch may refuse **Royal Assent**. You must **apply constitutional conventions** rather than merely recall them, and recognise the significance of **Miller 2** for the justiciability of prerogative powers and of the **Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022** (which repealed the **Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011** and revived the dissolution prerogative) for the dissolution power. This is a closed-book assessment — be able to recall the key conventions, statutes and the Miller 2 authority from memory.

Study tips

1) Learn the **four constitutional prerogatives** of the Monarch in order: advising ministers; appointing/dismissing the PM and inviting them to form a government; summoning, proroguing and dissolving Parliament; granting Royal Assent. 2) Memorise the **'command a majority' convention**: the Monarch appoints as PM the person best able to command a majority in the **House of Commons** — not simply the leader of the largest party. 3) Remember the **Royal Assent convention**: assent is always granted to a bill passed by Parliament; the last refusal was by **Queen Anne in 1708**. 4) Note **Miller 2**: the courts held the advice to the Monarch was unlawful and the prorogation was **of no effect** — prerogative power is reviewable. 5) Know that the **Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011** removed the dissolution prerogative, but was itself **repealed** by the **Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022**, which revived the prerogative power to dissolve Parliament. 6) Note the change in the **House of Lords**: the **Life Peerages Act 1958** allowed life peers (including women) to sit; the **House of Lords Act 1999** removed all but 92 hereditary peers; and the **House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026** has now removed the remaining hereditary peers, so the House comprises only life peers and the Lords Spiritual.