The Real Role of the Queen

Queen Elizabeth II. She is the Queen of England right? We all know that. But what does she really do? She must have a royal duty or something like that right? Does she just sit there in her throne asking for the heads of disrespectful peasants who dare enter her presence without a proper tribute?

 First of all, Elizabeth is actually Queen of something a little bit more complex. She is the Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms. But that doesn’t answer our question. What does she actually do?

Well, to clarify, her role is mainly symbolical, although she is Britain’s head of state but her executive powers are limited by constitutional rules so no heads rolling.

Being the visible face of the country, her role can be fulfilled by doing multiple chores like having audiences with important people like overseas ambassadors. She also meets people who have won prizes or awards in diverse categories.

Being a Queen you would expect some political powers or influence that she may have, and she does, two of them potentially very controversial. First, she may refuse a government's request to dissolve parliament and call an election, if she believes a government can legitimately be formed. Second and last, she has the right to choose the prime minister, ignoring all elections.

Concluding, the Queen is a figure recognized worldwide whose role is mostly symbolical with some remains of what a queen used to be. She still have some power over her country and her realms but recently reduced to a diplomatic role between her European island and the rest of the world and according to the royal website her role “focuses on national unity”. If she accomplishes that is a question we might answer some other time.