Posted on 05/08/2010 2:10:41 AM PDT by ATX 1985
London, England (CNN) -- After an election that left no party with a clear majority, the final decision over who becomes Britain's next prime minister could lie in the hands of one woman who never votes: The queen. As a head of state, Queen Elizabeth has numerous traditional roles when it comes to elections and government, yet these are usually no more than ceremonial. However, as with Thursday's vote that saw the opposition Conservatives secure more seats than Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party but not enough to form a working government, the queen's position becomes more complicated. Full story: Political rivals jockey for power The queen is the embodiment of Britain's constitutional monarchy and everything is done in her name. No laws can be passed nor parliaments opened or dissolved without her approval. Such strict protocols bind all stages of the process to install a new prime minister -- often with a pomp and grandeur far removed from the boisterous world of British politics. The 2006 film "The Queen" offered insight into this when Helen Mirren, playing the monarch, invites a nervous and kneeling Tony Blair to become prime minister after his 1997 landslide victory. In her six decade reign, Queen Elizabeth has dealt with 11 prime ministers, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, who reputedly had a tense relationship with the monarch during the weekly audiences that are also a traditional necessity. Typically, although it is her role to anoint prime ministers, the queen does not get involved in the political process, remaining above the fray.
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They always pause to get in a stab at the conservative.
And what's his politics ? (though obviously very young to be a king)
Margaret Thatcher, who reputedly had a tense relationship with the monarch
Probably that Queen Bee Syndrome that Limbaugh is always talking about (I suppose when one of them is an actual Queen it could really get out of hand)
Prince CHarles is next in line and he’s 62 years old.
I forgot about him ... I thought it was one of the kids.
OK .. which of the kids?
England isn’t a democracy and the Queen is the final authority. I got into an argument here with some Brit about things like this and I was told I was wrong. A thousand years of holding power isn’t going to go away.
As somebody who knows them.
Charles, The Prince of Wales, is, for the most part a conservative. One obvious exception to this is his position on environmental issues, but these are positions he has held since long before they became the province of the left.
Prince William of Wales is harder to read. I do not know him as well, and what relationship with him I have is coloured by the fact I am a friend of his fathers, and not of his generation. But I would say he is also conservative, in general, although I would say there are some ‘social justice’ issues he is concerned about where his views stray to the other side of the spectrum.
But to a large extent, it doesn’t matter. As King, both of them would do their duty under British law and constitutional convention, and such conventions make it generally inappropriate for them to express their views in public in that role.
I don’t understand your question.
Queen Elizabeth has four children. The eldest is Prince Charles, who was born in 1947. He is the next in line. After him is his son. After him, his second son. After them, the second son of the Queen, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles’ brother who was born around 1960.
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