What kind of authority does the Queen of England have? How much power does the Queen of England hold? Can the Queen of England declare war?

Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom from February 6, 1952, until her death on September 8, 2022. She was 96.

Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the second-longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country.

What kind of authority does the Queen of England have? How much power does the Queen of England hold?

The monarch and their immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties.

Constitutionally, the British monarch had a highly circumscribed role. The monarch is the head of state and, in that capacity, embodies the unity and traditions of Britain.

The monarch also retains prerogative powers particularly reserved for the sovereign including the power to appoint a new prime minister, dissolve Parliament and give royal assent to bills before they become law.

Domestically, the queen’s role in day-to-day politics was probably minimal and was certainly private.

Can the Queen of England declare war?

The Queen is the only person in the United Kingdom who can declare war on another country, but this power is not absolute.

Technically the Queen’s power to declare war is one of her prerogative powers, which has been in the possession of the reigning monarch for centuries. But as the Constitution Unit at University College London (UCL) indicated on its website, these powers are now mainly the in the remit of Government ministers.