Berlin. Charles III is King of Great Britain – and is now suffering from cancer. What does this mean for his rule and what tasks does he have?
With King Charles III. was diagnosed with cancer. Buckingham Palace said the monarch “regards his treatment positively and looks forward to returning to his public duties as soon as possible.” But what duties does the king actually have? And how much power does he have?
Also read: King Charles is diagnosed with cancer – Even Harry comes to visit
These questions are not so easy to answer. Although that is United Kingdom a constitutional monarchy, the position and tasks of the king are defined in the constitution. But Great Britain does not have a written constitution, like the Federal Republic with its Basic Law. Instead, the king’s power – his sovereign rights and his constitutional role – is determined by a body of rules consisting of statutes, customary law and precedent.
Some exist in written form, others are based on traditions and customs (English: constitutional conventions). These cannot be enforced in court: One thing is certain: Charles is only allowed to express himself politically to a very limited extent. The regulation is comparable to the neutrality requirement, according to which German federal presidents suspend their party membership as long as they hold office.
King Charles II: What is the king allowed to do?
As head of state of United Kingdom subject to King Charles III. further restrictions: He does not exercise the right to vote, neither actively nor passively. This makes it impossible for him, for example, to become prime minister of a government or to elect a party.
Nevertheless, he takes on certain tasks within the government – which is formally his government. As a king, you can Charles III. convene, dissolve and adjourn Parliament and its individual session periods. The king left for the opening of parliament King’s Speech, in which the government presents its program for the coming session. The reading should be taken literally: the speech is always written by the government, never by the king.
The appointment and dismissal of prime ministers also falls Charles III. to. But that doesn’t mean that the British head of government is at the mercy of the king. The Prime Minister is appointed by the party that holds the majority in the British House of Commons; his appointment by the King is a formality. Things are a little different when it comes to dismissal. If a prime minister has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, he can be dismissed by the king even if he refuses to resign.
King Charles III with his sons, heir to the throne Prince William (l.) and Prince Harry (r.), Princess Anne at a procession in London. © Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images
What political rights does the king have?
The situation is similar with consent to im Parliament passed laws, the so-called Royal Assent. A law in Great Britain only becomes legal once the head of state has signed it. Theoretically, the king can prevent a law from coming into force. This no longer represents a real hurdle in the legislative process: the last time the Royal Assent was refused was in 1707. Consent is expected and, depending on the interpretation of the rules, it may also occur automatically.
Basically, the king also holds real power in his hands. He can declare war and use the armed forces whose Commander in Chief he is. He is allowed to conclude treaties with other states and conduct foreign policy. However, the British monarch only exercises these sovereign rights on the advice of his ministers. Traditionally it is from König expects him to follow the advice of his ministers. Otherwise, they exercise their sovereign rights on their own responsibility.
This means that the political Power of the king is minimal. He rules, but he does not rule. Britain’s fortunes are controlled by its government, the democratically elected Prime Minister and ministers. The king’s powers are largely ceremonial, strictly contained by the country’s unwritten constitution.
King Charles III: A powerful ruler?
Nevertheless, the king is in Great Britain a powerful institution, if only because of its gigantic assets. According to constitutional lawyers, in the area of politics he also has three important rights: he can advise, he can encourage and he can warn. This means that Charles III. much influence on the future of Britain and its subjects. This is particularly true of British culture.
On the one hand, the monarchy stands for stability and the unity of… kingdom. On the other hand, critics say it stands in the way of change. The British journalist and civil rights activist Polly Toynbee, for example, wrote in 2011 on the occasion of the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton that feudal thoughts and fantasies shaped the British psyche. The images of the Queen at the opening of Parliament dragged British society “back into history”, into the era of empire and “a world of largely fictitious national myths”.
The monarchy and its rituals “turned the British into bad Europeans” who considered themselves special. Where the European states have found new democratic identities after centuries of war Great Britain not done this.