Another document (House of Commons Library), SN/PC/03861 is on the
Royal Prerogative, setting out the powers of the Monarch as a Head of State, or acting on his/her own capacity...
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03861.pdf
The main points from this document:
General prerogative powers
Because of the diverse subjects covered by royal prerogative and because of the uncertainty of the law in many instances where an ancient power has not been used in modern times, it is difficult to give a comprehensive catalogue of prerogative powers. However, the constitutional lawyers Bradley and Ewing summarise the main areas where the prerogative is used today as follows:
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Powers relating to the legislature, e.g. - the summoning, proroguing and dissolution of parliament; the granting of royal assent to bills; legislating by Order in Council (e.g. in relation to civil service) or by letters patent; creating schemes for conferring benefits upon citizens where Parliament appropriates the necessary finance.
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Powers relating to the judicial system, e.g. - various functions carried out through the Attorney General and the Lord Advocate; pardoning of convicted offenders or remitting or reducing sentences; granting special leave for appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
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Powers relating to foreign affairs, e.g. – the making of treaties, the declaration of war and the making of peace; restraining aliens from entering the UK and the issue of passports.
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Powers relating to the armed forces e.g. – the Sovereign is commander in chief of the armed forces of the Crown and the control, organisation and disposition of the armed forces are within the prerogative.
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Appointments and honours, e.g. – appointment of ministers, judges and many other holders of public office; creation of peers and conferring of honours and decorations.
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Immunities and privileges, e.g. – the personal immunity of the Sovereign from being sued.
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The prerogative in times of emergency, e.g. – requisitioning of ships (where compensation would be payable).
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Miscellaneous prerogatives - various other historic powers relating to such things as royal charters, mining precious metals, coinage, franchises for markets, treasure trove, printing, guardianship of infants.
The Crown’s personal prerogative powers
There are three main prerogative powers recognised under the common law which still reside in the jurisdiction of the Crown.
• Firstly,
the appointment of a Prime Minister; the sovereign must appoint that person who is in the best position to receive the support of the majority in the House of Commons. However, this does not involve the sovereign in making a personal assessment of leading politicians since no major party could fight a general election without a recognised leader.
However, if after an election no one party has an absolute majority in the House (as in 1923, 1929 and February 1974) then the Queen will send for the leader of the party with the largest number of seats (as in 1929 and 1974) or with the next largest number of seats (as in January 1924). Alternatively, the sovereign would have to initiate discussions with and between the parties to discover, for example, whether a government could be formed by a politician who was not a party leader or whether a coalition government could be formed.
• Secondly,
the dissolution of Parliament, in the absence of a regular term for the life of Parliament fixed by statute, the Sovereign may by the prerogative dissolve Parliament and cause a general election to be held. The sovereign normally accepts the advice of the Prime Minister and grants dissolution when it is requested; a refusal would probably be treated by the Prime Minister as tantamount to a dismissal. These areas of the prerogative are the subject of continuing academic debate.
• Thirdly,
the giving of royal assent to legislation, in 1708 Queen Anne was the last sovereign to refuse royal assent to a bill passed by Parliament. Additionally, no monarchs since the sixteenth century have signed Bills themselves and Queen Victoria was the last to give the Royal Assent in person in 1854.
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Looks like we might be in for an interesting time after the election.
