A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), and can expand across the domains of the executive, legislative, and judicial.
Questions tagged [monarchy]
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Could a British monarch "go full dictator" if they wish to do so?
Queen Elizabeth II was generally nice and didn't abuse her power. But could her successor do otherwise and "go full dictator", in theory? Would he have enough legal powers to do so? Admittedly, dictators are not known for playing by the book, but…
Sergey Zolotarev
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Who is in charge of Vatican City when there is no Pope?
Vatican City is an absolute monarchy with the Pope as its head. What happens when there is no Pope? Is there an official provision dictating who governs, or is there simply no head of state until a new Pope is selected?
templatetypedef
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Legal definitions differentiating 'corporation' and 'private estate' in relation to Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is classified as a 'private estate' and therefore is exempt from corporation and capital gains tax.
Investopedia defines a corporation as 'a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners and has many of the same…
user42151
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Why is the Queen of Canada known as Elizabeth II?
The regnal numbers of the monarchy of the United Kingdom are combined from the regnal numbers of the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland. Hence, as there was a previous Queen Elizabeth in England, the current queen is known as Elizabeth II of…
TRiG
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Why is there a consort coronation for female consorts but not for male ones in the United Kingdom?
Wikipedia:
Charles's wife, Camilla, will be crowned alongside him as queen consort. (...) This will be the first coronation of a consort since that of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother) in 1937.
In addition to this,…
Gouvernathor
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Legal obligations towards monarchs
We are seeing cases of people being arrested in UK for holding #NotMyKing signs or something along these lines. My question here is not about the legality of those police actions.
My question is: as a UK citizen opposed to monarchy, do I have any…
Megaptera novaeangliae
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Can the Monarch still dissolve Parliament?
Traditionally it has been the constitutional power of the monarch to dissolve Parliament and trigger a general election at will.
Ostensibly, the Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2011 removed this power.
However, since Parliament derives its power from…
ScottishTapWater
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What are the effects on the Crown appointments following the death of a monarch?
The naming of a number of appointments, titles and offices, etc.—such a Queen's Counsel, the Queen's Warehouse, and Queen's Bench—will now need to be reviewed following King Charles III acceding to the throne.
Notwithstanding these name changes,…
user35069
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A married pope?
This is inspired by the discussion that follows an answer to This question.
The law of the Catholic Church requiring celibacy of certain clergy is not considered one of the many infallible immutable doctrines, but is a mutable law. As applied to…
Michael Hardy
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What effect does the coronation have after accession had already taken place upon the predecessor’s passing?
Does it have any actual consequence on the state of affairs for the monarch?
TylerDurden
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Why was no constitutional amendment needed to change the rules on succession to the Canadian throne?
In 2013 a statute altered the rules on succession to the throne in Canada. (Specifically, if a woman is the eldest child of the monarch then she inherits the throne upon the monarch's death even if she has a brother. Earlier, a woman could inherit…
Michael Hardy
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Are there typically any provisions in systems or succession that nullify a successor’s claim to the position if they off their predecessor themselves?
Suppose Prince William killed King Charles, would he still become king? Was this historically the case in the UK or other monarchies? Or if Kamala kills Joe?
TylerDurden
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Can Prince Philip's will be unsealed before 2111?
His will was sealed for 90 years when he died, and the Guardian's appeal failed.
Can someone else do a different appeal and get it unsealed?
Is there any way it will be unsealed before the 90 years is up?
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Would royal assent be required if the British crown were in abeyance?
In the unlikely event that it were impossible to determine who is the rightful heir to the British monarchy and the crown went into abeyance, what would happen with the requirement for royal assent? Could Parliament pass laws without assent, would…
Someone
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If the reigning monarch in a constitutional monarchy commits serious offences like terrorism or mass murder, are they really immune from punishments?
Answers for the UK especially welcome but any modern monarchy likewise. What would - or could- happen to King Charles if he went on a rampage and shot up a school and then went and planted/detonated a bomb in a crowded building, possibly Parliament…
TylerDurden
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