Queen Elizabeth II Powers to the Commonwealth Realms?

Question

Is the Queen Commander -in-Chief to Canada and Australia? If she is, then she can decide if Canada or Australia goes to war.

The canadian and Australian Government are Constitutional-Monarchy, so can she sieze land is she wants. in the UK Parliament, The bills to become laws, have to go through a Royal Accent, do they do that in Commonwealth Realms, could she Quite happily say "No" to a bill?

Answer 1

She is a powerless figurehead in the UK with only some ceremonial duties so what makes you think she has any authority to seize land abroad?

She would get her a.s.s kicked by the canadians & aussies if she tried to do anything foolish like that...

Answer 2

No, she is only the UK commander in cheif.....

Bear in mind that the queen is not an absolute ruler, she is a constitutional figurehead and therefore has no god given right to seize land in a country she doesn't rule....

All the nations that are under her name...ie.. australia, canada, jamaica....etc are all independent states with their own heads so technically the queen being head is nothing more than a title......

Answer 3

The Queen is a ceremonial head of state and her powers are mostly advisory.She works WITH the commonwealth country's elected governments.The Queen could say "No" to certain things but that means that she has support from most of the government officials;she'd have to build up a support base and backing from these elected officials.

For a look at the Queen's powers in the Commonwealth here is http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4905....

"For over 50 years, The Queen has been Head of the Commonwealth.

This is an important symbolic and unifying role. As Head, The Queen personally reinforces the links by which the Commonwealth joins people together from around the world.

One of the ways of strengthening these connections is through regular Commonwealth visits.

During her reign, The Queen has visited every country in the Commonwealth (with the exception of Cameroon, which joined in 1995) and made many repeat visits. One third of The Queen's total overseas visits are to Commonwealth countries.

The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family are also regular visitors to the Commonwealth.

The Queen keeps in touch with Commonwealth developments through regular contact with the Commonwealth Secretary General and his Secretariat. This is the Commonwealth's central organisation.

Based in London, it co-ordinates many Commonwealth activities. Her Majesty also has regular meetings with Heads of Government from Commonwealth countries.

Each year, The Queen attends the Commonwealth Day celebrations in London. Since 1977, Commonwealth Day has been celebrated throughout the Commonwealth on the second Monday in March.

The Queen attends an inter-denominational service held in Westminster Abbey, followed by a reception hosted by the Commonwealth Secretary General.

Modern communications technology allows The Queen to speak to every part of the Commonwealth through her annual Christmas and Commonwealth Day messages.

Both messages are delivered by The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth to the peoples of the Commonwealth as a whole. They are unique in that they are delivered on The Queen's own responsibility, drafted without ministerial advice.



Every two years a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) is held, at locations throughout the Commonwealth.

The Queen is normally present in the host country, during which she has a series of private meetings with the Commonwealth countries' leaders.

The Queen also attends a CHOGM reception and dinner, at which she makes a speech. The latest CHOGM was held in November 2005 in Malta; the next meeting will be held in 2007 in Uganda."

And at the above link,the previous page goes into what a "commonwealth" country is:

"The origins of the Commonwealth lie in Britain's former colonial empire.



Until 1949, the member states of today's Commonwealth were united through common allegiance to the British Crown.

After the Second World War, many countries sought their independence. Soon after attaining independence in 1947, India declared that she wished to adopt a republican constitution, but also wanted to remain within the Commonwealth.

This was accepted in the London Declaration agreed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1949, provided that India accepted King George VI as "the symbol of the free association of the independent Member Nations and as such Head of the Commonwealth".

Over the next two decades, British rule ended in many parts of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific.

With a few exceptions (such as Myanmar, formerly known as Burma), the newly independent countries joined the Commonwealth and accepted the British Crown as the symbol of their association.

The London Declaration made it possible for the Asian and African states of the former Empire, most of which wished to become republics, to remain within the Commonwealth upon attaining independence. This has led to the development of the contemporary multi-racial Commonwealth.

Member countries of the Commonwealth can therefore have different constitutions: a republic with a president as Head of State (such as India and South Africa), an indigenous monarchy (for example, Lesotho, Malaysia, Swaziland and Tonga), a sultanate (Brunei), an elected Paramount Chieftaincy (Western Samoa), or a realm recognising The Queen as Sovereign (for example, Canada, Australia and Barbados).



Whichever form their constitution takes, member countries all recognise The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.

Today the Commonwealth continues to play an important social and political role in the world, as a major association of countries.

As The Queen declared in a Silver Jubilee speech in 1977, it symbolises "the transformation of the Crown from an emblem of dominion into a symbol of free and voluntary association. In all history this has no precedent."

Answer 4

No she is only responsible for matters of the UK & CW.... she has no power in australia, canada..etc

Answer 5

yes as they are part of the commenwealth they come under her rule

Answer 6

No.

The Queen is the constitutional head of state only - it's a figurehead, nothing more.

Both Canada and OZ are independent and their governments make all the decisions.

The Queen has no power to refuse to give her royal assent any more.