This is part of an answer by pendragon.?

Question

We don't have to worry about our Royals lying to us and sending thousands of our soldiers to their deaths, because they're the Head of State, and nothing more. They can't abuse their power because they don't really have any to begin with. Unlike your president and his government who lied to his people and the rest of world.

What is the monarchy for if not for ruling the country, and who makes the decisions? I don't know squat about the monarchy. Please explain this to me. Thanks.

Answer 1

This should give you all the information you require...

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4675....

Answer 2

In the UK, the monarch is the Head of State, the Head of Government is who real power resides with. The government runs the country, the Monarch reigns, she has regular meetings with the Prime Minister and technically has to give assent to New laws but no Monarch has refused Assent since Queen Anne (reigned 1702-1714) although King George III used to hold up legislation by regularly "losing" the papers. The current Queen is said to be far more knowledgeable about the Governement's business than many politicians.

Constitutional monarchies are not the only countries where the Head of State is no more than a figurehead in some countries e.g Ireland, the President is a figurehead and the power again resides with the Prime Minister.

Answer 3

The monarch's role is to be a figurehead, a stable person amid changing governments, having a role "to advise, to counsel and to warn" the government of the day.  The prime minister has a weekly meeting with the monarch, who can, without necessarily succceeding in changing the course of events, give him the benefit of a lifetime's experience of meeting heads of state and seeing political leaders come and go.  Not all prime ministers have the wisdom to take this mature advice and it is well known that the disaster of Tony Blair's legacy is in part, at  least, the result of a failure to do so. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jht...