Badge of the Privy Council, the oldest form of legislative assembly in the UK QUEEN AND PRIVY COUNCIL The Queen is Head of the Privy Council. This is the oldest form of legislative assembly still functioning in the UK, responsible for a number of executive responsibilities. Its origins date from the court of the Norman kings, which met in private – hence the description ‘privy’. Until the seventeenth century, the king and his Council were the Government, with Parliament’s role limited to voting funds. Today, in a system of constitutional monarchy, the Privy Council retains some limited, formal functions. For example, the Privy Council is concerned with the affairs of Chartered Bodies, the 400 or so institutions, charities and companies who are incorporated by Royal Charter. The Privy Council also has an important part to play regarding certain UK statutory regulatory bodies covering a number of professions (mainly in the healthcare field) and in the world of higher education. The Privy Council is involved in the arrangements for the appointment of the High Sheriffs of England and Wales, except for the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall, and for many Crown and Privy Council appointments to governing bodies. The Privy Council also has certain judicial functions. It is the court of final appeal for the UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies, and for those Commonwealth countries that have retained the appeal to Her Majesty in Council, including Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Tuvalu. |
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There are 400 Privy Councillors. The Privy Council meets on average once a month, at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, or, occasionally, Balmoral. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will obtain The Queen’s formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament. In addition, The Queen approves Proclamations through the Privy Council. These are formal notices which cover issues such as the dissolution of Parliament, coinage and the dates of certain Bank Holidays. Privy Council meetings are reported in the Court Circular, along with the names of Ministers attending (usually four in number). The Orders made at each Council are in the public domain, and each bears the date and place of the Council at which it was made. There is therefore nothing at all ‘secret’ about Privy Council meetings today. The Normans Court Circular online SUGGESTED LINKS |
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