British system of government

THE QUEEN

At the head of the State is the Queen. Today she is only a formal ruler and does not actually govern. She is the symbolic head of the nation and of the Commonwealth. The powers of the Queen are nowhere exactly defined. She is the personification of the State and theoretically every act of State is done in her name. She is the head of the executive, and integral part of the legislature, the head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, and the temporal head of the established Church of England. But in reality, whatever she does must done on the advice of a Minister; and that Minister is politically responsible for the royal act.
As the symbolic head of the executive, the Queen
- summons, prorogues and dissolves Parliament,
- appoints all ministers in the Government,
- appoints the archbishops and bishops of the Church of England,
- makes appointments to all important State ofiices