As a largely ceremonial head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is not accustomed to being dragged into the messy heart of British politics. But on Wednesday, that's exactly where she found herself.
Either way, the prime minister stands widely accused of exploiting a huge grey area left by the U.K.'s lack of a single constitutional document, and using the supposedly apolitical queen as a tool to achieve his short-term Brexit goals.
John Major, a former Conservative prime minister, has compared Johnson to Charles I, the 17th century king whose suspension of parliament led to the English Civil War and ultimately his own beheading.In the U.S., President Donald Trump is the head of state and the head of the government. In the U.K., however, Johnson is the head of the government and the queen is head of state.
"Because we are a constitutional monarchy, officially the queen has to make some decisions with regard to Parliament and government, and has to therefore take advice from the prime minister," said Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London.— Britain is a long way past normal. That alone would be very unusual, but it is doubly so because it comes while the House of Commons is trying to deal with Brexit — its biggest crisis in at least a generation.
This means that rather than being contained in one document, it sprawls messily across dusty tomes and reams of legislation. Queen Elizabeth II welcomes newly elected leader of the Conservative Party Boris Johnson at Buckingham Palace on July 24.The"constitution relies on key players respecting precedents and traditions," said Russell at University College London."By ignoring precedent on this matter, particularly at a time of crisis, the prime minister is arguably acting unconstitutionally."
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