UKConstitution

Quora Answer : Why did Queen Elizabeth II approve Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request to prorogue (or suspend) Parliament for almost five weeks ahead of Brexit?

Aug 29, 2019

The standard thing for the Queen to do is whatever the PM asks her.

It would be a dramatic rebellion to refuse to do what the PM asks. And probably spark yet another constitutional crisis. Bad as it it, accepting Boris's request is probably the least disruptive action she could take.

Now, whether that, in turn, shows that the monarchy is really not suitable as a safeguard, or dare I say "backstop", for our political system, is an open question.

Brexit is revealing just how unsuitable our constitutional arrangement is in many ways. We are going to need to overhaul it. And one thing that probably needs to be looked at is whether the monarchy really serves its purpose.

Of course, it's very good to have a non-political head of state that just rubber stamps things. But when should a non-political head of state refuse to rubber-stamp things? How bad does it actually have to get?

If the answer is that it's ALWAYS a rubber stamping operation, then what use is it?