© Richard Randall

Caribbean

Sundries

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Prime Minister and other Commonwealth leaders.

It has been rumoured that her recent trip to Canada and Australia will be amongst her last visits to her Commonwealth Realms, though both the Canadian and Australian governments and the Palace have denied it.

Buckingham Palace is considering giving the Prince more access to government papers, and is to allow him to preside over more investitures, meet more foreign dignitaries and take the place of the Queen in welcoming ambassadors at the Court of St. James's.

If the Queen lives until 2008, she will become the oldest reigning monarch in both British and the Commonwealth Realms' history, surpassing King George III and Queen Victoria, both of whom died before the age of 82.

Should she still be reigning on September 9, 2015 at the age of 89, her reign will surpass that of Queen Victoria and she will become the longest reigning monarch in British history. If she lives that long, and the Prince of Wales does as well, he would be the oldest to succeed to the throne, passing William IV, who was 64.

Views and perceptions

Elizabeth is a conservative in matters of religion, moral standards and family matters. She has a strong sense of religious duty and takes seriously her Coronation Oath. This is one reason (as well as the example set by her abdicated uncle) why it is considered highly unlikely that she will ever abdicate. For years she refused to acknowledge Prince Charles's relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles but since their marriage an appearance of acceptance has been established.

Elizabeth's political views are supposed to be less clear-cut, as she has never said or done anything in public to reveal what they might be. However there is some evidence to suggest that in economic terms she leans toward the liberal point of view. During the Thatcher era it was rumoured that she criticised Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher for being "uncaring" toward the poor [citation needed]. She preserves cordial relations with politicians of all parties. It is believed that her favourite Prime Ministers have been Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson [citation needed]. She was thought to have very good relations with her current Prime Minister, Tony Blair, during the first years of his term in office; however, there has been mounting evidence in recent months that her relationship with Blair has hardened. She reportedly feels that he does not keep her informed well enough on affairs of state [citation needed].

The only public issues on which Elizabeth makes her views known are those affecting the unity of each of her Realms. She has spoken in favour of the continued union of England and Scotland, angering some Scottish nationalists. Her statement of praise for the Northern Ireland Belfast Agreement raised some complaints among some Unionists in the Democratic Unionist Party who opposed the agreement, Ian Paisley calling her a parrot of Tony Blair. Also, while not speaking directly against Quebec Sovereignty in Canada, she has publicly praised Canada's unity and expressed her wish to see the continuation of a unified Canada. However, during a separatist referendum campaign she was tricked into speaking, in both French and English, for fourteen minutes with 29-year-old Pierre Brassard, a DJ for Radio CKOI-FM Montreal, pretending to be then Canadian Prime Minister Jean ChrÈtien. She pointedly refused to accept "ChrÈtien"'s advice that she intervene on the issue without first seeing a draft speech sent by him. (Her tactful handling of the call won plaudits from the DJ who made it.)

Her personal relationships with world leaders are warm and informal. On a BBC documentary broadcast in 2002 she was shown teasing a former Prime Minister (Sir Edward Heath) about how he could travel to world trouble spots like Iraq because politicians saw him as "expendable". (He laughed at the comment.) Mary McAleese, now President of Ireland recounted how as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Queen's University of Belfast she was, to her shock, invited to a lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, on the basis that the Queen wished to talk to her, as a leading Northern Ireland nationalist, and hear her views on Anglo–Irish relations. The two women struck up an instant rapport, with McAleese, during the 1997 Irish presidential election, calling the Queen "a dote" (a Hiberno-English term meaning a 'really lovely person') in an Irish Independent interview. Nelson Mandela in the BBC documentary repeatedly referred to her as "my friend, Elizabeth". She has a very friendly relationship with Jacques Chirac of France, who is the only Head of State allowed to drink his favoured Corona-brand beer at official dinners at Buckingham Palace instead of the fine French wines of the Palace's cellar.

Queen Elizabeth has never suffered from severe public disapproval. However, in 1997 she and other members of the Royal Family were perceived as cold and unfeeling when they were seen not to participate in the public outpouring of grief at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. This brought sharp criticism from the normally royalist tabloid press.

It is widely believed that Elizabeth held negative feelings towards Diana and thought that she had done immense damage to the monarchy. However, the sight of the entire Royal Family bowing to Diana's coffin as it passed Buckingham Palace, together with a rare live television broadcast by Queen Elizabeth, readdressed the public grief. Elizabeth's change of attitude is believed to have resulted from strong advice from the Queen Mother and Tony Blair. Many biographers of both the Queen and Diana agree that there indeed was a fondness between the two women; however, the Queen did not always understand Diana's motivations.

Elizabeth's public image has noticeably softened in recent years, particularly since the death of the Queen Mother. Although she remains reserved in public, she has been seen laughing and smiling much more than in years past, and to the shock of many she has been seen to shed tears during emotional occasions such as at Remembrance Day services, the memorial service at St. Paul's Cathedral for those killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks and in Normandy, France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where, for the first time, she addressed the Canadian troops.

Constitutional role

Role in government

Constitutionally, the Queen is an essential part of the legislative process of her Realms. The Queen-in-Parliament (the Queen, acting with the advice and consent of Parliament), in each country, is an integral part of Parliament, along with the upper and lower houses. In all of her realms outside of the United Kingdom, her participation is limited to the appointment of representatives within the realm in question, usually a Governor-General, who exercise executive power in a fashion closely resembling her own exercise of power within the United Kingdom.

In practice, much of the Queen's role in the legislative process is ceremonial, as her reserve powers are rarely exercised. For example, the Queen may legally grant or withhold Royal Assent to Bills, but no monarch has refused his or her assent to a Bill since 1708. In realms outside of the United Kingdom the Queen will only grant assent to a bill when personally present within the realm, otherwise delegating the power to her designated representative in the realm. The Queen, or her Governors-General in the realms outside the United Kingdom, also gives a speech at the annual State Opening of Parliament, outlining the government's legislative agenda for the year, but the speech is written by government ministers and reflects the view of the elected government.

The Queen also has a functional role in executive government. In the United Kingdom, she chooses her prime minister in accordance with constitutional requirements. In her realms outside the United Kingdom, this power is exercised by her representatives. In reality no actual choice is required as the issue of whom to ask to form a government is clear from who controls the House of Commons, except in exceptional circumstances. She also decides

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