Tatiana Maria
Majesty
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2013
- Messages
- 9,015
- City
- St Petersburg
- Country
- United States
A House of Commons Library research briefing by David Torrance examines the rules about members of Parliament discussing the Royal Family.
The briefing includes links to examples and further readings.
A short preview:
The most interesting information is that in the UK, the Government is explicitly not responsible for the actions of members of the Royal Family.
This is the polar opposite of the ministerial responsibility principle in the Netherlands, where Government responsibility for their actions is arguably the defining difference between members of the Royal House and the rest of the population.
The briefing includes links to examples and further readings.
A short preview:
“However, there are some restrictions, which have occasionally led to a misconception that Members of Parliament cannot talk about the Monarch or other members of the Royal Family. These are that:
- criticism of certain individuals can only be made on a substantive motion (one that calls for action or expresses an opinion) and not incidentally
- the King’s name cannot be used to influence debate, and
- questions in Parliament must relate to matters for which Ministers of the Crown are responsible”
The most interesting information is that in the UK, the Government is explicitly not responsible for the actions of members of the Royal Family.
This is the polar opposite of the ministerial responsibility principle in the Netherlands, where Government responsibility for their actions is arguably the defining difference between members of the Royal House and the rest of the population.
“As the Speaker’s Office told Republic in February 2022:
while ministers will be responsible for some things related to members of the Royal family, they are certainly not responsible for their conduct.”
while ministers will be responsible for some things related to members of the Royal family, they are certainly not responsible for their conduct.”
