The Sovereign

Her Majesty the Queen ascended the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. She is the elder daughter of HM King George VI. As Queen she is Sovereign of Australia and all government, justice and national defence is carried out in her name. An oath of allegiance to the Queen is a fundamental criterion of membership in the Australian body politic. She stands above all political matters. Although the Queen is usually resident in the UK, her presence wherever it may be, ensures that the machinations of overbearing politicians are ultimately kept in check as she remains the ultimate check on procedural correctness.

Governor-General

The Sovereign is represented throughout Australia by the Governor-General (see separate section) who is appointed by her on the advice of her Prime Minister and in each state she is represented by a Governor who is again appointed by her on the advice of her State Premier. All Governors and Governors-General are Australian citizens. Whilst in office the Governor-General is in effect the head of state and performs all national regal functions in the absence of the monarch. The Queen is kept abreast of affairs by her Governor-General. Only the Queen can remove a Governor or Governor-General from his post.

Royal Assent

The Governor-General may reserve a parliamentary bill "for the Queen's pleasure"; that is withhold his consent to the bill and present it to the sovereign for her personal decision. Under the constitution, the Sovereign also has the power to disallow a bill within one year of the Governor-General having granted Royal Assent.This power, however, has never been used nor would be as the Queen always accepts the advice of her ministers but it might be suggested that Royal Prerogatives exist as warnings to those who might prefer to ignore or deviously subvert the checks and balances our system of governance has in place to protect us.

The Queen as a Person

Although she is often physically distant, close contact with Australia and Australians is maintained either through vice-regal briefings and government communiques or from individual Australians writing to her or those who are fortunate enough to meet her in person. Her visits to Australia have over the years given her a comprehensive understanding of the country.

The Queen is a practising Christian and, since the Church of England is Britain's established religion, by law she is required to be the Supreme Governor of that Church. However, Australia has no established religion and the monarch plays no formal part in the Anglican Church of Australia.