The Queen's Legal Powers - A Quiz
The platinum jubilee marks the first time a monarch has ever reached 70 years on the throne! As part of the celebrations I have made a mini quiz to guess what legal powers the Queen does and does not have!
True or false? No member of the royal family needs a driving license.
FALSE! It’s just the Queen who doesn’t need a driver’s license, and she also doesn’t need a number plate to drive.
True or false? The Queen doesn’t need a passport.
TRUE! Her majesty does not need one when travelling because they are issued under her name. Logic means that there is no requirement for her to grant herself one!
True or false? The Queen has her own private cash machine in the basement of Buckingham palace?
TRUE! It is supplied to her by Coutts her bank, but it is unknown if she has ever used it. There is also said to be a Post Office, doctor’s surgery and swimming pool at Buckingham Palace too!
True or false? The Queen doesn’t have to obey any speed limits.
TRUE! This is because she is often driven around by police on official duty, and under the Road Traffic Regulation Act they have permission to break speed limits.
True or false? The Queen owns all the swans, dolphins and wales in British waters.
TRUE! But contrary to popular belief, the Queen only exercises this right for the unmarked mute swans in certain parts of the River Thames around Windsor. The ownership of wales and dolphins is based on statute from the 1300s issued by King Edward II! In the UK there are 30 different types of species of whales and dolphins, with the most commonly seen to be the Bottlenose and Risso’s dolphin and Humpback, Fin and Minke whales.
True or false? The Queen is immune from prosecution?
TRUE! This is because she has Sovereign Immunity, which was last seen in court when King George V was accused of bigamy! Also under the Halbury’s Laws of England no civil proceedings can be carried out against her staff as no arrests can be made in the Monarch’s presence or near the verges of the palace!
True or false… the Queen has to take part in jury duty?
FALSE! She does not have to take part in jury duty along with other members of the immediate royal family!
True or false? The Queen has missed doing the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day three times?
FALSE! The Queen has only missed the event once as there had been a special documentary about the Royal family that had been aired that summer and she was concerned that the family had received too much attention in the spotlight. She wrote a letter instead.
True or false? The Queen has never had any other dogs apart from Corgis?
FALSE! While the Queen has had over 30 Corgis in her lifetime, she has also had other breeds of dogs. Currently she has a Coker Spaniel called Lissy, and a Dorgi called Candy, which is a cross between a dachshund and a corgi! She got her first corgi, Susan, as an 18th birthday present!
Wishing everyone a wonderful jubilee celebration, and I hope you enjoy the long weekend!
By Olivia Voaden