ROYAL PREROGATIVE
WHAT THE KING CAN DO. The King of England is, as Sovereign of the British. Empire, automatically invested with a number of special “prerogatives” (writes Horace Wyndham in tho Landmark). From his position the sovereign is constitutionally above the law. “The King can do no wrong” is a legal axiom, and one to which there is no exception. His Majesty’s person is absolutely free front arrest. He can neither be sued nor required to give evidence. As, too, he is above the judges, so he has the power of remitting any punishment imposed on an erring subject. A curious consequence of the King’s legal position is that he is debarred from furnishing information that could lead to the arrest of a criminal. There is a simple reason for this. It is that nobody can be both judge and prosecutor. In theory, however, he is always present in court, and indictments are accordingly worded as being “against the peace of our sovereign Lord the King, his Crown and Dignity.” The King has a large and varied number of “personal prerogatives.” One of these enables him to issue a writ restraining any subject from leaving the realm; and he can also recall a subject from abroad. He also has the sole right of printing the Bible within the limits of the United Kingdom, of coining money, and of fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the British Dominion. All land discovered by a British subject in any part of the world belongs in theory to the Crown. Tho King, too, can alter the Royal Standard.and design of the Great Seal, and make peers and confer titles of nobility. As head of the naval and military forces and air forces he can declare war and conclude peace without reference to Parliament; and, finally, as “father of his people,” he is the nominal guardian of all infants and lunatics.
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Bibliographic details
Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1929, Page 16
Word Count
318ROYAL PREROGATIVE Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1929, Page 16
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