The monarch stays out of politics. This is one of the most widely accepted nostrums of the modern British constitution. While the crown has huge powers vested in it, they are nowadays held on the understanding that they are exercised only in accordance with the advice and wishes of the elected government.
That the sovereign keeps away from party politics is clear but the true scope of their influence and involvement is a subject of deliberate opacity. While there were moments in the last 70 years when Queen Elizabeth’s intervention has been visible, they are rare. What is little known is the impact she had in her weekly meetings with the prime minister — possibly the only government business which never leaks — or after her daily wade through official papers, both from the UK and the other Commonwealth nations where she remains head of state.
The issue will gain renewed importance because so much more is known about many of King Charles’s views and because he, while Prince of Wales, has been active in promoting his causes with ministers and allowing his opinions to become known — most recently his distaste for the government’s plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda.