Crown
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on the Crown and the monarchy. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 26.11.2012 | Honours for political service |
| This Note examines developments in honours for political service. | |
| 19.06.2012 | PIL: Queen's Speech - proposers and seconders of the Loyal Address since 1900 |
| The Queen's Speech is delivered by the Queen from the Throne in the House of Lords. | |
| 02.02.2012 | Honours |
| This Note sets out the current operation of the Honours system and summarises the results of earlier reviews. | |
| 09.03.2011 | Public records, freedom of information and the Royal Family |
| This Note outlines exemptions in the Freedom of Information act relating to the Royal Family, in addition to outlining attempts to create new exemptions through amendments to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill. Finally, the Note outlines the recommendations of the Dacre Review, for a reduction in the 30 year rule for public records, and related Government proposals. | |
| 24.01.2011 | The Act of Settlement and the Protestant Succession |
| This note sets out the legal background to the rules surrounding the succession and then considers the historical background and context for the limitations on religious beliefs of the monarch and their spouse before looking at how the legislative restrictions could be removed. Lastly, it sets out recent attempts to change the laws of succession. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 19.12.2012 | Succession to the Crown Bill 2012-13 |
| The Succession to the Crown Bill would make changes so that gender would no longer play a part in determining the order of succession to the Crown, and so that a person marrying a Roman Catholic would no longer be barred from becoming or remaining monarch. It would also remove a requirement for descendants of George II to seek permission from the monarch to marry, replacing it with a requirement for the first six people in the line of succession to seek consent if they wish to remain in line to the throne. This Paper discusses the existing rules, the changes proposed by the Bill, and the process among the 16 states of which the Queen is Head of State to make the changes together. | |
| 26.07.2012 | Olympic Britain |
| Olympic Britain tells the story of the profound economic and social change in the UK since the two previous London Olympics, in 1908 and 1948, using statistics and expert analysis. The book can also be browsed using the Parliament website at www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/olympic-britain/ | |
| 12.07.2011 | Sovereign Grant Bill |
| The Sovereign Grant Bill concerns the way in which the monarchy is funded. It seeks to replace the Civil List and other grants that support the Queen's official duties with a new Sovereign Grant, based on a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate. The new grant is designed to deliver at first a broadly similar level of finance in cash terms to what is available at present. There are mechanisms for adjusting the level in future, and for using any significant surplus as a means to reduce the grant. The Sovereign Grant is intended to be a typical government grant that will lead to the royal finances being audited by the National Audit Office, and subjected to full parliamentary scrutiny. | |
| 17.03.2009 | Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill |
| 23.04.2002 | Queen and country fifty years on: facts and figures for the Golden Jubilee 2002. |
| Queen and Country Fifty Years On: facts and figures for the Golden Jubilee 2002. House of Commons Library Research Paper 02/28. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 09.06.2010 | Management of the Crown Estate. |
| Government response. Treasury Select Committee; Treasury report [Commons] | |
| 23.03.2010 | Crown dependencies. |
| Justice Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 22.03.2010 | Management of the Crown Estate. |
| Treasury Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 27.04.2009 | Maintaining the occupied royal palaces. |
| Public Accounts Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 23.11.2011 | CONDUCT OF HRH DUKE OF EDINBURGH |
| That this House regrets the comments of HRH Duke of Edinburgh on wind farms; and believes that such comments reinforce the wisdom of the convention that members of the Royal Family ... | |
| 26.10.2011 | CONDOLENCES TO THE PEOPLE OF SAUDI ARABIA ON THE DEATH OF CROWN PRINCE SULTAN BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD |
| That this House sends the King and people of Saudi Arabia sincere condolences for the loss of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. | |
| 13.07.2011 | VISIT TO ISRAEL |
| That this House would welcome a decision by Her Majesty the Queento visit the state of Israel, given Israel's long ties with the UK and in particular Prime Minister Balfour, who originally ... | |
| 07.06.2011 | TROOPING THE COLOUR CEREMONY 2011 |
| That this House looks forward to the 2011 Trooping the Colour ceremony on Saturday 11 June to mark the Official Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; notes with pride that the ... | |
| 18.05.2011 | 90th BIRTHDAY OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE PHILIP THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH |
| That this House congratulates His Royal Highness Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of his 90th birthday; acknowledges his unwavering support of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 11.02.2013 | Succession to the Crown Bill (HL Bill 81 of 2012-13) |
| The Succession to the Crown Bill makes changes to the laws of succession to the Crown. This Library Note summarises the proceedings which have taken place on the Bill during its passage through the House of Commons, ahead of the Bill's second reading debate in the House of Lords on 14 February 2013. |
