The role of the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II Introduction: As the head of the UK which was the founder of the system known as constitutional monarchy，Queen Elizabeth II is remarkable around the world. However，the role she plays as a monarch is unclear to some people. So My research paper focuses on the major function of the British Monarch，Queen Elizabeth II. I will expound it from four parts: her reflection of historical continuity, her ceremonial responsibility, her function of keeping solidarity, and her main political rights. Then I will briefly introduce some challenges Queen Elizabeth II is meeting. At last，I will give my own opinion upon the topic about the role of the queen. The character of the monarch nowadays in Britain is that she or he is just a symbolic sovereign. Nominally，Queen Elizabeth II is the head and generalissimo of the state.
Formally，She can appoint and dismiss officials，summon、prorogue and dissolve the Parliament，consent bills and so on. However，all those she can do are done normally at the request of the Prime Minister or the Parliament. Actually，the function of the Queen isn’t the same as what we think.
1、 Firstly，Queen Elizabeth II，as head of state, reflects the historical continuity of the British political system. Just as Edmund Burke said，the regime of Britain is authorized by customs，and the only authority is the long history behind it. （George 300）In British people’s minds, the existence of the monarch presents the authority of the history-- the monarch is the ruler of the sate all over the British history. Queen Elizabeth II plays a role as the symbol of the traditional British political system. She preserves the power and authority of the state system in her people’s hearts.
2、 Secondly，Queen Elizabeth II takes the ceremonial responsibility as a head of the state. She, as the head of the county, often goes to hospitals，schools and factories to visit her people. She presents in many important ceremonies. She represents the UK to go to other countries to visit their heads，showing their mutual good relationship. She also plays hostess to other countries’ leaders or diplomats who are visiting the UK. She receives credentials presented by foreign diplomatic representatives. She should conclude treaties，declares wars，makes peaces，and recognizes foreign states and government after the Prime Minister and his cabinet have made a decision. All in all，she is the representative of the country. She does a lot of ceremonial things to preserve the country’s reputation in the hearts of her people and the people all over the world.
3、 Thirdly, Queen Elizabeth II plays an important role to preserve the solidarity among the nations of British Commonwealth. At present, the leaders of the majority of nations of the British Commonwealth are nominated by their own state. The other nations’ head is Queen Elizabeth II. She is the mutual leader of the 54 nations. She attends the meeting for the heads of Government of the British Commonwealth to exchange and hear views. She often visits the countries of the British Commonwealth. As colonies of Britain before the World War II, even now , the economy，culture and politic of these nations are still intimately related to Britain. She is like a symbol to remind these countries：we used to be parts of Britain, and we should be together. In many British people’s hearts, Queen Elizabeth II is the symbol of solidarity.
4、 Ultimately，in her political life，Queen Elizabeth II has three rights ：
the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn. The right to be consulted means that the Prime Minister should consult the queen for some affairs. However，the queen only gives the advice，and the decision still depends on the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The right to encourage means that she confers peerages，knighthoods and other honors on the noble or some prominent people on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The right to warn means that if the queen reckons that some behaviors of the government are inappropriate，she can warn the government to stop or to correct them. But this situation seldom happens.
In conclusion，Queen Elizabeth II is a monarch with limited power. Although having many rights which be exerted not freely，she is restricted by the Prime Minister and the Parliament. She should take responsibility to her behavior because she represents the whole country. Actually，She is a symbol of the state more than a ruler. However，the status of Queen Elizabeth II is meeting some challenges now. Firstly，many people in Britain，especially the young，are doubting the social function of the British royal court，including Queen Elizabeth II. They think that the UK will be OK without the queen and the royalty. (陈 8) Secondly，they are considering that whether it is worth spending so much money on the queen and her royalties, especially now the whole country being in the trouble of economic crisis. Thirdly，the increasing number of scandals of the royalty cause bad impression on the people. Queen Elizabeth II is implicated, too. I am not a British person，but I still have my won opinion about the importance of Queen Elizabeth II. As the UK is controlled by political parties，Queen Elizabeth II who has no political power，seems more impartial than any other interest groups. She
represents the interest of whole people in the nation，which includes different classes，hierarchies，blocs and parties. (王 14)She is the symbol of the impartiality of the society，the unity of the country and the solidarity of the nation，and she gives her people great spiritual strength. In this case，Queen Elizabeth II is of the essence to the kingdom，and the country can not be without her role. All in all, Queen Elizabeth II reigns，but not rules. She reflects the historical continuity of British political system；she takes the ceremonial responsibility；she keeps the solidarity of British Commonwealth ；and she can exercise three main political rights. Although she，with her royalty，is meeting some challenge now，she is still quite important and essential to the UK..