Monarchy:

The British political system is a constitutional monarchy where the supreme power held by the
monarch is largely ceremonial and formal, with actual political power exercised by others. In
the United Kingdom, the monarch has constitutional duties including the state opening of
parliament; the appointment of the prime minister; the approval of parliamentary legislation; the
approval of official appointments; the approval of secondary legislation through the privy
council; representational duties as head of state such as paying and receiving state visits to and
from other heads of state; receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors; and regular
confidential audiences with the prime minister. In addition to these duties, the monarch is also
the head of the armed forces; the head of the judiciary; the head of the civil service; and the
supreme governor of the Church of England. Besides, the monarch is also the fount of honour,
and all honours are awarded in his or her name though most are awarded on the advice of the
government with notable exceptions.
Cabinet:
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the team of 20 or so most senior ministers in the
Government who are chosen by the Prime Minister to lead on specific policy areas such as
Health, Transport, Foreign Affairs or Defence.
Obviously, no government wants an important member of its party to start criticising it. This
would lead to divisions in the party. Therefore, the leading politicians in the governing party
usually become members of the cabinet, where they are tied to government policy by the
convention of collective responsibility.
The cabinet meets once a week and takes decisions about new policies, the implementation of
existing policies and the running of the various government departments. Because all
government members must be seen to agree, exactly who says what at these meetings is a
closely guarded secret.
The final responsibility of ministers is to Parliament. The knowledge that any departmental
action may be reported to and examined in Parliament discourages the taking of arbitrary and
ill-considered decisions. On assuming office ministers must resign directorships in private and
public companies and must order their affairs so that there is no conflict between public duties
and private interests.