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From my understanding, the Crown's role is largely symbolic in UK in reality.

Is the monarch privy to any UK state secrets that normal non-government civilians wouldn't be privy to? Does the Queen get automatic security clearance?

user4012
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  • While it's sort of true, she still has the power to dissolve Government when she see's fit. That's why the Prime Minister has to go to her first before calling elections or standing down. – mickburkejnr Sep 13 '17 at 09:52
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    Does the Queen get automatic security clearance?

    The Queen in the ultimate source of authority on who gets access to state secrets. The Queen doesn't get "automatic security clearance" because she doesn't need it. Nothing that Her Majesty's Government produces could possibly be denied to her. Furthermore, the purpose of clearance is to determine if a person is trustworthy enough to possess the information. Under the British model of government, the sovereign is inherently trustworthy.

     – MJeffryes Sep 13 '17 at 11:58
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    @MJeffryes It's reasonable to assume that there might be operational information that the monarch (not the Crown, which is a slightly more nebulous construct) isn't privy to. Although finding any evidence would be difficult, and is likely to slide into things like the rumours surrounding Edward VIII. – origimbo Sep 13 '17 at 12:12
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    @origimbo Sure, just as ministers don't know every operational detail. But it's not because they lack clearance, it's just that it isn't necessary for them to know it. Incidentally, MPs and judges also aren't subject to vetting, and do not require security clearance either, to view classified material. – MJeffryes Sep 13 '17 at 12:37
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    Which again isn't to say they aren't watched: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/19/exclusive-mi5-opened-file-jeremy-corbyn-amid-concerns-ira-links/ – origimbo Sep 13 '17 at 13:00
  • @mickburkejnr Not any more. Since 2011, dissolution happens automatically 17 days before a General Election. And a General Election happens either after a set time, or after being triggered by 2/3 of the Commons calling for an early one, or if the Government loses the confidence of the Commons and nobody else can form a government within 14 days. In any of those cases though, the dissolution is automatic, and the Act even goes so far as to say "Parliament cannot otherwise be dissolved" -- I guess to make absolutely clear that the Royal Prerogative to dissolve is gone. – owjburnham Jun 24 '19 at 11:35
  • @origimbo The Queen is/was Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and every officer swears an oath to obey her commands. The Queen (since 8 September the King) also chairs the Privy Council - made up of former and current cabinet ministers and other notable persons, who can in emergencies, take short-term decisions outside of parliament. – WS2 Sep 21 '22 at 19:56

2 Answers2

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There has been public confirmation that the Queen (and also Prince Charles) is on the standard circulation list for Cabinet memoranda. More directly, information about things like security arrangements for the royal family are obviously not for public consumption.

origimbo
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  • Do you know if anyone on the royal staff also sees this information, like their private secretaries? –  Sep 13 '17 at 11:02
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    The Queen holds weekly audiences with The Prime Minister too. I'm sure classified information may come up in those. – Martin Smith Sep 13 '17 at 11:22
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If you've not watched the Netflix series The Crown, I highly suggest you do so. Of particular note is the Red Box that the Queen gets almost every day

These boxes contain Cabinet and Foreign and Commonwealth Office documents, most of which the monarch must sign and give Royal Assent to, before they can become law.

Remember, the Queen is literally the UK government. So a better question here isn't

What secrets is she privy to?

but

Is there anything that cannot be disclosed to the Queen?

As the government of the UK, the answer seems to be "No". That having been said, I'm not sure they necessarily give her a briefing of every state secret either.

Machavity
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    Your reframing of the question is a difficult one. In some senses the monarch is the CEO of the corporation of the United Kingdom and there might be information that can't be made available to the natural person regardless of their position. There's documentary evidence that the government tapped Edward VIII's communications before he abdicated in 1936 and I'm certain this wouldn't have been revealed to him if he'd asked. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/10073461/Intelligence-files-Edward-VIII-bugged-by-own-Government-as-he-prepared-to-abdicate.html – origimbo Sep 13 '17 at 15:17
  • @origimbo Fair enough, but in that case you're talking about a head of state acting in a way that could damage the state (at least in terms of image). It's also fair to note that in 1936 eavesdropping was a matter of picking up the switchboard phone and listening in (something I suspect was a far more common occurrence). Either way, it's an edge case involving the smooth operations of the State itself (you really don't want to be blindsided by an abdication). – Machavity Sep 13 '17 at 15:24
  • E.g. does she know how many nuclear weapons the UK has and what their targets are? How much did she know about the Falklands war? – Martin Schröder Sep 13 '17 at 20:39
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    @Martin Schröder she knows everything she wants. And even more, contrary to the propaganda, she is not a figurehead and actually actively engaged in politics. She just does not make her political positions public (that would undermine the monarchy, those who did so, quickly lost the crowns), and she usually does not use her formal powers (veto, firing powers etc) because she communicates her wishes privately and everyone concerned knows what she wishes and acts accordingly, she simply does not need to use her formal powers. – Anixx Sep 14 '17 at 12:35
  • The Queen chairs the Privy Council - made up of former and current cabinet ministers, who hold office under oath of secrecy. In emergencies extra-parliamentary decisions can be taken by Order in Council - that is the Queen together with a certain small number of Privy Councillors - of whom there are more than 1,000. The security services, MI5 and MI6 also serve under royal authority. – WS2 Sep 21 '22 at 20:00
  • The idea that the King is monarch by divine right - which Charles I claimed, before Parliament cut his head off - has never been abolished, and all laws, and obedience thereto is in the name of the monarch. Though the Bill of Rights of 1689 has ensured that no monarch in the more than 300 years since, has ever been able to overrule parliament. – WS2 Sep 21 '22 at 20:07