As the monarch, Queen Elizabeth's constitutional role is to represent the country to the world. As her forefathers have done before her, the monarch has to stay away from politics and remain politically neutral to gain the support, which the royal family need, of both political sides.
During the transition of power between the outgoing and incoming Prime Minister, the Queen's constitutional role is to accept one resignation and invite the new leader of the Parliament to form a government under her name. This has been the process with all 14 of her Prime Ministers but her sensitive position has come into question with the General Elections on Dec. 12.
According to reports, the possibility of a hung parliament might arise once again after the General Election and it could put the Queen at a challenging predicament. However, this will not be the first time for Queen Elizabeth to deal with such a situation.
A hung parliament also took place in 2010 when David Cameron of the Liberals won 306 seats but she still managed to remain political neutral. During that time, both parties did not win the majority but Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Labour was resigned to the fact that he had to leave 10 Downing Street soon since Cameron had more votes.
According to reports, Brown was heavily criticized for not vacating his office despite his lost. Labour party leader Peter Mandelson wanted him to rush to tell the Queen of his resignation while Liberal party leader Nick Clegg wanted him to stay on until a coalition government was agreed upon.
Nearly 10 years since this happened, new reports now emerged that Brown might have done this to protect Queen Elizabeth. According to political commentators, Brown might have thought of staying in office until there was a clear successor and a clear government so that the Queen's position as a politically neutral monarch is not compromised. After all, the outgoing Prime Minister has a duty to tell the Queen whom she should appoint as the successor.
Meanwhile, royal aides told CNN that when his time as the King of England comes, Prince Charles, who is vocal about his thoughts on many political issues like Climate Change, might also cease to express his opinions. When he is the monarch, he could follow in the example of his mother to never give the public any hint of where she sides with the issues.
