what happens to parliament when the monarch dies?

Question

serious answers, law question at college

Answer 1

I understand that it goes into temporary recess out of respect, but only for a very few days, until the Proclamation of Accession takes place.
The Accession Council is a ceremonial body which assembles on the death of a monarch to proclaim his or her successor king or queen and to receive a religious oath from the new monarch.
It is made up of Privy Councillors, Members of the House of Lords, the Lord Mayor of London, the Aldermen of the City of London and the High Commissioners of some Commonwealth countries. The Council meets in St. James's Palace and makes a formal proclamation of the accession of a new monarch, and receives an oath from him or her to uphold the Church of Scotland. This proclamation, though traditional, has no legal force as the succession will have passed automatically to the new monarch under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701.
The Council's Proclamation of Accession, which confirms the name of the heir, is signed by all the attendant Privy Counsellors. The Proclamation is traditionally read out at several traditional locations in London, Edinburgh, Windsor, and York. It is also read at a central location in each town or village. The proclamation is usually worded:

Whereas it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lord King/Lady Queen N (the #th) of Blessed and Glorious Memory by whose Decease the Crown is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Prince/ss N: We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm, being here assisted with these of His/Her late Majesty's Privy Council, with representatives of other members of the Commonwealth, with other Principal Gentlemen of Quality, with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of London, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that the High and Mighty Prince/ss N is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become King/Queen N (the #th), by the Grace of God King/Queen of this Realm and of all His/Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom His/Her lieges do acknowledge all Faith and constant Obedience, with hearty and humble Affection; beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Prince/ss N (the #th) with long and happy Years to reign over us.

The proclamation is not always worded consistently; for instance, on the accession of George VI, the proclamation had to be reworded because Edward VIII had abdicated, rather than died, and "Emperor of India" was added at the end of the list of titles until that title was relinquished by George VI.

The new Sovereign, who is traditionally present, takes an oath to preserve and defend the Church of Scotland. (Queen Elizabeth II was in Kenya when she acceeded to the throne, and the Accession Council therefore met twice, first for the proclamation and again so that the new Queen could take the oath.) The new Sovereign must also take an oath relating to the Church of England, but that is done in the presence of Parliament. This oath, known as the Accession Declaration, runs as follows:

I, N, do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I am a faithful Protestant, and that I will, according to the true intent of the enactments to secure the Protestant Succession to the Throne of my realm, uphold and maintain such enactments to the best of my power.
This oath, first taken by George V in 1910, is a moderated version of the oath which was taken by every monarch since William and Mary II in 1689 until Edward VII in 1901, and which, by the early 20th century, was deemed too overtly anti-Catholic:

I, N, profess, testify, and declare, that I do believe that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any Transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever: and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other Saint, and the Sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do solemnly in the presence of God profess, testify, and declare that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by English Protestants, without any such dispensation from any person or authority or person whatsoever, or without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this declaration or any part thereof, although the Pope, or any other person or persons, or power whatsoever, should dispense with or annul the same or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.
This oath was originally required by the Test Acts to be taken by all members of either house of Parliament, and all civil and military officers. However, following Catholic Emancipation, it later came to be taken only by the Monarch.

Answer 2

Well, the Monarch calls and dissolves Parliament. It wouldn't be let out right-away because Charles would have to "pick his own" coronation date, usually about 12-18 months or so down the road, and that's too long to do without a Parliament. So, I figure Charles (well, hopefully, William) would open it again before his coronation.

5 ~ The Monarch's office is authorised by the Act of Settlement 1701, which gave the descent of the Crown to the Protestant heirs general of Sophia, and the Monarch succeeds to the Crown at the moment the predecessor dies. However, the ratification of that succession which the Monarch's subsequent coronation signifies is not owed to the Act: it is the gift of the people the Monarch is to represent until death. At the coronation, the Sovereign is acclaimed as the choice of Parliament acting for the People, and the coronation oath, whose continuous history can be traced to the time of the Confessor, and whose development embraces the Magna Carta, confirms that the Sovereign's authority is itself subject to the Law (and thus all authority delegated from the Sovereign is subject to the Law).
6 ~ Without the Monarch, Parliament cannot legislate, for although the Royal Assent is given by the three Lords Commissioners for the Monarch, that Assent has first to be authorised by the Monarch. While it is true that the full authority of the Monarch as Sovereign may be attained only with the Three Estates of the Realm assembled in full Parliament, the Monarch will always retain the Royal Prerogatives: to dismiss the prime minister; and to dissolve the Parliament. We have a balance; we have a closed loop; we have a sovereign people. That is the situation today.
http://www.baronage.co.uk/bphtm-01/const-01.html

Answer 3

Surely nothing, as the monarch is nothing to do with Parliament! Also, as soon as one dies, the successor becomes King like a milli-second later, although not coronated.

I suppose there is some protocol though about the new monarch approving Parliament, but in reality, I doubt anything would change as to the day to day running of it.

Answer 4

No. Winston Churchill was Prime Minister for the 3rd time between 1951 and 1955. In 1952 King George died and parliament continued to function.

Answer 5

I don't think anything would happen. Perhaps there would be a ceremony at parlaiment acknowledging the new monach (and of course getting the ropes (worn by the Queen when she opens it at the start of each session) that fit.

I think the new monach would take over all the things the monach does such as opening, parliament, the speech etc. As the powers that the monachy have are actually 'held' by the minsters acting on her behalf

Answer 6

Ask the people who will know

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Answer 7

Nothing changes, as a new monarch is in place the moment one dies. It's the rule of succession.

Answer 8

the monarch, being a mere figurehead would result in no change other than a lowering of flags

Answer 9

I dont think it would do anything to parliament. They crown the next in line.

Answer 10

They continue in session. Much like legislatures in other countries.