The government memos discovered by The Guardian allegedly revealed that the Queen’s own private lawyer, Matthew Farrer, put pressure on ministers to make a change to an upcoming piece of legislation back in the 1970s.
The companies Bill also stated that Queen Elizabeth has a shareholder and It included a clause granting directors the right to demand from any nominees owning shares in their company the identities of their clients.
According to the IBT “Queen Elizabeth II has the ability to influence British laws through a parliamentary procedure called the Queen’s consent, which requires ministers to inform her about any legislation that may affect her private interests or may impact the royal prerogative before it is brought before parliament.
“I have spoken to Mr Farrer,” The Guardian quoted a civil servant called CM Drukker as writing on Nov. 9. “As I had recalled he – or rather, I think, his clients – are quite as concerned over the risk of disclosure to directors of a company as to shareholders and the general public. He justifies this not only because of the risk of inadvertent or indiscreet leaking to other people but more basically because disclosure to any person would be embrrasing.
The Guardian reached out to Buckingham Palace regarding the change in law but did not receive a response.
But a rep for Queen Elizabeth issued a statement saying, “Queen’s consent is a parliamentary process, with the role of sovereign purely formal. Consent is always granted by the monarch were requested by government.”
“Whether Queen’s consent is required is decided by parliament, independently from the royal household, in matters that would affect crown interests, including personal property and personal interests of the monarch,” the statement continued. “If consent is required, draft legislation is, by convention, put to the sovereign to grant solely on advice of ministers and as a matter of public record.”