Read the text about the Queen and complete the gaps with the missing words. Write ONE word only.

The Queen

The United Kingdom is a union of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its (1 p.) of government in London, the capital, and is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the (1 p.) of state. The monarch of the UK also serves as head of state of fifteen other Commonwealth realm countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states.

According to the law the Queen is the head of the E (1 p.) branch of the government, an integral part of the (1 p.) , head of the (1 p.) , the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown and the 'supreme governor’ of the established Church of England.

The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties. As a constitutional monarch, the Queen is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours.

The Queen officially has numerous Royal Prerogatives (powers vested in the monarch), e.g. the (1 p.) of the Parliament, the (1 p.) of war, the (1 p.) of elections, the (1 p.) and (1 p.) of ministers, the (1 p.) and the (1 p.) of passports. However, in reality, they have been passed to politicians. They enable decisions to be taken without the backing of, or consultation with, Parliament. In practice, the Queen must follow the advice of government ministers.
The Royal Prerogative has only been used 13 times since 1947 to refuse passports, the last being 1976.

The UK has a constitutional monarchy – not an (1 p.) monarchy. This means that the monarchy is apolitical and impartial. The work that it does in politics is largely symbolic. The work of the monarch within the remit of the royal prerogative is seen as being on behalf of elected ministers.

In the 19th century Walter Bagehot described the monarchy as being “symbolic and ceremonial” but with little actual power. Now this is even more true. “The Queen reigns but does not (1 p.) ”.