Privy Council

Privy Council, one of the oldest organs of the British government, originally created to provide advice to the monarch.

The antecedent of the Privy Council was the medieval Curia Regis, or king’s council, composed of members of the royal household to provide advice to the monarch. By the later Middle Ages the Privy Council had emerged as rival to Parliament in legislative matters—laws could be made either through the King-in-Parliament or through the King-in-Council (that is, through the Privy Council). During the Tudor period the Privy Council was a powerful organ of state, exercising executive and judicial powers (through its judicial wing, the Court of Star Chamber). Parliament supplanted the Privy Council with a Council of State in 1649 (the Court of Star Chamber had been abolished in 1641), but it was restored by Richard Cromwell in 1659. However, the Privy Council never recovered its previous importance. Charles II relied on his Cabal of trusted ministers rather than the Privy Council. William and Mary relied on a smaller group from within the Privy Council (known as the Cabinet Council) for advice. After the Hanoverian succession in 1714, the Cabinet accrued more and more power, and the Privy Council increasingly fell into disuse.

Although meetings of the Privy Council are still held, membership to it (which confers the title of “Right Honourable”) is now for the most part purely honorary. Appointments are made by the monarch on ministerial advice. The Privy Council has more than 500 members, including members of the current and previous governments, senior judicial figures, and members of the royal family. The Privy Council continues to meet, largely to deal with formal matters. It is able to approve orders in council, usually amendments to acts of legislation or charters, drawn up by the Privy Council Office. Members may be summoned before the monarch for largely ceremonial purposes, but most of this work is done by committees of Privy Counsellors, for example, the Universities Committee, concerned with issues relating to institutions of further education. The Privy Council is only convened in full in the event of a monarch’s death or announcement of an intention to marry.

The Privy Council Office (PCO) is a department of government, headed by the Lord President of the Council (since 2003, Baroness Amos of Brondesbury, who also serves as Leader of the House of Lords). It is principally concerned with affairs relating to royal proclamations and the administration of chartered bodies. These are institutions created by Royal Charter, and include universities, charities, professional bodies (such as the Engineering Council), and cultural organizations (such as the British Film Institute). The PCO also has responsibilities with regard to regulatory bodies, such as the General Medical Council and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Amendments to university constitutions and statutes may also fall within the remit of the PCO. The PCO is also responsible for the appointment of high sheriffs (unpaid, largely ceremonial posts) in most counties of England.

The judicial committee of the PCO, which sits in the Privy Council Chamber of Number 10, Downing Street, serves as the court of final appeal for British overseas territories and for a number of members of the Commonwealth of Nations (see also Caribbean Court of Justice). Members of the Judicial Committee include the Lord Chancellor, Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (who also serve as appeal judges in the House of Lords), Privy Counsellors with backgrounds as senior members of the legal profession, and Privy Counsellors who sit in superior courts in Commonwealth member states. The judicial committee also has some jurisdiction over questions of devolution in the United Kingdom.