Privy Council

The Queen presides over meetings of the Privy Council. At these, among other things, Orders in Council made under the Royal Prerogative or under statute are approved. The Royal Prerogative mainly comprises executive government ­powers controlled by constitutional conventions (rules which are not part of the law, but which are regarded as indispensable to the machinery of government).

In nearly all cases acts involving the Royal Prerogative are performed by Ministers who are responsible to Parliament and can be questioned about policies. Parliament has the power to abolish or restrict a prerogative right.

In addition to being informed and consulted about all aspects of national life, the Queen is free to put forward her own views, in private, for the consideration of her Ministers.

What does the Union Jack stand for and how should it be flown?

The flag of Britain, commonly known as the Union Jack (which derives from the use of the Union Flag on the jack-staff of naval vessels), embodies the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign. The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints:

the red cross of St. George, for England, on a white ground;

the white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground;

the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.

The final version of the Union Flag appeared in 1801, following the union of Great Britain with Ireland, with the inclusion of the cross of St Patrick. The cross remains in the flag although now only Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.

­Wales is not represented in the Union Flag because, when the first version of the flag appeared, Wales was already united with England. The national flag of Wales, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from the 15th century and is widely used throughout the Principality.

The Union Flag should be flown with the broader diagonal band of white uppermost in the hoist (near the pole) and the narrower diagonal band of white uppermost in the fly (furthest from the pole).