Royal assent is the final step that turns a bill passed by both Houses of Parliament into an Act of Parliament, and understanding how royal assent works comes down to a short sequence: the monarch signs Letters Patent under the Great Seal approving the bill, the Speaker of each House formally notifies its members, and the bill becomes law at that moment. No bill becomes an Act without it, and the last time a British monarch refused was in 1708.
How the Monarch Signifies Assent
The modern procedure comes from the Royal Assent Act 1967. Assent can be signified by Letters Patent under the Great Seal, signed by the monarch personally, and then notified to each House separately by its Speaker.1Legislation.gov.uk. Royal Assent Act 1967 The sovereign does not have to appear in Parliament or send commissioners. A written instrument, authenticated by the Great Seal, is enough from wherever the monarch happens to be.
The 1967 Act kept the older ceremonial method as an option. When assent is pronounced the traditional way in the House of Lords, the Clerk of the Parliaments reads the titles of the bills and announces the monarch’s approval in Norman French. For an ordinary public bill the formula is Le Roy le veult (“The King wills it”), or La Reyne le veult under a queen. Supply bills, which deal with public spending, receive a longer formula thanking the Commons for their generosity.2UK Parliament. Companion to the Standing Orders – Appendix F Royal Assent by Commission The refusal formula, Le Roy s’avisera (“The King will consider it”), has not been spoken since 1708.3UK Parliament. Royal Assent Bill HL – Hansard Debate
Whichever route is used, the announcement in each House is what puts the assent on the parliamentary record. The Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker announce it during a sitting, the Act receives a chapter number, and it enters the official statute book.
When a Counsellor of State Signs Instead
The monarch does not always have to act personally. Under the Regency Acts 1937–1953, Counsellors of State can exercise royal functions, including granting assent, when the sovereign is ill, abroad, or otherwise unavailable. Counsellors are drawn from senior members of the royal family and are formally appointed through the London Gazette. The legal effect of their signature is identical to the monarch’s own.
King’s Consent Is a Different Thing
King’s Consent (Queen’s Consent under a queen) is often mixed up with royal assent, but it is a separate step that happens before debate rather than after passage. If a bill affects the prerogatives or personal interests of the Crown or the Prince of Wales, the relevant member of the royal family must agree to put those interests at Parliament’s disposal before debate can proceed.4UK Parliament. King’s Consent – MPs’ Guide to Procedure It is not a veto on the bill itself; it is permission for Parliament to discuss the topic. Royal assent comes at the very end and applies to every bill.
When the New Act Actually Takes Effect
A bill becomes an Act the moment royal assent is granted, but that is not always the moment the law starts biting. Three situations are possible:
- If the Act contains no commencement provision, it comes into force at midnight on the day royal assent is given.5UK Parliament. Royal Assent
- The Act itself may name a fixed future date on which its provisions begin to operate.
- The Act may hand a government minister the power to bring different sections into force at different times through secondary legislation called commencement orders.5UK Parliament. Royal Assent
Commencement orders are common for complex legislation. A major reform Act might receive royal assent in one year and not fully take effect until regulations, guidance, and administrative systems catch up. That gap catches people out: an Act can sit on the statute book long before anyone is expected to comply with it.
Royal Assent Without the House of Lords
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 allow certain bills to receive royal assent even if the House of Lords has not agreed to them. Without those Acts, the Lords could block Commons legislation indefinitely.
The rules differ by bill type. Money bills, which raise taxes or authorise public spending, must receive royal assent no later than one month after being sent to the Lords, whether the Lords have passed them or not, and the Lords cannot amend them at all. For most other bills that originate in the Commons, the Lords can delay them for roughly a year; if the Commons reintroduce the bill in the following session and pass it again, it can be sent for royal assent without the Lords’ consent.6UK Parliament. The Parliament Acts
The Parliament Acts do not apply to bills that would extend the life of a Parliament beyond five years, private bills, bills originating in the Lords, or bills sent to the Lords less than a month before the end of a session.6UK Parliament. The Parliament Acts
Can the Monarch Refuse?
In theory, yes. In practice, no. The sovereign acts on ministerial advice rather than personal judgment and is expected to stay politically neutral. Refusing a bill supported by the elected government would trigger a constitutional crisis.
The last refusal came on 11 March 1708, when Queen Anne withheld assent from the Scottish Militia Bill on ministerial advice, at a moment when French forces were sailing toward Scotland for a planned invasion and ministers feared the proposed militia might prove disloyal.7UK Parliament. Royal Assent The bill was met with the formula La Royne s’avisera, and the matter was not revisited.8The Atlantic. The Last Royal Veto More than three centuries without a refusal have hardened the convention into something close to an absolute rule.