Royal Assent
The granting of Royal Assent is the
method by which the Queen completes the legislative process. The Queen gives
formal agreement to an Act of Parliament, allowing a Bill to pass into law.
The power to withhold Royal Assent remains, although it has rarely been
used: it was last exercised by Queen Anne in 1707, to reject a Bill for the
"settling of Militia in Scotland".
Assent is not given by the monarch in
person but is reported by the Speaker of the Commons and by the Lord Chancellor
in the Lords.
The last time a monarch gave assent in person was in 1854.
The words "La Reyne le vault" are used to give Royal Assent - this is Norman
French and means "the Queen wills it".
See the Royal Assent Act 1967