effect on 1 January 1973. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020. The Crown The British monarch, currently Charles III, is the Head of state of the United Kingdom. Though he takes little direct part in government, the Crown remains the fount in which ultimate executive power over government lies. These powers are known as royal prerogative and can be used for a vast amount of things, such as the issue or withdrawal of passports, to the dismissal of the prime minister or even the declaration of war. The powers are delegated from the monarch personally, in the name of the Crown, and can be handed to various ministers, or other officers of the Crown, and can purposely bypass the consent of Parliament. The head of His Majesty's Government, the prime minister, also has weekly meetings with the sovereign, where he may express his feelings, warn, or advise the prime minister in the government's work. According to the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, the monarch has the following powers: Domestic powers The power to dismiss and appoint a prime minister The power to dismiss and appoint other ministers The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament The power to grant or refuse Royal Assent to bills (making them valid and law) The power to commission officers in the Armed Forces The power to command the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom The power to appoint members to the King's Counsel The power to issue and withdraw passports The power to grant prerogative of mercy (though capital punishment is abolished, this power is still used to change sentences) The power to grant honours The power to create corporations via Royal charter Foreign powers The power to ratify and make treaties The power to declare war and peace The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas The power to recognise states The power to credit and receive diplomats Executive Executive power in the United Kingdom is exercised by the Sovereign, King Charles III, via His Majesty's Government and the devolved national authorities - the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. His Majesty's Government The monarch appoints a Prime Minister as the head of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the House of Commons most likely to