 Membership is conferred for life . Formerly , the death of a monarch ( " demise of the Crown " ) brought an immediate dissolution of the Council , as all Crown appointments automatically lapsed . By the 18th century , it was enacted that the Council would not be dissolved until up to six months after the demise of the Crown . By convention , however , the sovereign would reappoint all members of the Council after its dissolution . In practice , therefore , membership continued without a break . In 1901 the law was changed to ensure that Crown Appointments became wholly unaffected by any succession of monarch . 
