Why Queen Elizabeth II Can Get Away With Murder

As the ruler of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, Queen Elizabeth II possesses vast powers and enjoys privileges that even other heads of state do not. For instance, Her Majesty does not need any passport when traveling abroad, nor is she required to have a driver’s license when she’s behind the wheel in the UK.

But perhaps the true measure of her vast powers is in the fact that she can’t be sued. In fact, Her Majesty can commit any crime, including murder, and still get away with it legally. However, there are different opinions as to why this is the case.

According to the TodayIFoundOut site, Queen Elizabeth can kill anyone if she felt like it and theoretically get off scot-free. Of course it’s not likely going to happen as she’s not the type of violent, blood-thirsty monarch of old. But in case it happens, she’ll still escape prosecution due to her sovereign immunity.

“In a nutshell, sovereign, or crown immunity as it is sometimes known, means that the Queen is for all intents and purposes above the law,” the site wrote. Thus, in theory, she’ll absolutely be able to get away with murder.

The site also noted that, aside from her sovereign immunity, she enjoys diplomatic immunity as well. However, actual diplomats would never go on a killing in their countries despite enjoying the immunity since they’ll be facing prosecution at home if they do so. Thus, the best they could probably do with a diplomatic immunity is flout some traffic rules.

However, the Queen is unlike a mere diplomat. Even if she kills someone in a foreign territory, she won’t be facing charges when she returns to the UK.

Meanwhile, the question “Can the Queen of UK be prosecuted in UK courts?” was posted on Quora and resulted to a few interesting answers. For instance, Quora user Dave Rowlands agrees that Her Majesty can’t be prosecuted, but it’s not because of the various immunities she enjoys.

“No, the Queen cannot be prosecuted for any crime — and it is not due to ‘sovereign immunity’ as some writers have suggested,” Rowlands wrote. “Under the UK constitution, the monarch is the Fount of Justice: all justice derives from them, and they are responsible for its execution; centuries ago, monarchs would even pass judgement in person, acting as an ultimate court of appeal.”

Another Quora user, Ian Jackson, clarified that one can’t sue the Queen as a person. “So you can sue her majesty government but you cannot sue her,” he wrote.

“This means that the Queen can murder someone and not be charged. Of course if she did so there would be an act of parliament that not only fired her, but stripped any future monarch of such immunity but, she still would not face prosecution since it was not illegal when the act was committed,” he added.