united-kingdom monarchy
Could a British monarch refuse royal assent if an act of Parliament was very unpopular?
<p>If I understand correctly, Royal Assent is still required for all Acts of Parliament, but is now just a formality and has not been refused for hundreds of years.</p>
<p>What if Parliament passed a law that was very unpopular with the people? Would having the support of a large majority of the people affect whether or not the monarch could refuse royal assent?</p>

<p>This would surely be a <strong>constitutional crisis</strong> in a country where the constitutional order is spread over many separate laws and traditions.</p>
<p>The UK is generally accepted as a genuine democracy which has a monarch for reasons of tradition, and which lets the monarch sign some things as head of state which are decided by elected officials. The parliament dominates the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King-in-Parliament" rel="nofollow noreferrer">crown-in-parliament</a>, for all the ceremonial importance of the monarch. So by this reasoning, the elected officials should win the power struggle.</p>
<p>Yet it also retains vestiges of the old order e.g. in the House of Lords. It would come down if the popularity of the monarch's action outweighs the genuine pride of the Brits in their democratic traditions.</p>
