Legally the Queen or King has the power to appoint whomsoever they wish to be their prime minister. Indeed the sovereign has the power to appoint no one at all to the office, for there is no legal requirement that there should at all times be a prime minister. Whilst this remains the formal position in the UK , in reality the sovereign's prerogative is governed by the fundamental constitutional convention, grounded in political necessity, that the sovereign must appoint a prime minister must appoint someone with the confidence of the majority of the House of commons to be Prime Minister.
The position is always fluid because the position changes when an incumbent in the PM's position resigns, is forced out of office or dies. In such circumstances the sovereign is once more called to exercise his or her sovereign right.
The King or Queen may even dismiss a Prime Minister or an entire government at their discretion exercising their personal preferences as was the case in the dismissal of the Prime Minister of Australia and his government Gough Whitlam and his entire cabinet. The matter continues to be debated by scholars considering the Queen till she died denied she had seen the correspondence of Governor General John Kerr requesting permission to dismiss Whitlam (an absurdity) even though he dismissed the Whitlam government in the name of the Queen.
Malaysian legal scholars and lawyers tend to treat constitutional law and the constitution as if it were an ordinary piece of legislation such as the criminal law, family law, or maritime law which it is not.
Ultimate discretion as to the appointment of not just a government but also of a prime minister remains with the Sovereign. The constitution and its precedents on the subject are mere guides.
Legally the Queen or King has the power to appoint whomsoever they wish to be their prime minister. Indeed the sovereign has the power to appoint no one at all to the office, for there is no legal requirement that there should at all times be a prime minister. Whilst this remains the formal position in the UK , in reality the sovereign's prerogative is governed by the fundamental constitutional convention, grounded in political necessity, that the sovereign must appoint a prime minister must appoint someone with the confidence of the majority of the House of commons to be Prime Minister.
The position is always fluid because the position changes when an incumbent in the PM's position resigns, is forced out of office or dies. In such circumstances the sovereign is once more called to exercise his or her sovereign right.
The King or Queen may even dismiss a Prime Minister or an entire government at their discretion exercising their personal preferences as was the case in the dismissal of the Prime Minister of Australia and his government Gough Whitlam and his entire cabinet. The matter continues to be debated by scholars considering the Queen till she died denied she had seen the correspondence of Governor General John Kerr requesting permission to dismiss Whitlam (an absurdity) even though he dismissed the Whitlam government in the name of the Queen.
Malaysian legal scholars and lawyers tend to treat constitutional law and the constitution as if it were an ordinary piece of legislation such as the criminal law, family law, or maritime law which it is not.
Ultimate discretion as to the appointment of not just a government but also of a prime minister remains with the Sovereign. The constitution and its precedents on the subject are mere guides.