Elections and the queen: Britain's quaint tradition lives on

Kim Hjelmgaard | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: UK labour leader's failed high-5 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn appeared to slap Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry on the chest on Friday morning in a missed attempt to "high five". (June 9)

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced Friday to pay a call on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for "permission" to form a new government. For Brits, it's no big deal. For Americans, it reinforces the view that the United Kingdom is one big royal theme park with crowns, curtsies, and quaint traditions.

By long-standing convention after every British election, the queen invites the leader of the party with the most seats to Buckingham Palace. That leader, in this case May, is supposed to inform the queen that he or she has a workable majority in the House of Commons, and does "Ma'am" (the formal address for the queen) have any objections?

She never does because she is not allowed to. The monarch is not permitted to express a political preference and so can't turn down a potential prime minister.

And so everyone followed the script Friday. May, wearing a blue dress (the Conservative Party's colors), stepped out of a fancy-looking silver car shortly before 12:30 p.m. to get the royal nod of assent for her wish to enter into a partnership with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party. The Conservatives won 319 seats, seven short of a majority; the DUP would give them 10, enough to rule.

Buckingham Palace is a short drive from the prime minister's official office and residence at 10 Downing Street. May's husband, Philip, accompanied her. When they arrived, they were met by a senior member of the queen's household and ushered up some stairs to a private room away from prying eyes.

We don't know what they actually said to one another. We don't know if they had tea. The meeting lasted less than 30 minutes. There was no sign of Her Majesty's beloved corgis.

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