LONDON — When Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday to suspend the British Parliament, limiting lawmakers’ ability to block his plan to take the country out of the European Union by Oct. 31, many people hoped she would decline his request.

On social media, those opposed to the move called for the queen to intervene, and opposition lawmakers scrambled, unsuccessfully, to get a meeting with the monarch before she approved the suspension.

Yet constitutional experts say that Queen Elizabeth, the world’s longest-serving monarch, had little sway over the matter. As the head of state in a constitutional monarchy, she is considered politically neutral, with limited decision-making powers.

“What it means in practice is that she basically doesn’t have any discretion,” said Asif Hameed, a lecturer in law at the University of Southampton. “In our political system she is the head of state, but she is not supposed to be governing — that’s left to the elected government.”