The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. This means that the highest organ of state power is the British Parliament and that the country has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. At present the head of the country is Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.
All the state affairs are conducted in the name of the Queen. In law, the Queen of Great Britain is the head of the executive, the head of the judiciary and the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown. Nobody but the Queen can summon the Parliament, or dissolve it. She appoints all the ministers, including the Prime Minister. But, in fact, everything today is done on the advice of the elected Government, and it is the Prime Minister who is the real ruler of the country. The Queen reigns but she doesn’t rule.
The Queen is very rich as are other members of the royal family. In addition, the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft as well as for the upkeep of several palaces.
The Queen's image appears on stamps, notes and coins.
Elizabeth has personal flags for use in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, and elsewhere.