Privy << PRIHV ee >> Council is an honorary council appointed by the Crown of the United Kingdom. Members of the Privy Council include Cabinet members, other political leaders, judges, and scholars. Privy councilors are selected from all countries in the British Commonwealth that recognize the British monarch as their symbolic head of state. The title of councilor is honorary in most cases. Council members become salaried officials only when given a place in the Cabinet. The lord president of the council is a member of the British Cabinet.
Council members serve during the life of the sovereign who appointed them, and for six months after the sovereign’s death. The full council meets on rare occasions, such as the beginning of a reign, or when the reigning sovereign announces his or her marriage. The administrative work of the council is carried on through state departments. Each department is headed by a minister responsible to Parliament. The Judicial Committee is the highest judicial authority for some countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. Members of the Privy Council use the title Right Honourable before their names, and letters P.C. (privy councilor) after their names.
The beginning of the Privy Council can be traced to the council of William the Conqueror. The council advised William the Conqueror on matters of state, and set the laws for the kingdom. The importance of the council declined as Parliament increased in power.
The British North America Act of 1867 established the King’s (or Queen’s) Privy Council for Canada. The Cabinet of the Dominion of Canada sits as a committee of the Canadian Privy Council.
