Frequently Asked Questions

For frequently asked questions relating to Royal Charters, please see the seperate list.

How do you become a Privy Counsellor?
Appointments are made by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister and are for life – there is no fixed number of Members. All Cabinet Ministers are appointed to the Privy Council, as are (among others) some senior members of the Royal Family, senior judges, Archbishops, the Speaker of the House of Commons and leaders of Opposition parties. The Council now numbers over 700 members, and members are entitled to the prefix ‘Right Honourable’ for life.

What is the Quorum for a Privy Council meeting?
The Lord President plus three Privy Counsellors. This number was introduced by Queen Victoria.

What are “Privy Council Terms”?
‘Privy Council Terms’ is a convention whereby senior members of opposition parties may be briefed at the discretion of the Government on confidential terms. Such an arrangement is entirely voluntary but, having accepted a briefing on Privy Council terms, he or she is understood to have agreed to treat it as confidential.

The original intent behind ‘Privy Council Terms’ was to allow senior opposition leaders to be briefed in secret – and on the understanding that they would keep matters shared in secret – on significant issues affecting the country, such as potential military intervention. This is likely to stem from the text of the Privy Counsellor’s Oath, when new Privy Counsellors promise to “keep secret all matters committed and revealed unto [them], or that shall be treated of secretly in Council”.

Ministers and MPs do not have to be members of the Privy Council to receive Government briefing on a confidential basis. The MP’s ‘Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules’ and the ‘Ministerial Code’ both stress the importance of treating information received in confidence as confidential and, for Ministers, the principle of collective responsibility requires that the privacy of opinions expressed in Cabinet and Ministerial Committees, including in correspondence, should be maintained; Ministers have an important role to play in maintaining the security of Government business.

Appointments to the Privy Council for the purpose of sharing classified information are usually, but not exclusively, limited to those senior opposition party leaders and those with statutory responsibility for oversight of the UK Intelligence Community, and to allow non-Parliamentarians to sit on high level Inquiries (e.g. Butler Inquiry, Iraq Inquiry).

Are Members “Privy Councillors” or “Privy Counsellors”?
Both are correct, but “Counsellors” is the preferred usage.

Why does the Privy Council stand up during meetings?
We understand that this custom was initiated by Queen Victoria, following the death of the Prince Consort (1861), when she wished to reduce her public duties to the minimum necessary (although there is no documentary evidence). We know that the Prince Consort always attended Councils until his death, and the Council may have stood at the first Council after his death as a mark of respect. All that Queen Victoria needed to do, of course, to ensure that the Council stood was to remain standing herself. Etiquette does not allow sitting while the Sovereign is standing. To this day even The King stands at a Privy Council meeting.

If an institution uses the word ‘Royal’ in its title, does it mean that it has been granted a Charter?
No. The use of the prefix ‘Royal’ does not necessarily denote the existence of a Charter, it can be granted at the prerogative of the Monarch, and the Privy Council is not involved in the process.

Does the Privy Council grant City Status?
No, the Privy Council is not involved in the process of granting city status.

Does the Privy Council have any jurisdiction in Australia, Canada or New Zealand?
No

Appointment of Governors-General of Australia
For all information regarding the appointment of Governors-General of Australia since the founding of the Federation in 1901 (including the current post holder), please contact the National Archives of Australia.