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Half a year ago the prime minister asked the queen to suspend parliament and she approved.

UK government queen suspend parliament

Another new said Supreme Court said suspending parliament was unlawful

Supreme Court: suspending parliament was unlawful

Now dissolving parliament is a power beyond that. I've seen people from UK saying the queen doesnt have the power to do so and others saying she could.

This article talks about powers, rights, and duties and it's unclear if she can do that or not.

Duties, rights and powers of H.M. the Queen

First it says

Her Majesty’s actual rights as a Queen are only three:

  • The right to be consulted by the Prime Minister
  • To encourage certain courses of action
  • To warn against others

But later it says

A Commonwealth Realm is a country which has The Queen as its Monarch. The Queen is Head of State (Queen) of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK. She is also Head of the Commonwealth itself, a voluntary association of 53 independent countries. From Australia to Antigua, Canada to Cameroon, the Commonwealth is a remarkable international organisation, spanning every geographical region, religion and culture. It exists to foster international co-operation and trade links between people all over the world

Powers of the Queen:

  • The power to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister
  • The power to appoint and dismiss other ministers.
  • ----> The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament <-----
  • The power to make war and peace
  • The power to command the armed forces of the United Kingdom
  • The power to regulate the Civil Service
  • The power to ratify treaties
  • The power to issue passports
  • The power to appoint bishops and archbishops of the Church of England
  • The power to create peers (both life peers and hereditary peers).

So, can the Queen of UK dissolve the parliament or not?

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No

Prior to 2011, the Monarchy did possess that ability (although it had not been used in quite some time), but the Fixed Term Parliaments Act officially changed that

Before the passage of the Act, Parliament could be dissolved by royal proclamation by virtue of the royal prerogative. This originally meant that the English, and later British, monarch decided when to dissolve Parliament. Over time, the monarch increasingly acted only on the advice of the prime minister; by the 19th century, prime ministers had a great deal of de facto control over the timing of general elections.

The only way a Parliament can dissolve now is by a two-thirds vote of Parliament

If the House of Commons, with the support of two-thirds of its total membership (including vacant seats), resolves "That there shall be an early parliamentary general election".

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  • 3
    Parliament is also dissolved 14 days after a Vote of No Confidence, unless there has been a Vote of Confidence within that 14 day period.
    – Joe C
    Commented Mar 10, 2020 at 20:17
  • 2
    And 17 working days before elections required by the fixed five year term.
    – origimbo
    Commented Mar 10, 2020 at 23:34
  • But note that while the question asks about dissolving Parliament, and this answer correctly answers that question, the links from the question are actually about an occasion when Parliament was prorogued, not dissolved.
    – Mike Scott
    Commented Dec 9, 2021 at 15:41

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