Meet the “Golden Triangle” of advisers assigned to protect the Queen
<p>As Queen Elizabeth II finds herself dragged further into the Brexit turmoil, a “golden triangle” of advisers is working to protect the monarch from political controversy.</p>
<p>Thousands of Brits have taken to the street after prime minister Boris Johnson asked for the Queen’s approval to suspend parliament until October 14, just two weeks before the Brexit deadline.</p>
<p>Critics argue that Johnson’s move is “undemocratic”, with House of Commons speaker John Bercow describing it as “a constitutional outrage” designed “to stop parliament debating Brexit and performing its duty in shaping a course for the country”.</p>
<p>Labour MP Kate Osamor wrote on <a href="https://twitter.com/KateOsamor/status/1166723109749215233">Twitter</a> “The. Queen. Did. Not. Save. Us.” following the Queen’s acceptance of the PM’s request.</p>
<p>Reports said the Queen’s decision had been discussed in advance by a “golden triangle” of senior officials: the monarch’s private secretary Edward Young, cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill and the PM’s principal private secretary Peter Hill.</p>
<p>As the head of state, the Queen is expected to maintain neutrality in political matters.</p>
<p>“The royal household wants to manage this in a way that doesn’t damage the ongoing, long-term position of the crown,” a royal source told <em><a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/queen-our-politicians-cant-govern-twjmp657f">The Sunday Times</a></em>.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, a source told the newspaper that the Queen has privately shared her disappointment in the current political situation.</p>
<p>“She expressed her exasperation and frustration about the quality of our political leadership, and that frustration will only have grown,” the source said.</p>
<p>Constitutional experts said the Queen had no choice but to grant Johnson’s request, <em><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/12b57978-c9a5-11e9-a1f4-3669401ba76f">Financial Times</a> </em>reported. <span><a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a28844199/queen-elizabeth-boris-johnson-parliament-prorouge-suspension/">Caroline Hallemann of <em>Town & Country</em></a></span> <span>also said the approval was a “formality”, and “to refuse … would have been far more political”.</span></p>
<p>Mike Gordon, professor of constitutional law at the University of Liverpool told <em><a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-slammed-dragging-queen-19024593">Mirror</a> </em>that the royal has to stay above the political fray.</p>
<p>“This definitely puts the Queen in a potentially tricky position because it’s drawing her into the most contentious and divisive political debate in the UK over the last few years,” Gordon said.</p>
<p>“I think it’s effectively a fait accompli in that the Queen is a neutral, a formal, constitutional actor who stands above and apart from politics and she doesn’t really exercise, for the most part, any discretion of her own.</p>
<p>“She acts on the advice of her ministers and in particular her Prime Minister and so when the Prime Minister, through the Privy Council, requests Parliament be prorogued, then realistically it’s impossible to imagine the Queen refusing to grant that.”</p>
