Queen Elizabeth Became First Peacetime British Ruler to Attend Cabinet Meeting

On 18 December 2012, Queen Elizabeth became first peacetime British ruler ever since 1781, who attended the cabinet meeting. Though she did not take part in any deliberations, but she participated in the cabinet meeting as an observer and a listener. Queen Elizabeth remained seated on the chair which is usually occupied by the prime minister.

Historians believed that Queen Elizabeth became the first monarch in the history to attend any cabinet meeting, after George III did that. Factually, George I had abandoned joining the cabinet in 1717. Nevertheless, Queen Elizabeth’s father George VI had attended the cabinet meeting during World War II.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron seated towards the right side of Elizabeth and foreign secretary William Hague seated towards her left. George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer was seated just opposite to her. In the cabinet meeting, the PM first welcomed the Queen formally before spelling out objectives of the cabinet meeting.

The first agenda of the meeting was about law amendment on the succession to royal chair. The agenda was basically allowing the first born girl to be head of the state, even if she had younger brother.
 
Though Queen Elizabeth had attended the cabinet meeting, but academics were of different viewpoints on whether Queen should have attended the meeting or not.

At present, Britain has a tradition of monarch allowing a weekly audience to PM in order to receive private as well as confidential briefing. But actually, the Queen just rubber stamps the ministerial decisions, maybe sometimes in presence of the Privy Council.