King-in-Council

The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of approving orders, on the advice of the country's privy council or executive council. In Norway, the King in Council (Kongen i statsråd) refers to the meetings of the King and the Council of State (the Cabinet), wherein matters of importance and major decisions are made. The Council meets at the Royal Palace, normally every Friday. These meetings are chaired by the monarch or, if he is ill or abroad, crown prince (the monarch's heir). In Norway's constitution, King in Council refers to the formal Government of Norway, whereas merely King means the appointed ministry that the law refers to may alone act with complete authority on the matter assigned in the particular law. A decision that is taken in the State Council under the sovereign's leadership is considered to be a royal decree. If the crown prince chairs, they are crown prince resolutions. When neither the monarch nor the crown prince chairs, resolutions adopted are called government resolutions. King in Council (Sweden) In Sweden, the King in Council (Konungen i Statsrådet), more commonly known as Royal Majesty (Kunglig Majestät or the short forms Kungl.Maj:t or K.M:t) was a concept of constitutional importance in until 1974. Royal Majesty was the commonly used term to refer to the supreme executive authority under the 1809 Instrument of Government, under which the monarch made all decisions of state in the presence of his Cabinet ministers. The 1974 Instrument of Government removed the monarch from all exercise of formal political powers, which were passed to the newly created government (Regeringen), chaired and led in all aspects by the prime minister. The monarch continues to head the Cabinet councils (the sovereign plus the members of the government) and the Council on Foreign Affairs, recognizing new cabinets (in the Council of State).