Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks. Queen Elizabeth II, (11) _______ is in her 90s, has ruled longer than any other monarch in British history. But at this point, is the British monarch's role purely (12) _______ , or does she or he hold any real political power? That turns out to be a complicated question. Even though the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, it doesn't have a ...

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

Queen Elizabeth II, (11) _______ is in her 90s, has ruled longer than any other monarch in British history. But at this point, is the British monarch's role purely (12) _______ , or does she or he hold any real political power?

That turns out to be a complicated question. Even though the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, it doesn't have a single codified constitution like the United States. (13) _______ , the power balance between the Crown (the monarchy) and Parliament (the elected officials) is mediated by a set of rules known as constitutional "conventions," some of which are written down and (14) _______ that are based on custom and tradition.

According to some of the oldest traditions, the queen is the ultimate source of power in the British government; the British legislature is formally known as "The Queen in Parliament." But as we'll see, in modern practice the queen wields no real political power to act (15) _______ of the wishes of Parliament or the prime minister.

Queen Elizabeth II, (11) _______ is in her 90s, has ruled longer than any other monarch in British history.