THE MONARCHY 39

to his Ministers, comparable to a highly placed Civil Servant.
A Minister may ask such a Civil Servant his opinion; the Civil
Servant, like the King, will have a personal opinion but must
not express it in public; and, like the King, he must finally accept
the Minister's view. But while the Civil Servant may be, the
King must be consulted; with both the Minister has the last
word, but his attitude will not be the same with both. He is the
Civil Servant's chief and can decide for himself what the length
and form of the discussion will be; but, in name at least, he is
the King's servant and is expected to express this idea in speech
and manner when the King consults him.

The fact that discussions with the King are private make
it hard to say how great his influence is. Much will depend—
and here again there is a parallel with the Civil Service—on
the character of the persons concerned. An incompetent Minister
may J>e grateful to anyone who will tell him what to do; an able
one will not need to have ideas put into his head but will know
how to use advice. Though it is not certain how matters have
stood in the most recent reigns, the publication of Queen Victoria's
letters gives much information about the influence of the Crown
in the past. She appears, expressing her strong disapproval of
some lines of policy; her encouragement of others; suggesting
who shall be appointed to an Archbishopric; indignant when the
wisdom of her suggestions is politely questioned; delighted
when she gets what she wants; and judging to a nicety when the
time has come for her to give way. Her native shrewdness and
industry, coupled with her long experience made her influence
great. She occasionally tried to make it greater than the Consti-
tution allows; and it is possible that the influence of the Crown
has not been so great in later reigns.

As Head of the State, the King has control over the Army,
Navy and Air Force, and the importance of this fact has already
been noticed. With this control goes the power to make peace
and to declare war; but these actions, like the rest, go through
the process of Ministerial discussion.