Who Has the Final Vote as to Who Becomes Prime Minister? The Queen?

London, England (CNN) -- "After an election that left no party with a clear majority, the final decision over who becomes Britain's next prime minister could lie in the hands of one woman who never votes: The queen."

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This is pretty astonishing news as the queen never votes. This is highly unorthodox as CNN states, "As a head of state, Queen Elizabeth has numerous traditional roles when it comes to elections and government, yet these are usually no more than ceremonial."

CNN continues, "However, as with Thursday's vote that saw the opposition Conservatives secure more seats than Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party but not enough to form a working government, the queen's position becomes more complicated.

The queen is the embodiment of Britain's constitutional monarchy and everything is done in her name. No laws can be passed nor parliaments opened or dissolved without her approval.

Such strict protocols bind all stages of the process to install a new prime minister -- often with a pomp and grandeur far removed from the boisterous world of British politics."

Usually, the queen does not get directly involved in the political process. Although it is her role to anoint prime ministers she usually stays above it all.

CNN explains, "After an election, the queen will wait to see if the current prime minister gets a majority or assembles a coalition before inviting them to form a government. Only if they admit defeat and resign can she start to look elsewhere.

As negotiations to form a coalition progress, the queen will be kept informed from a distance, avoiding any direct involvement in the decision.

A high level group including her private secretary and the Cabinet secretary will brief her, but she will not be drawn into controversy.

But, in the unlikely event that no decision can be reached among the parties over who should become prime minister the queen does have powers to intervene.

She can, in theory, call a fresh election or stop a new election being called if she thinks there is another solution.

A high level group including her private secretary and the Cabinet secretary will brief her, but she will not be drawn into controversy."

If, however the parties are unable to decide who should become the next prime minister the queen does have the power to intervene. This is however, highly unlikely.

"It usually falls to royal advisers to ensure the rules work and that the queen is kept well away from the political wheeling and dealing." CNN finishes.