<P> The relationship between the Commonwealth realms is such that any change to the laws governing succession to the shared throne requires the unanimous consent of all the realms . Succession is governed by statutes such as the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Acts of Union 1707 . The rules of succession may only be changed by an Act of Parliament; it is not possible for an individual to renounce his or her right of succession . The Act of Settlement restricts the succession to the legitimate Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover (1630--1714), a granddaughter of James I . </P> <P> Upon the death of a sovereign, his or her heir immediately and automatically succeeds (hence the phrase "The king is dead, long live the king!"), and the accession of the new sovereign is publicly proclaimed by an Accession Council that meets at St James's Palace . Upon their accession, a new sovereign is required by law to make and subscribe several oaths: the Accession Declaration as first required by the Bill of Rights, and an oath that they will "maintain and preserve" the Church of Scotland settlement as required by the Act of Union . The monarch is usually crowned in Westminster Abbey, normally by the Archbishop of Canterbury . A coronation is not necessary for a sovereign to reign; indeed, the ceremony usually takes place many months after accession to allow sufficient time for its preparation and for a period of mourning . </P> <P> After an individual ascends the throne, he or she reigns until death . The only voluntary abdication, that of Edward VIII, had to be authorised by a special Act of Parliament, His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 . The last monarch involuntarily removed from power was James VII and II, who fled into exile in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution . </P> <P> Succession was largely governed by male - preference cognatic primogeniture, under which sons inherit before daughters, and elder children inherit before younger ones of the same gender . The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011 that all 16 Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom, had agreed to abolish the gender - preference rule for anyone born after the date of the meeting, 28 October 2011 . They also agreed that future monarchs would no longer be prohibited from marrying a Roman Catholic--a law which dated from the Act of Settlement 1701 . However, since the monarch is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the law which prohibits a Roman Catholic from acceding to the throne remains . The necessary UK legislation making the changes received the royal assent on 25 April 2013 and was brought into force in March 2015 after the equivalent legislation was approved in all the other Commonwealth realms . </P>

Who has more power in britain the monarch or the prime minister