<P> Thus, the British Privy Council, as a whole, ceased to be a body of important confidential advisers to the sovereign; the role passed to a committee of the Council, now known as the Cabinet . </P> <P> According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the word privy in Privy Council is obsolete meaning "of or pertaining exclusively to a particular person or persons, one's own"; hence the Council is personal to the sovereign . It is closely related to the word private, and derives from the French word privé . </P> <P> The sovereign, when acting on the Council's advice, is known as the King - in - Council or Queen - in - Council . The members of the Council are collectively known as The Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (sometimes The Lords and others of ...). The chief officer of the body is the Lord President of the Council, who is the fourth highest Great Officer of State, a Cabinet member and normally, either the Leader of the House of Lords or of the House of Commons . Another important official is the Clerk, whose signature is appended to all orders made in the Council . </P> <P> Both Privy Counsellor and Privy Councillor may be correctly used to refer to a member of the Council . The former, however, is preferred by the Privy Council Office, emphasising English usage of the term Counsellor as "one who gives counsel", as opposed to "one who is a member of a council". A Privy Counsellor is traditionally said to be "sworn of" the Council after being received by the sovereign . </P>

Who preside over the privy council of great britain