hmm you cannot just quote one line out of context. The Monarch is the Head of State in the UK, but The Monarch takes little direct part in Government.
Yes, of course you're right.
The ongoing strength of the system is that (1)The Queen cannot be refused an answer to a question she has asked and (2)The Queen can use regular common sense on behalf of the commonality of the people to advise the government, warn the government or, as a last ditch resort, command the government.
You will notice that the Civil Contingencies Act makes it clear that the United Kingdom trust only The Queen to declare when an actual civil contingency, a state of emergency, exists and needs to be dealt with.
So very much in the realms of the Commonwealth is performed in theory only through the personal authority of the sovereign that it would be idiotic to pretend that the job, as constitutionally defined, is in any way doable by any single person.
Despite the fact that almost everything is done in The Queen's name, you are right, she does not actually take part in the day to day operation of most of these things...it's an impossible job. And as The Queen reaches the end of her life, it would probably be good to carefully examine the future role of the monarchy, its relevance, and whether or not you would in the future want to trust anyone else with the enormous providence and influence with which you trusted the current monarch, her father and her grandfather.
We are all conflicted about it.
Of course we love The Queen. Of course we understand the prestige and charm of the monarchy...even if we know at the same time the job is impossible.
The European Court of Human Rights have ruled on several occasions (Greece, Romania, Russia) that the Crown Estate of a nation is the property of an individual. Unfortunately the Crown Estate in Right of the United Kingdom contributes enormous sums of money to the public revenues. It's inextricably and irretrievably a part of the weave of life, and the general welfare of the population.
I cannot even imagine how one would begin to unravel this weave, and I can only hope that we never have to really think about it, and that The Queen could live forever.
