What Does Royal Assent Mean?

Royal Assent refers to the agreement or consent of a constitutional monarch to any Act of Parliament that requires the same before it is introduced. It is the final step in any Act being passed into law. It is the last hurdle or step in the legislative process. Technically if royal assent is not granted the Act cannot be passed. Though this is true the power to withhold the granting of Royal Assent is not used in modern times. It was employed frequently in earlier times but these days as the role of the monarchy has become more and more nominal the power is held in reserve and never actually exercised.

In the United Kingdom the Lord Commissioner appointed by the sovereign gives assent on behalf of the monarch and in Australia, Canada and New Zealand the Governor General is delegated this task.

The Labour government of Tony Blair once used the authority of The Queen to effectively veto a bill that would have regulated his government's ability wage war in Iraq.  The bill would have called for Parliamentary scrutiny of the government's actions.

Inasmuch as this would be a regulation of The Queen's authority to command the armed forces, it required her personal permission for the bill to continue its progress in the House of Commons, and Blair advised The Queen not to assent to the bill's progress.

So, in a case where The Queen views a constitutional problem, there is still a way to implement an effective royal veto.