All executive authority is vested in the King, and his assent is required for parliament to enact laws and for letters patent and orders in council to have legal effect.

[5] Most of the related powers are instead exercised by the elected members of parliament, the ministers of the Crown generally drawn from amongst them, and the judges and justices of the peace.

[32] Laws governing the line of succession, including the Act of Settlement 1701 and Bill of Rights 1689, restrict the throne to the biological, legitimate descendants of Sophia of Hanover, and stipulate that the monarch cannot be a Roman Catholic and must be in communion with (i.e. a member of) the Church of England upon accession.

[34] In that spirit, the Commonwealth realms reached the Perth Agreement in 2011, committed to repeal the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which gave precedence to male heirs and excluded from succession a person married to a Roman Catholic.

[35] Upon a demise of the Crown (the death or abdication of a monarch), the late sovereign's heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any obligatory need for affirmation or further ceremony[36]—hence arises the phrase "The King is dead.

Normally, tax dollars pay only for the costs associated with the governor-general as instruments of the King's authority, including travel, security, residences, offices and ceremonies.

Supporters of the monarchy argue it costs New Zealand taxpayers only a small outlay for royal engagements and tours and the expenses of the governor-general's establishment.

[51] As such, the sovereignty of Cook Islands and Niue is passed on not by the governor-general or parliament of New Zealand but through the overreaching Crown itself as part of executive, legislative and judicial operations in all three areas.

This involves appointing a prime minister to thereafter head the Cabinet, a committee of the Executive Council charged with advising the Crown on the exercise of the royal prerogative,[72] and legally required to keep the governor-general up to date on state affairs.

The royal prerogative also extends to foreign affairs: the governor-general conducts treaties, alliances and international agreements on the advice of the Cabinet.

[79] The governor-general, on behalf of the monarch, also accredits New Zealand high commissioners and ambassadors, and receives similar diplomats from foreign states.

[76] The monarch and governor-general do not participate in the legislative process save for the granting of royal assent, which is necessary for a bill to be enacted as law; either figure or a delegate may perform this task; this is now a matter of convention.

The new parliamentary session is marked by either the monarch or the governor-general reading the speech from the throne;[83] as they both are traditionally barred from the House of Representatives (the elected component of parliament), this ceremony takes place in the Legislative Council Chamber.

[85] Despite the sovereign's exclusion, members of parliament must still express their loyalty to him and defer to his authority, as the oath of allegiance must be recited by all new parliamentarians before they may take their seat.

The monarch, and by extension the governor-general, also grants immunity from prosecution, exercises the royal prerogative of mercy,[20] and may pardon offences against the Crown, either before, during, or after a trial.

[91][92] Usually important milestones, anniversaries, or celebrations of New Zealand culture will warrant the presence of the monarch, while other royals will be asked to participate in lesser occasions.

[105][107] Some of the royal tours undertaken by more junior members of the royal family include the 1990 visit of Princess Anne to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings on Anzac Day,[108] and when Prince William represented the Queen of New Zealand at VE and VJ Day commemorations in 2005, as part of an 11-day tour,[109] and opened the new Supreme Court of New Zealand building in early 2010.

[110] Prince Edward spent two terms of the 1982 academic year as a house tutor and junior master at the Wanganui Collegiate School.

[9] I want to show you that the Crown is not merely an abstract symbol of our unity but a personal and living bond between you and me.Apart from New Zealand, the King and his family regularly perform public duties in the other 14 Commonwealth realms of which he is head of state.

Māori interaction with the Crown dates back to 1832, when King William IV appointed James Busby as British resident.

[124] Since the treaty's implementation, a number of petitions have been made by Māori directly to the sovereign in London, who they felt they had a special relationship, the first coming from northern chiefs in 1852.

[133][134] Though the monarch himself formally appoints members to the various orders,[135] the governor-general administers most other responsibilities relating to New Zealand honours on the sovereign's behalf (such as investitures).

[137] It remains one of the two national anthems, along with "God Defend New Zealand", but has been generally restricted to official occasions where the monarch, a member of the royal family, or the governor-general is in attendance for a particular purpose.

[137] As in other Commonwealth realms, the King's Birthday is a public holiday and, in New Zealand, is observed on the first Monday in June (not on the date of the monarch's actual birth).

"[146][147] Former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen declared that he supported the monarchy, stating in 2004 he was "a sort of token monarchist in the Cabinet these days".

[150] There are a number of legal issues to be addressed in order to abolish the monarchy,[151] though individuals on both sides of the argument take a different view of the level of difficulty faced.

[152] Much of the debate focuses on the reserve powers of the sovereign; the relationship between the various regions of the Realm of New Zealand sharing the same sovereign (the absence of these matters from republican arguments having been criticised as a "self-centredness of republican discussions in New Zealand"[50]); and effects on the relationship between the Crown and Māori, specifically, the continued legal status of the Treaty of Waitangi and its claims and settlements.

[167] Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a 1News/Kantar Public Poll in September 2022 indicated that support for a republic decreased, with 50% of respondents preferring to stay with the monarchy.

Moehanga (or Te Mahanga) of Ngāpuhi, the first Māori to visit England, claimed to have met King George III and Queen Charlotte in 1806.

[180] The concept of a fully independent New Zealand sharing the person of the sovereign with the United Kingdom and other countries only emerged gradually over time through constitutional convention.