It continues to be the highest court of appeal in some Commonwealth countries, Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, as well as a few institutions in the United Kingdom.

During the reigns of the Norman monarchs, the English Crown was advised by a royal court or curia regis, which consisted of magnates, ecclesiastics and high officials.

The remaining parliamentary chamber, the House of Commons, instituted a Council of State to execute laws and to direct administrative policy.

The forty-one members of the Council were elected by the House of Commons; the body was headed by Oliver Cromwell, de facto military dictator of the nation.

[13] King Charles II restored the Royal Privy Council, but he, like previous Stuart monarchs, chose to rely on a small group of advisers.

[14] The formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 combined the Privy Councils of England and Scotland, the latter body coming to an end in 1708.

Under King George I, even more power transferred to a small committee of the Council, which began to meet in the absence of the sovereign, communicating its decisions to him after the fact.

Orders in Council, which are drafted by the government rather than by the sovereign, are forms of either primary or secondary legislation, depending on the power they are made under.

[19] The Privy Council therefore deals with a wide range of matters, which also includes university and livery company statutes,[20] churchyards,[21] coinage and the dates of bank holidays.

These powers were usually delegated to ministers by Orders in Council, and were used by Margaret Thatcher to ban GCHQ staff from joining trade unions.

Justice Kentridge stated that there was no known precedent "for the lawful use of prerogative powers to remove or exclude an entire population of British subjects from their homes and place of birth",[27][31][32] and the Court of Appeal were persuaded by this argument, but in 2007 the Law Lords of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords found the original decision to be flawed and overturned the ruling by a 3–2 decision, thereby upholding the terms of the Order in Council.

[34] The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the executive committee of the Privy Council and the senior decision-making body of British Government.

[35] The Judicial Committee serves as the final court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries, military sovereign base areas and a few institutions in the United Kingdom.

This committee usually consists of members of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and senior judges of the Commonwealth of Nations who are Privy Counsellors.

[36] The Crown-in-Council was formerly the supreme appellate court for the entire British Empire,[37] but a number of Commonwealth countries have now abolished the right to such appeals.

[38] The Judicial Committee continues to hear appeals from several Commonwealth countries, from British Overseas Territories, Sovereign Base Areas and Crown Dependencies.

The prime minister, the speaker, the governor-general and the chief justice are still accorded the style Right Honourable, but without membership of the Council.

The settled practice is that day-to-day meetings of the Council are attended by four Privy Counsellors, usually the relevant minister to the matter(s) pertaining.

[57] A full meeting of the Privy Council was also held on 6 February 1811, when the Prince of Wales was sworn in as regent by Act of Parliament.

[70] The statutes regulating the establishment of a regency in the case of minority or incapacity of the sovereign also require any regents to swear their oaths before the Privy Council.

Former MP Elliot Morley was expelled on 8 June 2011, following his conviction on charges of false accounting in connection with the British parliamentary expenses scandal.

[80][81] Before this, the last individual to be expelled from the Council was Sir Edgar Speyer, Bt., who was removed on 13 December 1921[82][83] for collaborating with the enemy German Empire, during the First World War.

On 4 February 2013, Chris Huhne announced that he would voluntarily leave the Privy Council after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

[91] Denis MacShane resigned on 9 October 2013, before an Old Bailey hearing at which he pleaded guilty of false accounting and was subsequently imprisoned.

Modern custom as recommended by Debrett's is to use the post-nominal letters "PC" in a social style of address for peers who are Privy Counsellors.

[101] While Privy Counsellors have the right to sit on the steps of the Sovereign's Throne they do so only as observers and are not allowed to participate in any of the workings of the House of Lords.

A notable recent instance of the exercising of this privilege was used by the Prime Minister, Theresa May, and David Lidington, who watched the opening of the debate of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2017 in the House of Lords.

And if any of the said Treaties or Counsels shall touch any of the Counsellors, you will not reveal it unto him, but will keep the same until such time as, by the Consent of His Majesty, or of the Council, Publication shall be made thereof.

[113] The initiation ceremony for newly appointed privy counsellors is held in private, and typically requires kneeling on a stool before the Sovereign and then kissing hands.

"[115] The ceremony has caused difficulties for Privy Counsellors who advocate republicanism; Tony Benn said in his diaries that he kissed his own thumb, rather than the Queen's hand, while Jeremy Corbyn reportedly did not kneel.