Theoretically, Great Britain's government is made up of the monarch and two branches of Parliament, which are the House of Commons and the House of Lords. But today, only the House of Commons has any real power.
The king was the first to lose his authority. Parliament, which was at first a council of nobles and church officials who advised the kings of England, demanded more power. Its struggles with the king resulted in a civil war that gave Parliament virtually complete authority over the government. By 1700 the monarch was a figurehead.
Then, in 1909, the House of Lords vetoed a budget approved by the House of Commons, so Commons turned around and took away the House of Lords' veto power, leaving it as just an advisory body.
Today, the government is headed by a prime minister, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons.
