the commander-in-chief of the british armed forces is the british monarch. members of the british armed forces must swear that they will obey the orders of the monarch (swear allegiance). under the constitution of the united kingdom, the armed forces controlled by the crown, however, because of the 1689 bill of rights, the uk cannot have an army during peacetime unless the british parliament allows it. nowadays, the british parliament passes an armed forces act every five years, which means the uk can keep its military. the british prime minister is the "de facto" commander of the british armed forces.&lt;ref name="united kingdom 05/06"&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; the armed forces are managed by the ministry of defence.