The U.K. is headed for a general election on July 4, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak requested that King Charles III dissolve parliament earlier this week, sooner than many analysts expected. While the U.K. has transitioned to a parliamentary democracy over the last few centuries, the monarchy still plays a symbolic role in many aspects of the U.K.’s governance structure. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Legally, the King and the rest of the royal family are allowed to vote, says Robert Blackburn, a professor of constitutional law at King’s College London.