The Queen has an important role as head of the Commonwealth and head of state, opening Parliament, undertaking royal duties and honouring members of the public for their hard work and bravery. However, one royal rule which has been classed as anti-democratic and archaic has been pulled into sharp focus after it was found the Queen vetted 67 Scottish Parliament bills before they were passed.

       This vetting system is known as crown consent and took place across more than 20 years.

       Previously not known by the public, the Queen has assessed bills repeatedly - lobbying for change before the papers are passed into law.

       The research, undertaken by the Guardian, found the bills touched on topics like planning laws, forestry and land management and the Scottish Crown estate.

       The list of bills also includes topics like property taxation and a 2018 law which stops forestry inspectors from crossing into crown-owned land - including Balmoral - without the Queen’s express permission.

       Now critics are calling for a change and clarity to how laws are passed.

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       Former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “The SNP government must come forward and share the full extent to which this process has influenced the laws we live under.”

       Mr Rennie requested more transparency, with one bill shown to have exempted her private land from an initiative to cut carbon emissions.

       This meant the Queen was the only person in Scotland who wouldn't need to install pipes to heat buildings using renewable energy - for her Balmoral and Holyrood Palace residences.

       Officials said: "Minister agreed to proposed amendment that would addressed [sic] concerns from Queen's solicitors".

       Mr Rennie said petitioning from Buckingham Palace should have been made public.

       He said: "This research shows that Queen's consent isn't just some arcane legacy from parliament's past. It's a live process. Laws are secretly being changed behind Scotland's back as a result.

       "That's not what people would expect in a democracy. I'm sure people will be shocked to see the Scottish government's willingness to pander to the process.

       "Their readiness to hide it from public view shows they have no interest in acting transparently."

       Mr Rennie added there should be "no secret doors to changing the law" and called on the Scottish government to fully share how the process influences lawmaking.

       Including laws vetted in Westminster - both the Commons and Lords - more than 1,000 laws have gone through the Queen or Prince Charles before officially passing.

       There has been questions as to why the Crown has been asked to review some of the bills, with some covering topics not relevant to the Royal Family.

       These included a bill on parking, salmon and aquaculture and fisheries.

       Dr Adam Tucker, a specialist in constitutional law at Liverpool University told the Guardian the amount of laws the Queen has reviewed was surprising.

       He said: “A lot of these bills are not distinctively about the crown, or mainly about the crown, or obviously about the crown in any way.

       "And yet they obviously still have some content which drags them into the process.

       “Seeing the sheer range, in this relentless list form, really drives home the sheer breadth of things that the procedure captures.”

       The official website for the Royal Family says the consent process is “a long-established convention that The Queen is asked by Parliament to provide consent (which is different to assent) for the debating of bills which would affect the prerogative or interests of the Crown."

       The Queen's role in Parliament is

       Scottish laws the Queen and Prince Charles vetted before they were passed