Then, on Wednesday she received a visit from three members of the Privy Council – on the behest of Prime Minister Boris Johnson – asking her to suspend the UK Parliament for five weeks.

What is prorogation? A simple guide to what is happening in UK politics

Johnson and his allies claim he asked for the prorogation, as the procedure is called, to reset the government culminating in the Queen’s Speech on its new domestic programme on October 14.

After taking into account three weeks recess already scheduled for party conferences, it would in effect give MPs just a few days to discuss and possibly thwart Johnson’s plans to leave the European Union which he has promised will take place on October 31, deal or no deal.

There was an immediate outcry, even from some Conservative politicians. The former chancellor Philip Hammond said it was “profoundly undemocratic to shut parliament down to stop it doing its job”.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell tweeted: “Make no mistake, this is a very British coup.”

John Bercow, the colourful speaker of the House of Commons called it an “offence against the democratic process” and a “constitutional outrage”.

‘Bags of time’ left to renegotiate Brexit with EU, claims Britain’s Boris Johnson with less than two months to go

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was “a smash and grab on our democracy”, while Nicola Sturgeoen, leader of the Scottish National Party said Wednesday was the day “any semblance of parliamentary democracy dies”.

Johnson, for his part, said there would be “ample time” in Parliament for MPs to “debate the EU, to debate Brexit and all the other issues”.

Asked if he was trying to block MPs from delaying Britain’s EU departure, he replied: “That is completely untrue”.

So, is democracy in Britain really at threat?

Maybe not yet, but the country is now well and truly in the throes of its biggest constitutional crisis since World War Two.

Johnson has every legal and constitutional right to suspend the Parliament. What has upset his opponents is the fact that he did it now, when there was so much to discuss, including the consequences of a no-deal Brexit.

With no written constitution, the UK consensus between Crown and Parliament has always been more of a gentleman’s agreement based on precedents. But there is no precedent to the current situation.

Johnson’s supporters claim his somewhat authoritarian move was a master stroke, the only way to break the political deadlock that has stymied the government for three years since the EU referendum.

Could Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit break up the United Kingdom?

Only a day earlier, opposition parties had reached a consensus to either table legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit or, if that failed, call a vote of no confidence triggering a general election.

“Would be very hard for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, to seek a no-confidence vote against New Prime Minister Boris Johnson, especially in light of the fact that Boris is exactly what the U.K. has been looking for, & will prove to be “a great one!” Love U.K.,” tweeted US President Donald Trump.

Trump’s intervention did nothing to allay fears that the UK after Brexit could become a vassal state of the United States.

Johnson, who became leader in July on the basis of a vote by Conservative Party members, has a majority of just one in Parliament.

One of his MP’s, Remainer Dominic Grieve said he would now vote against the government. More than a 100 Conservative MPs oppose Brexit.

They would likely vote against the government on a matter so important as Brexit if there was any other opposition leader.

Jeremy Corbyn: Britain’s saviour or great white nope?

But the left-wing Corbyn is seen by some to be as big as a threat to the UK economy as a no-deal Brexit.

The opposition parties, frantically combing through parliamentary conventions to find a way to stop the prime minister, say they have other options, including installing a caretaker administration led by a respected parliamentary veteran like Kenneth Clarke of the Conservatives, or Labour’s Harriet Harman.

They can also try to pass a bill in the few days available to them to stop a no deal and demand Johnson request a further Brexit delay from the EU.

But with time so short, some constitutional experts claim the only chance now is if one of at least two attempts to have the Johnson “coup” thwarted by the courts succeeds.

Hours after Johnson said he intends to suspend Parliament, a group of more than 70 British lawmakers sought an urgent court hearing in Edinburgh.

The lawsuit will ask a Scottish judge to interpret the UK’s famously unwritten constitution and the relationship between government and Parliament.

Gina Miller, another Brexit opponent, filed a separate challenge in London seeking an urgent review of Johnson’s decision.

An already weak sterling plummeted as thousands of people took to the streets in London, Manchester, Cardiff and other cities to protest amid calls for a civil disobedience campaign to stop what is being described as a coup.

A larger protest is planned for Saturday in London.

More than 1.2 million people have already signed an online parliamentary petition to prevent the proroguing of parliament.

The UK Parliament typically goes into recess around the annual party conference season, which kicks off on September 14 and ends on October 2.

Robert Craig, a constitutional expert at Durham University, said there was “theoretically absolutely nothing wrong” with the suspension, noting it was normal for a new leader to start a fresh parliamentary session.

“But the reason that it is causing outrage is because it’s reducing the number of available days for parliament to stop a no-deal”.

Additional reporting by Reuters, Bloomberg and Agence France-Presse