1602 ‘precedent’ Is misled Elizabeth I his trump card?

A court case in 1602 shows that monarchs can be overruled if wrongly advised, stated Sir John Major.

He referred to a case in which Elizabeth I granted Edward Darcy exclusive rights to sell playing cards, thinking it would reduce “a social problem”. When Thomas Allin started making and selling his own playing cards, Darcy sued him, but the Queen’s Bench court backed Allin, ruling that monopolies only benefit the “private gain” of a licence holder. The court ruled “the Queen was deceived” and laid the foundations for all law on monopolies.