system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What role does the monarchy of the United Kingdom play in the politics of their nation?

And why did Phillip Montbatten not become King alongside his wife Elizabeth when she ascended to the monarchy.
gpt
The monarch herself, not a huge amount. It is considered very improper for the Queen to get involved in politics. Though she technically holds great power, convention and tradition demand that she not use it. 

That said, The Queen regularly meets the Prime Minister for discussions, but this happens behind closed doors, and we don't know what these conversations are like. The Queen also, under specific circumstances, gives speeches in parliament, but these are prepared by the government.

As for your second question, that's merely a matter of traditional terminology. A monarch's spouse is known as a consort. A king's wife is a queen consort. A queen's husband is a prince consort.

The reason for this convention is mainly a hangover from old-fashioned sexism. It's not considered proper that the spouse of the king or queen of England should outrank them. And as, in our patriarchal past, kings outranked queens, it would therefore have seemed strange if the holder of the throne and first child of the previous monarch had been called 'queen', while her husband, who has perhaps no royal blood, was called 'king'.