Royal Style and Titles Act

A Royal Style and Titles Act, or a Royal Titles Act, is an act of parliament passed in the relevant country that defines the formal title for the sovereign as monarch of that country. This practice began in 1876, when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Royal Titles Act. By that law, and the subsequent Royal Titles Act 1901 and Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, the monarch held one title throughout the British Empire. Following the enactment of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the governments of the now separate and independent realms sharing one person as sovereign agreed in 1949 that each should adopt its own royal style and title, which was done in 1952. As colonies became new realms, they passed their own royal style and titles acts. All of the laws were created during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

Background
Further information: Commonwealth realm § Titles
Queen Elizabeth II with the Commonwealth prime ministers during their conference in December 1952

Until the early part of the 20th century, the monarch's title throughout the British Empire was determined exclusively by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As the Dominions gained importance, the British government began to consult their governments on how the monarch should be titled. By 1926, following the issuance of the Balfour Declaration, it was determined that the changes in the nature of the Empire needed to be reflected in King George V's title. This led to the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927; though, again, this applied one title to the King across the whole Empire. The preamble to the Statute of Westminster 1931 established the convention requiring the consent of all the Dominions' parliaments, as well as that of the United Kingdom, to any alterations to the monarch's style and title. It had been decided among the realms in 1949 that each should have its own monarchical title, but with common elements. Which elements, however, was not determined after the accession of Elizabeth II as queen in February 1952. The parliament of each then-realm of the Commonwealth passed its own Royal Style and Titles Act before Elizabeth's coronation in June of the following year.[1]

Antigua and Barbuda
Further information: Monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda § Title

The Royal Titles Act, 1981, passed by the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda, gave that body's assent to the adoption of a title by the monarch of Antigua and Barbuda. After the Governor-General's proclamation dated 11 February 1982, the sovereign's official title was Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[2]

Australia
Main article: Monarchy of Australia § Title

The Parliament of Australia passed in 1953 a Royal Style and Titles Act, giving the Australian monarch, then Elizabeth II, the title Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom, Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.[3] This was amended in 1973 to remove the reference to the United Kingdom and the term defender of the faith.[4][5]

Canada
Main article: Style and title of the Canadian sovereign
The royal proclamation of the National Flag of Canada showing the title of Elizabeth II of Canada, in English (left) and French (right), at top

The Canadian Parliament passed in 1947 the Royal Style and Titles Act and an order-in-council was issued on 22 June the following year to remove the term Emperor of India from the Canadian sovereign's title.[6] In 1953, the same legislature passed another Royal Style and Titles Act, consenting to the issuance of a royal proclamation changing the royal style and title.[7] This was done on 28 May, declaring the Canadian monarch's title to be, in English, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and, in French, Elizabeth Deux, par la grâce de Dieu Reine du Royaume-Uni, du Canada, et de ses autres royaumes et territoires, Chef du Commonwealth, Défenseur de la Foi.[8]

In April 2023, after the accession of Charles III to the Canadian throne, the Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of Cabinet, introduced Bill C-47 in the House of Commons.[9] This bill contains provisions that authorize the King to issue a royal proclamation establishing his title for Canada, which would exclude a reference to the United Kingdom and the title Defender of the Faith. The new title would be Charles the Third, by the Grace of God King of Canada and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[10] The bill received royal assent on 22 June,[11] but, a royal proclamation has yet to be issued.

Ceylon

The Royal Titles Act 1953, passed by the Parliament of Ceylon, granted the Ceylonese monarch the title and style Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Ceylon and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[12][13][14]

The Gambia

The Royal Style and Titles Act 1965, passed by the National Assembly of the Gambia, granted the Gambian monarch the title and style Elizabeth the Second, Queen of The Gambia and all Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[15][16]

Ghana
The royal proclamation of Ghana's independence with Queen Elizabeth's British title at top, as the Ghanaian parliament had not yet enacted the Royal Style and Titles Act 1957

The Parliament of Ghana's Royal Style and Titles Act 1957 granted the Ghanaian monarch the title and style Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Ghana and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[17][18]

New Zealand
Further information: Monarchy of New Zealand § Title

One of the first post-Second World War examples of New Zealand's status as an independent monarchy was the alteration of the monarch's title by the Royal Titles Act 1953. For the first time, the official title of New Zealand's monarch mentioned New Zealand separately from the United Kingdom and the other realms, to highlight the monarch's role specifically as sovereign of New Zealand, as well as the shared aspect of the Crown throughout the realms. The title created from this act was Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. After the passage of the Royal Titles Act 1974, the monarch's title in New Zealand was Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.[19]

Nigeria
Further information: Monarchy of Nigeria (1960–1963) § Title

The Royal Style and Titles Act 1961, passed by the Parliament of Nigeria, granted the Nigerian monarch the title and style Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Nigeria and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[20] An introductory part of the style, By the Grace of God, was nevertheless added in official use.[21]

Sierra Leone
Further information: Queen of Sierra Leone § Title

The Sierra Leonean Parliament's Royal Style and Titles Act 1961 granted the Sierra Leonean monarch the title and style Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Sierra Leone and of Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[22]

Solomon Islands
Further information: Monarchy of Solomon Islands § Title

The Royal Style and Titles Act 2013, passed by the National Parliament of Solomon Islands, granted the Solomon Islander monarch the style and title Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Solomon Islands and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[23][24] The title was already in non-statutory use since 1988, when it was included in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Manual.[24][23]

South Africa

The Royal Style and Titles Act 1953, passed by the Parliament of South Africa, granted the South African monarch—at the time Queen Elizabeth II) a style and title rendered in three languages:

  • In English: Elizabeth II, Queen of South Africa and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth[25][26]
  • In Afrikaans: Elizabeth II, Koningin van Suid-Afrika en van Haar ander Koninkryke en Gebiede, Hoof van die Statebond[25][26]
  • In Latin: Elizabeth II, Africae Australis regnorumque suo rum ceterorum Regina, consortionis populorum Princeps[25]

Tuvalu
Further information: Monarchy of Tuvalu § Title

The Royal Style and Title Act 1987, passed by the Tuvaluan Parliament, granted the Tuvaluan monarch the style and title Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Tuvalu and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.[27][28]

United Kingdom
Main article: Style of the British sovereign
Further information: Royal Titles Act 1876
Letters patent bearing the title of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom below her royal sign-manual

The Royal Titles Act 1901 allowed for the addition of the words and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas to the monarch's title.

The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 was amended in 1948 by the Indian Independence Act 1947[29] so as to omit the words Emperor of India from the monarch's title in the United Kingdom.[30] King George VI's title became George VI by the Grace of God of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith.

The Royal Titles Act 1953[31] specified that it applied only to the United Kingdom and those overseas territories whose foreign relations were controlled by the United Kingdom. The legislation tidied up the use of the title King of Ireland, following Ireland's transition to a republic in 1949.

As authorised by the act, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed that her title in the United Kingdom would be Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. The title was equivalently, and, for the first time, set in Latin, as Elizabeth II, Dei Gratia Britanniarum Regnorumque Suorum Ceterorum Regina, Consortionis Populorum Princeps, Fidei Defensor.[32]

See also

References
  1. Twomey, Anne (2006), The Chameleon Crown, Sydney: Federation Press, p. 104-108, ISBN 9781862876293
  2. Antigua and Barbuda (1981). "Statutory Rules and Orders 1982, No. 1". Laws of Antigua and Barbuda, 1982.
  3. Royal Style and Titles Act 1953 (Cth), Museum of Australian Democracy, retrieved 19 April 2023
  4. "Royal Style and Titles Act 1973 (Cth), sch 2". Federal Register of Legislation. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  5. Proclamation of 19 October 1973. Australian Govemmeait Gazette, 1973, number 152, 19 October 1973, page 5
  6. King, William Lyon Mackenzie, "Order in Council", in Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (ed.), Documents on Canadian External Relations, vol. 14–1, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, retrieved 8 October 2009
  7. Elizabeth II (12 December 1985), Royal Style and Titles Act, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, retrieved 23 September 2009
  8. Proclamation of May 28, 1953 published in the Canada Gazette, volume 87, number 6, Extra, 29 May 1953, pages 1-2
  9. Bill C-47 An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023, retrieved 12 May 2023
  10. Woolf, Marie (19 April 2023), "King's Canadian title—dropping defender of the faith—is break with tradition: Church figures, constitutional experts", The Globe and Mail, retrieved 19 April 2023
  11. C-47 (44-1), Parliament of Canada, retrieved 27 June 2023
  12. Jennings, Sir Ivor (2014), Constitution-Maker: Selected Writings of Sir Ivor Jennings, Cambridge University Press, p. 31, ISBN 9781107091115
  13. "Royal Titles Act, 1953". Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. "Sri Lanka: Heads of State: 1948-1972". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  15. Gambia, Sir Cecil Geraint Ames (1967), The Laws of the Gambia in Force on the 1st Day of July 1966: Volume 7, Government Printer, p. 4381
  16. "The Gambia: Heads of State: 1965-1970". archontology.org. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  17. Francis Alan Roscoe Bennion (1962), The constitutional law of Ghana, Butterworths, p. 61, ISBN 9780608136073
  18. Directory of Ghana, Diplomatic Press and Publishing Company, 1959, p. 19
  19. Peaslee, Amos J. (1985). Constitutions of Nations (Rev. 4th ed.). Dordrecht: Nijhoff. p. 882. ISBN 9789024729050. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  20. Royal Styles and Title Act, 1961, quoted in Benjamin Obi Nwabueze (1982). A Constitutional History of Nigeria. C. Hurst & Co. p. 86. ISBN 0-905838-79-3.
  21. "Nigeria: Heads of State: 1960-1963". archontology.org. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  22. Sierra Leone (1961), Supplement to the Laws with an Index of Legislation in Force on 31 December 1961, Government Printer, South Africa, p. 411-412
  23. "Solomon Islands: Heads of State: 1978-2021". archontology.org. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  24. Royal Style and Titles Act 2013 (passed by the National Parliament 1 Aug 2013, received royal assent 10 Oct 2013) and went into effect upon its publication in a supplement to the Solomon Islands Gazette, No. 82, Extra, 1 Nov 2013.
  25. Act 6 of 1953 "Royal Style and Titles Act, 1953". The Union of South Africa Government Gazette Extraordinary, vol. CLXXI, 4 March 1953, pages 12-13 Archived
  26. "South Africa: Heads of State: 1910-1961". archontology.org. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  27. "ROYAL STYLE AND TITLES ACT" (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  28. "The Queen and Tuvalu (style and title)". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  29. Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 30)
  30. "No. 38330". The London Gazette. 22 June 1948. pp. 3647–3647., 22 June 1948
  31. Royal Titles Act 1953, 1 & 2 Eliz. 2 c. 9 [26 March 1953] An Act to provide for an alteration of the Royal Style and Titles.
  32. "No. 39873". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. pp. 3023–3023.
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