User:Matilda/List of monarchs

Rationale[edit]

Further to the comments I made at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Australian monarchs which in effect supported a List of Commonwealth Realm Monarchs. At Talk:List of Australian monarchs the point was made (among others the various countries over which the British monarchs reign have a simultaneous and instantaneous succession. However there are numerous dates within those reigns that are peculiar to particular realms. My aim is to make a list which highlights the similarities and differences.

Chronology[edit]

Monarch	Reign
House of Hanover
Victoria^[1]	6 February 1840 - Treaty of Waitangi signed by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the northern North Island of New Zealand. The Treaty established a British governor in New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. The first of the three articles of the English version grants the Queen of the United Kingdom sovereignty over New Zealand. The English and Māori versions differ. This has made it difficult to interpret the Treaty and continues to undermine its effect. One of the critical differences revolves around the interpretation of the Māori words; Kāwanatanga (literally, governorship) which is ceded to the Queen in the first article, and Rangatiratanga (literally chieftainship) which is retained by the chiefs in the second article. Few Māori had good understanding of either sovereignty or 'governorship' and thus it has been questioned whether Māori fully understood that they were ceding sovereignty to the British Crown. ? date - Signed British North America Act, 1867 and proclaimed Ottawa as Canada's capital city July 1, 1867 - Canadian Confederation, at which time Canada was deemed to have become a kingdom in its own right 1871 - Belize made a Crown colony of British Honduras January 1 1901 - Victoria became the first monarch to reign over the Commonwealth of Australia when the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 came into force January 22, 1901 - death
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Edward VII	January 22 1901 - succeeded to the throne 9 September 1907 - The proclamation of the Dominion of New Zealand by Edward VII brought the Monarchy of New Zealand into being. Originally, these monarchs reigned in their right as British sovereigns, but the sovereign's New Zealand role is now completely separate from the same person's role as monarch of her other Commonwealth realms. May 6 1910 - died
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1910-17), then House of Windsor
George V	May 6, 1910 1921 - Royal Arms of Canada proclaimed 1926 - At the Imperial Conference, the governments of the Dominions and of the United Kingdom endorsed the Balfour Declaration of 1926, which declared that the Dominions were autonomous members of the British Empire, equal to each other and to the United Kingdom. ? date - Signed Statute of Westminster, 1931. The Statute gave legal effect to the Balfour Declaration and other decisions made at the Imperial Conferences. Most importantly, it declared that the Parliament of the United Kingdom no longer had any legislative authority over the Dominions. The Statute took effect immediately over Canada, South Africa and the Irish Free State. However, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland had to ratify the Statute through legislation before it would apply to them. Canada also requested certain exemptions from the Statute in regard to the Canadian Constitution. the concept of the state being in a full personal union with the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms did not emerge until the passage of the Statute of Westminster. ^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Since that time, the Canadian Crown has been recognized as legally distinct from the crowns of the other Commonwealth realms, meaning that, for example, Canada has a distinct national monarch.^[6]
	January 20, 1936 - dies
Edward VIII	January 20, 1936 - succeeds the throne December 11, 1936 - signs an instrument of abdication. The British Parliament passes His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 on behalf of the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The King performs his last act as sovereign by giving royal assent to the Act. December 12 - Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 passed by Irish Free State which declared that the abdication took effect on December 12th 1937 - Succession to the Throne Act 1937 : Act of the Canadian Parliament that ratified Canadian consent to His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936^[7] Maintained a private ranch in Canada
George VI	December 11, 1936 - Prince Albert, Duke of York, becomes King ? date - First reigning monarch to enter Canada. Coined the phrase "King of Canada" 9 October 1942 - Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 receives assent by the Australian Governor General, Lord Gowrie: the act formally adopted the Statute of Westminster 1931. The act stated it was considered to have had effect since 3 September 1939, the beginning of World War II. 25 November 1947 - New Zealand passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947 ratifying the 1931 Statute of Westminster. 21 December 1948 - Republic of Ireland Act 1948 signed by the president of Ireland 18 April 1949 - date of effect of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 which vested the powers possessed by the king in the president of Ireland. It abolished the remaining roles of the King of Ireland (a king shared with the United Kingdom and other Dominions of the Commonwealth) in the government of the state. 1949 - Ireland Act 1949 - British Act of Parliament dealing with the consequences of Ireland becoming a republic: main provision of the Act was the acceptance that the declaration of a Republic of Ireland had meant that that state had "ceased to be part...of His Majesty's dominions" February 6, 1952 - dies
Elizabeth II	February 6, 1952 - Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen in Canada first, by the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.^[8] Her British proclamation was read at St. James's Palace the following day. First to be officially titled separately as Queen of Canada^[9] 2 June 1953 - Elizabeth II's coronation took place in Westminster Abbey. Her coronation gown, commissioned from Norman Hartnell, was embroidered with the floral emblems of the countries of the Commonwealth: the Tudor rose of England, the Scots thistle, the Welsh leek, shamrock of Ireland, wattle of Australia, the maple leaf of Canada, the New Zealand fern, South Africa's protea, two lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton and jute.^[10] 1953-54 - the Queen and Prince Philip made a six-month, around the world tour, becoming the first monarch to circumnavigate the globe. She also became the first reigning monarch of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji to visit those nations. October 1957 - she became the first Canadian monarch to open a session of that nation's parliament. She made another state visit to the United States, as Queen of Canada, hosting the return dinner for President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. February 1961 - she visited Ankara with Cemal Gursel, and later toured India, Iran, Pakistan and Nepal for the first time. 30 November 1966 - Monarchy of Barbados established when the country was proclaimed fully independent, via constitutional patriation, by the Queen. 10 july 1973 - Monarchy of the Bahamas formed when Bahamians full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations. 1 August 1976 - Trinidad and Tobago ceased to be a Commonwealth realm and became a Commonwealth republic through constitutional amendment. 21 September 1981 - Monarchy of Belize established when the country was granted its independence from the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II to form Belize as a kingdom in its own right. 1 November 1981 - Monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda established when the country was proclaimed fully independent, via constitutional patriation, by the Queen. – Present

References[edit]

^ The Canadian Heraldry Society states: "...Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, [was Queen of Canada and all her other realms. Queen Victoria was the first Monarch of the confederation of provinces that became known as the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867."
^ Zines, The High Court and the Constitution, 4th ed. (1997) at 314: "The Queen as monarch of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is in a position resembling that of the King of Scotland and of England between 1603 and 1707 when two independent countries had a common sovereign"; the relationship between England and Scotland during those years is described as a personal union.
^ P. E. Corbett (1940). "The Status of the British Commonwealth in International Law". The University of Toronto Law Journal. 3. {{cite journal}}: Text "pages 348-359" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Number= ignored (|number= suggested) (help)
^ F. R. Scott (January 1944). "The End of Dominion Status". The American Journal of International Law. 38 (1): 34–49.
^ R v Foreign Secretary; Ex parte Indian Association, QB 892 at 928; as referenced in High Court of Australia: Sue v Hill [1999 HCA 30; 23 June 1999; S179/1998 and B49/1998]
^ The English Court of Appeal ruled in 1982, while "there is only one person who is the Sovereign within the British Commonwealth... in matters of law and government the Queen of the United Kingdom, for example, is entirely independent and distinct from the Queen of Canada." R v Foreign Secretary; Ex parte Indian Association, QB 892 at 928; as referenced in High Court of Australia: Sue v Hill [1999 HCA 30; 23 June 1999; S179/1998 and B49/1998]
^ Heard, Andrew (1990). "Canadian Independence". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 2008-04-10. The legislative confusion which followed the abdication of King Edward VIII in December of 1936 was an important step in the evolution of Dominion status, because it demonstrated that the Imperial Crown could be an entirely divisible entity in law. All the Dominion governments had been warned that the King was about to abdicate the throne; indeed, the Canadian government sent a cable urging him to put his duty as King ahead of his desire to abdicate and marry Wallace Simpson. The news that the Instrument of Abdication had been signed was cabled to all the Dominion governments. Australia's Parliament was in session at the time and gave its formal assent to British legislation, as required by the convention recited in the preamble of the Statute of Westminster. The governments of New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa gave their consents as their Parliaments were not in session; the British Parliament passed an Abdication Act on the following day, December 11th, that gave legal effect to the Instrument of Abdication and brought George VI to the throne.
The divisibility of the Crown became a matter of law in some jurisdictions, however, through the actions of two Dominion Parliaments. The Irish Free State passed an Act declaring that the abdication took effect on December 12th, while the South African Parliament later passed an Act that declared that the abdication had taken effect in South Africa on December 10th. When the Canadian Parliament met in the new year, it passed an Act giving its assent to the British legislation. The assumption of this legislative authority was legally redundant because the British Act was undoubtedly already in force in Canada; it complied with the requirements of s.4 of the Statute of Westminster by containing a reference to the fact that it was being enacted with the request and consent of Canada, and a proclamation announcing that the accession to the Throne had also been duly made by the Governor General. But as Clokie observed about the Canadian Act, "Whether necessary or not, it was clearly designed to demonstrate Canada's equality with Britain in the British Commonwealth and to display the Canadian aspect of the monarchy". Even though the courts in South Africa and the Irish Free State would recognise the divisibility of the Crown and the authority of their own laws on the succession, these measures had no practical effect outside those two Dominions. As far as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia were concerned, the Crown remained a legal unity since their new monarch came to the throne through British legislation.
^ "Canada's New Queen". CBC. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
^ http://canada.gc.ca/howgoc/queen/quind_e.html 1
^ National Gallery of Australia: By Appointment: Norman Hartnell's sample for the Coronation dress of Queen Elizabeth II

[1] The Canadian Heraldry Society states: "...Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, [was Queen of Canada and all her other realms. Queen Victoria was the first Monarch of the confederation of provinces that became known as the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867."

[2] Zines, The High Court and the Constitution, 4th ed. (1997) at 314: "The Queen as monarch of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is in a position resembling that of the King of Scotland and of England between 1603 and 1707 when two independent countries had a common sovereign"; the relationship between England and Scotland during those years is described as a personal union.

[3] P. E. Corbett (1940). "The Status of the British Commonwealth in International Law". The University of Toronto Law Journal. 3. {{cite journal}}: Text "pages 348-359" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Number= ignored (|number= suggested) (help)

[4] F. R. Scott (January 1944). "The End of Dominion Status". The American Journal of International Law. 38 (1): 34–49.

[5] R v Foreign Secretary; Ex parte Indian Association, QB 892 at 928; as referenced in High Court of Australia: Sue v Hill [1999 HCA 30; 23 June 1999; S179/1998 and B49/1998]

[6] The English Court of Appeal ruled in 1982, while "there is only one person who is the Sovereign within the British Commonwealth... in matters of law and government the Queen of the United Kingdom, for example, is entirely independent and distinct from the Queen of Canada." R v Foreign Secretary; Ex parte Indian Association, QB 892 at 928; as referenced in High Court of Australia: Sue v Hill [1999 HCA 30; 23 June 1999; S179/1998 and B49/1998]

[7] Heard, Andrew (1990). "Canadian Independence". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 2008-04-10. The legislative confusion which followed the abdication of King Edward VIII in December of 1936 was an important step in the evolution of Dominion status, because it demonstrated that the Imperial Crown could be an entirely divisible entity in law. All the Dominion governments had been warned that the King was about to abdicate the throne; indeed, the Canadian government sent a cable urging him to put his duty as King ahead of his desire to abdicate and marry Wallace Simpson. The news that the Instrument of Abdication had been signed was cabled to all the Dominion governments. Australia's Parliament was in session at the time and gave its formal assent to British legislation, as required by the convention recited in the preamble of the Statute of Westminster. The governments of New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa gave their consents as their Parliaments were not in session; the British Parliament passed an Abdication Act on the following day, December 11th, that gave legal effect to the Instrument of Abdication and brought George VI to the throne.
The divisibility of the Crown became a matter of law in some jurisdictions, however, through the actions of two Dominion Parliaments. The Irish Free State passed an Act declaring that the abdication took effect on December 12th, while the South African Parliament later passed an Act that declared that the abdication had taken effect in South Africa on December 10th. When the Canadian Parliament met in the new year, it passed an Act giving its assent to the British legislation. The assumption of this legislative authority was legally redundant because the British Act was undoubtedly already in force in Canada; it complied with the requirements of s.4 of the Statute of Westminster by containing a reference to the fact that it was being enacted with the request and consent of Canada, and a proclamation announcing that the accession to the Throne had also been duly made by the Governor General. But as Clokie observed about the Canadian Act, "Whether necessary or not, it was clearly designed to demonstrate Canada's equality with Britain in the British Commonwealth and to display the Canadian aspect of the monarchy". Even though the courts in South Africa and the Irish Free State would recognise the divisibility of the Crown and the authority of their own laws on the succession, these measures had no practical effect outside those two Dominions. As far as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia were concerned, the Crown remained a legal unity since their new monarch came to the throne through British legislation.

[8] "Canada's New Queen". CBC. Retrieved 22 August 2007.

[9] ttp://canada.gc.ca/howgoc/queen/quind_e.html 1

[10] National Gallery of Australia: By Appointment: Norman Hartnell's sample for the Coronation dress of Queen Elizabeth II

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]