Regency Acts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Regency Acts are Acts of the British Parliament passed at various points in time, to provide a regent if the British monarch were to be incapacitated or in minority (under the age of 18). Prior to 1937, Regency Acts were passed only in necessity. In 1937, a specific Regency Act provided the scope for a regent in law, and also established the post of Counsellor of State, who would act on the monarch's behalf when temporarily absent from the realm.
An example of a regency act to be enacted was the Regency Act of 1811 which allowed Prince George, Prince of Wales to act as regent whilst his father, King George III was incapacitated. George ruled as the Prince Regent until his father's death, and he ascended the throne as King George IV.
[edit] History
Prior to 1937, there was no provision in British law for the provision of a regent to be appointed in the event of the current British monarch being incapacitated or absent from the country. Neither was there the provision for a regent to rule on behalf of the heir to the throne succeeding the throne as a minor. As Parliament did not gain the power to determine the Order of succession to the British throne until the Glorious Revolution, it was up to the sovereign to decide who would be regent in any event.
The passing of the Bill of Rights 1689 by the Parliament of England confirmed in law that parliament, not the sovereign, decided the order of succession. The Act of Settlement 1701 saw the English parliament pass the line of succession to Electress Sophia of Hanover, confirmed by the Act of Union 1707 for Great Britain. With its new power over the sovereign finally confirming the notion of Parliamentary supremacy in British law, it was now possible for the parliament to pass Regency Acts to determine who would act as regent under the absence, incapacity or minority of the ruling sovereign. Subsequently several Regency Acts have been passed.
[edit] Regency Act 1728
The first Regency Act (Regency During the King's Absence Act 1728 c. 27) passed by the British Parliament was in 1728. The Act specified that Queen Caroline would act as regent in the absence of her husband King George II. The Act was necessary because George II was also Elector of Hanover and was returning to his homeland for a visit.
[edit] Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1751
In 1751, Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King George II and heir apparent died. This left Frederick's eldest son, Prince George of Wales the heir apparent. However George was only 12 at the time of his father's death. In the event of the King dying before George reached 18, the throne would be passing to a minor.
Consequently, Parliament made a provision for a regent by passing the Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1751 (24 Geo 2 c 24) 1. This Act provided that George's mother, Princess Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales would act as regent. The act also specified that a Council of Regency be put in place to rule alongside Princess Augusta. The Council of Regency was in place to act as a brake on the regent's power, as some acts of the royal prerogative, such as the signing of war or peace treaties, would require a majority vote of the council.
[edit] Minority of Heir to the Crown Act 1765
In 1760, King George III ascended the throne, with his brother the Duke of York as heir presumptive. However, the new King soon married and had several children. By 1765, the King had three infant children in the order of succession. Parliament again passed a Regency Act to provide for a regent in the event of the King's death.
The Minority of Heir to the Crown Act 1765 (5 Geo 3 c 27) 2 provided that either the King's wife Queen Charlotte or his mother, Princess Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales would act as regent. This act also required the formation of a Council of Regency.
[edit] Regency Bill 1789
The Regency Bill of 1789 was a proposed Act of Parliament to provide that King George III's eldest son Prince George, Prince of Wales would act as regent due to the King's incapacity through mental illness. With no legislation already in place, there was no legal basis for providing a regent, and the King was in no fit state to give Royal Assent to the act. Parliament decided to have the Lord Chancellor approve the bill by fixing the Great Seal of the Realm to give Royal Assent. However, the King recovered in time before the bill could be passed. The Duke of York and others thought the act illegal; but following his recovery, the King declared that the government had acted correctly.
The King's continuing mental problems throughout the rest of his life confirmed the need for a suitable Regency Act to be in place. However, the King was hostile to the passing of such an act while he was of sound mind.
[edit] Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act 1811
In late 1810, King George III was once again overcome by mental illness, following the death of his youngest daughter, Princess Amelia. Parliament agreed to follow the precedent of 1788; without the King's consent, the Lord Chancellor affixed the Great Seal of the Realm to letters patent naming Lords Commissioners. The Lords Commissioners, in the name of the King, signified the granting of the Royal Assent to a bill which became the Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act 1811 (citation 51 Geo 3 c 1). Parliament restricted some of the powers of the Prince Regent (as the Prince of Wales became known). The constraints expired one year after the passage of the Act.
The importance of this Regency Act was that it did not require a Council of Regency, as required by previous legislation. One reason for this was that the Prince Regent was heir to the throne in any case, and would assume full powers upon his father's death.
[edit] Regency Act 1830
By 1830, the throne had passed to George III's third eldest son, William IV. However William IV had no legitimate children, and given the age of his wife, Queen Adelaide, would be unlikely to have any in the future. The heiress presumptive to the throne was his niece, Princess Victoria of Kent, who was only twelve.
As Victoria's father was dead, and Parliament mistrusted the younger sons of George III, the Act (1 Will IV c. 2) placed any potential regency caused by the King's death before Victoria had reached 18, in her mother, The Duchess of Kent. However if Queen Adelaide gave birth to a child, that child was to become king or queen instead of Victoria, and Adelaide would become regent. If such a birth occurred after the King's death, his child was to succeed Victoria as king or queen.
The Act also prohibited the Queen from marrying during the regency without the Regent's consent, and made it high treason to marry her, or to assist in or be concerned in marrying her.
However since Victoria became queen aged 18, a regency was unnecessary and the Act never came into force.
[edit] Lord Justices Act 1837
In 1837 Princess Victoria of Kent succeeded her uncle to become Queen Victoria. She became monarch aged 18, and as she was still unmarried and without children she had no heir. The next in the line of succession was her uncle, King Ernst August of Hanover, who succeeded King William IV in Hanover as Salic Law prevented Victoria becoming Queen of Hanover. Thus Ernst August departed England to take up his role in Hanover. This meant that until the Queen married and had legitimate children, the heir to the throne and his children would reside abroad. Although they would almost certainly return to the UK in the event of Victoria dying without an heir, it would take some weeks for this to happen using nineteenth century transport.
To provide for the continuation of government in such an instance, Parliament passed the Lord Justices Act 1837 (7 Will. 4. & 1 Vict. c. 72., long title: An Act to provide for the Appointment of Lords Justices in the Case of the next Successor to the Crown being out of the Realm at the Time of the Demise of Her Majesty). This Act did not provide for a specific regent to be appointed, as it was be expected that the new monarch would arrive in the country within a reasonable time. Thus the Act provided only for Lord Justices, made up of such people as the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chief Justice, to take up some of the monarch's duties. Unlike the powers granted to prospective regents in previous legislation, the powers of the Lords Justice were more limited, and they could not dissolve Parliament or create peerages for example.
[edit] Regency Act 1840
By 1840, Queen Victoria had married her cousin, HSH Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and had one child, Princess Victoria, Princess Royal. It was expected that the Queen would have many other children, however they would be in minority for at least the next 18 years, and Parliament again would have to provide for a regent in the event of Victoria's death. The previous Lord Justices Act 1837 would not apply to the Queen's children, as they resided in the UK. Parliament therefore passed the Regency Act 1840 (3 & 4 Vict c. 52) which provided for the Queen's consort, Prince Albert to rule as regent until the eldest child reached the age of 18. The Act did not require a Regency Council to operate alongside Prince Albert, potentially giving him more power than other proposed regents. The Act was fairly controversial at the time, as the people of the UK were suspicious of Prince Albert, and he was generally unpopular in Parliament.
[edit] Regency Act 1910
By 1910, Queen Victoria's grandson, King George V was monarch. However his children were all under the age of 18. Therefore Parliament passed a new Regency Act (10 Edw. VII & 1. Geo. V c. 26) in 1910, that named the King's consort, Queen Mary as regent. No regency council was provided for, the same as the previous Regency Act of 1840.
[edit] Regency Act 1937
By 1937 King George V's son, King George VI was king, and his eldest daughter The Princess Elizabeth was the heiress presumptive. However Princess Elizabeth was under the age of 18, leading to the need for a new Regency Act.
However, rather than pass a specific Regency Act relating to the succession of George VI only, Parliament passed the Regency Act 1937 (1 Edw. VIII & 1 Geo. VI c. 1), which provided for the incapacity or minority of all future monarchs. It also repealed the Lord Justices Act 1837, and provided a new office, Counsellor of State, to be appointed during the monarch's absence abroad, or temporary illness.
The Act required that the regent should be the next person in the line of succession who was:
- over the age of 21,
- a British subject domiciled in the United Kingdom, and
- capable of succeeding to the Crown under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701.
The Counsellors of State were to consist of:
- the consort of the monarch and
- the next four people in the line of succession over the age of 21.
Thus at the time of the Act, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester would have been appointed regent in the event of The Princess Elizabeth succeeding to the throne on the death of her father. The current prospective regent under the Act would be Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.
[edit] Regency Act 1943
This Act (6 & 7 Geo. VI c. 42) modified the Regency Act 1937 so that counsellors of state who were absent during the Sovereign's absence would not be listed among the appointments. It also declared that the heir-apparent or presumptive to the throne (first in the line of succession) only had to be 18 to be a counsellor.
[edit] Regency Act 1953
In 1952, King George VI died and his daughter, The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, succeeded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. With her eldest son and heir apparent, Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall under the age of 18, the Regency Act 1937 would provide for the next person over the age of 21 in the line of succession, the Queen's sister Princess Margaret, to act as regent. However, despite the fact that a regency was already provided for, Parliament made a new law saying that The Duke of Edinburgh, if living, would act as regent in case of an underage succession to the Crown. If a long-term regency was necessary during the current Queen's reign, the Duke of Edinburgh would act as regent only if the Queen had no eligible children or grandchildren.
The new Act (2 & 3 Eliz. II c. 1) also removed the anomaly that a person aged 18 could become monarch in their own right, but could not act as a regent.
The Act also allowed the Queen's mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, to become a Counsellor of State again, a position she had lost on the death of her husband King George VI.
[edit] Current position
Currently, under the provisions of the Regency Act 1937, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales would act as regent in the event of the incapacity of The Queen. The next six individuals in the line of succession would be eligible to succeed or be regents in their own right. As of March 23 2008, the first person under the age of 18 is Viscount Severn. If he were to succeed to the throne prior to his 18th birthday on December 17, 2025, his aunt, Princess Anne, would be regent under the 1937 Act; if Princess Anne was no longer alive, the regent would be Anne's son Peter Phillips. Following Viscount Severn is his elder sister, Lady Louise Windsor, who would not be able to rule until she turned 18 in 2021.
[edit] External links
- Official text of Regency Act 1937 (c. 16) as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
- Official text of Regency Act 1943 (c. 42) as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
- Official text of Regency Act 1953 (c. 1) as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
- Heraldica.org website on Regency
