The Crown

• 1. Defining The Crown

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  Legal scholars Maurice Sunkin and Sebastian Payne once wrote that the nature of the Crown has been taken for granted, in part because it is fundamental. Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson theorized that the Crown is an amorphous, abstract concept impossible to define. William Wade stated simply that the Crown means the Queen. Warren J. Newman described it as a useful and convenient means of conveying compendious formal powers. Lord Diplock suggested the Crown means the government and all ministers under whose direction administrative work is carried out by civil servants. This interpretation was supported by section 8 of the Pensions (Colonial Service) Act 1887. That act set terms like permanent civil service of Her Majesty and permanent civil service of the Crown as having the same meaning. In each Commonwealth realm, the term at its broadest means the government or the polity known as the state. The sovereign in all realms is the living embodiment of the state. The body of the reigning sovereign holds two distinct personas in constant coexistence. These are the ancient theory of the King's two bodies: the body natural subject to infirmity and death, and the body politic which never dies. The Crown and the sovereign are conceptually divisible but legally indivisible. The office cannot exist without the office-holder.

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• 2. Feudal Origins And Evolution

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  The concept of the Crown took form under the feudal system. In England, all rights and privileges were ultimately bestowed by the ruler. Land was granted by the Crown to lords in exchange for feudal services. They, in turn, granted the land to lesser lords. One exception to this was common socage where owners held it subject only to the crown. When such lands became ownerless they returned to direct ownership of the Crown. This process is called escheat. As physical crowns and property belonging to successive monarchs came to be separated from the person of the monarch, functions decreased over centuries. Parliaments ministries and courts grew through the 13th century. The term then developed into a means to differentiate official functions from personal choices. Even within medieval England there existed the doctrine of capacities separating the king from his actions as monarch. The Crown was first defined as an imperial crown during the reign of Henry VIII. The Ecclesiastical Appeals Act 1532 declared that this realm of England is an empire governed by one Supreme Head. William Blackstone's 1765 Commentaries on the Laws of England explained that our king is equally sovereign and independent within these dominions. He owes no kind of subjection to any other potentate on earth.

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• 3. Executive And Legislative Powers

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  The institution and powers of the Crown are formally vested in the king but conventionally exercised in the sovereign's name by ministers. These ministers are drawn from and responsible to the elected chamber of parliament. The king or queen is the employer of all government officials including viceroys judges members of the armed forces police officers and parliamentarians. They act as guardian of foster children known as Crown wards. They own all Crown land which is public land or state land in other countries. This includes buildings equipment state-owned companies called Crown corporations or Crown entities. They hold copyright for government publications known as Crown copyright. All such property is held by the Crown in perpetuity and cannot be sold by the sovereign without proper advice and consent. Should the monarch abdicate all such property remains with the Crown and comes under ownership of their successor. The concept of the Crown as part of parliament relates to the idea of fusion of powers. This means executive branch and legislative branch are fused together. It is a key concept of the Westminster system developed in England. This system is used in countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. In Commonwealth realms that are federations the King in parliament applies within that specific parliament only. Each sub-national parliament is considered separate and distinct from each other and from federal parliaments.

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• 4. Judicial Proceedings And Immunity

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  The King is the fountain of justice. In criminal proceedings the Crown is the prosecuting party led by a Crown prosecutor or Crown attorney in parts of Canada. Case citation usually designates the case as R v Smith where R stands for rex if the current monarch is male or regina if female. A criminal case against Smith might be referred to as R v Smith and verbally read as the Crown against Smith. The Crown is generally immune to prosecution and civil lawsuits. To pursue a case against alleged unlawful activity by the government a judicial review is brought by the Crown against a minister on application of a claimant. Titles now follow the pattern R on the application of X v Y. An example is R Miller v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. Until the end of the 20th century such titles used the pattern R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union ex parte Miller. In Scotland criminal prosecutions are undertaken by the lord advocate in the name of the Crown. The abbreviation HMA is used in the High Court of Justiciary for His Her Majesty's Advocate. Most jurisdictions in Australia use R or The King in criminal cases. If the Crown is respondent to an appeal words The King will be spelled out instead of using abbreviation R. In Western Australia and Tasmania prosecutions will be brought in the name of the respective state instead of the Crown.

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• 5. Divisibility Across Realms

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  Historically the Crown was considered indivisible and the sovereign advised only by ministers in the United Kingdom. As self-governing dominions gained control over royal prerogative in the 1930s this concept evolved. The Crown in right of each realm and territory acts independently of other realms and territories. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 recognized dominions as autonomous Communities within the British Empire equal in status. They were united by common allegiance to the Crown but free from subordination one to another. The Statute of Westminster 1931 enshrined a common allegiance to the Crown in its preamble. It established constitutional convention that any alteration in law touching Succession to Throne would require assent of each dominion parliament. This unity was tested with 1936 abdication of Edward VIII when Irish Free State implemented it a day later than UK. This created 24-hour divergence where Edward VIII was king in Irish Free State and George VI elsewhere. Historian Vernon Bogdanor stated it remains constitutionally inappropriate for succession to diverge even as realms attained independence. Convention reaffirmed with 2011 Perth Agreement whereby Commonwealth realms co-operated to end male-preference primogeniture in unison March 2015.

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• 6. Regional Applications In Canada And Australia

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  The preamble to British North America Act 1867 expressed desire of Canadian provinces to be united under Crown of United Kingdom. Judgement in Ex parte Indian Association of Alberta EWCA 1982 ruled obligations towards indigenous peoples held by Crown in right of Canada not UK. In Canada one Crown acts separately in eleven governments including federal and ten provincial. When Crown land transfers between federal government and province responsibility to manage land being transferred lies with transferring party. Eugene Forsey wrote in Crown and Cabinet that provinces are not themselves monarchies but part of constitutional monarchy. The Queen is Queen of Canada not Queen of Ontario or Quebec. She is queen in all these provinces but as such she is Queen of Canada. It is matter of debate whether separate Crowns exist for each Australian state. Wording typically akin to Crown in right of place when referring to multiple jurisdictions. In New Zealand term the Crown used mostly to mean authority of government. Professor Alan Ward defines it as people of New Zealand including Māori acting through elected parliament and government. Legislation in Bailiwick of Guernsey refers to Crown in Right of Bailiwick. Law officers stated this context means collective governmental institutions established under authority of monarch.

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• 7. Symbolism And Legal Restrictions

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  The Crown represented by image of crown in heraldry and other imagery such as cap badges uniforms logos. Heraldic crown chosen by reigning monarch. From 1661 to reign of Queen Victoria image of St Edward's Crown was used. Early part of Victoria's reign depicted Imperial State Crown created for coronation. Tudor Crown began to be used from 1860s. In 1901 Tudor Crown design standardized until reign of Elizabeth II in 1952 when restored. Charles III opted for modified Tudor Crown design in 2022. Crown copyright applies in perpetuity to depictions of Royal Arms under royal prerogative. National Archives restrict rights to reproduce them. Although Crown Copyright usually expires 50 years after publication Section 171b of Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 made exception for any right or privilege of Crown not written in act of parliament. Use of images of crowns for commercial purposes restricted in UK under sections 4 and 99 of Trade Marks Act 1994. It is offence under Section 12 of Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to give false indication goods supplied to monarch.

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