The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 (17 & 18 Geo. 5. c. 4) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that authorised the alteration of the British monarch's royal style and titles, and altered the formal name of the British Parliament and hence of the state, in recognition of most of Ireland separating from the United Kingdom as the Irish Free State. It received royal assent on 12 April 1927.[1]
At the 1926 Imperial Conference, it was agreed by the Imperial government at Whitehall and those of the various Dominions that the existing royal style and titles of their shared monarch "hardly accorded with the altered state of affairs arising from the establishment of the Irish Free State as a Dominion".[2] The Conference concluded that the wording should be changed to:
"George V, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India"[3]
Under the existing constitutional arrangements of the British Commonwealth, it was necessary for legislation to be enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in order for the royal style and titles to be altered; the resulting Act would then extend automatically into the law of the various Dominions. The British Government introduced the necessary bill into the House of Commons in March 1927 and easily secured its passage through both Houses of Parliament.
Provisions of the Act
The Act contained three substantive provisions.
Firstly, the King was authorised to issue a royal proclamation within six months of the Act's passing, authorising him to alter the royal style and titles.[4] Following the precedent set by similar legislation in the past, the Act did not itself set out the form of the new style and titles that were to be adopted.
Secondly, the Act formally renamed the parliament sitting at Westminster from "Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" to "Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".[5]
Finally, the Act established that the term "United Kingdom", when used in "every Act [of Parliament] passed and public document issued after the passing of this Act", would mean Great Britain and Northern Ireland (unless the context required otherwise).[6]
A royal proclamation was subsequently issued under the terms of the Act on 13 May 1927. The proclamation followed the recommendation of the Imperial Conference by altering the Latin and English forms of the existing royal style and titles, the former by replacing "Britanniarum" with "Magnae Britanniae, Hiberniae", and the latter by replacing "the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of" with "Great Britain, Ireland and".[7]
Over the next quarter of the century the relationship between the various members of the Commonwealth continued to evolve. In particular, the outcome of the 1930 Imperial Conference (and the resultant Statute of Westminster 1931), the formal declaration by the Irish state of its republican status and its consequent secession, as the Republic of Ireland, from the Commonwealth, and the request by India that it remain a member of the Commonwealth despite adopting a republican constitution, all altered both the nature and composition of the Commonwealth.
The royal style and titles were altered in 1948, to reflect the independence of India the previous year by omitting the title "Emperor of India". However, the accession of a new monarch (Elizabeth II) in 1952 was taken as an opportunity to completely alter both the form of the style and titles, and the manner in which they would be legislated for; henceforth, each Commonwealth realm would pass its own legislation establishing its own version of the style and titles. The resulting legislation for the United Kingdom and its dependencies was the Royal Titles Act 1953. The reference to "Ireland" in the royal style and title was not changed to "Northern Ireland" until May 1953.[9]
^Oliver, J. D. B. (2004). "What's in a Name?". In John Tiley (ed.). Studies in the history of tax law. Tax Law History Conference. Oxford ; Portland, Or: Hart Publishing. ISBN1841134732.
^ abImperial Conference, 1926: Summary of Proceedings Cmd 2768, p. 15 (London: HMSO, 1926).
^"Creation of Irish Free Satte; Changes in the King's Titles Necessitated". The Irish Times. 28 October 1930. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^"Royal Arms, Styles, and Titles of Great Britain".
External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Proclamation 1927
Royal Arms, Styles, and Titles of Great Britain: Documents (Full text of the 1927 Act and royal proclamation)
August 21, 2023
royal, parliamentary, titles, 1927, rapta, redirects, here, ancient, port, city, rhapta, this, article, relies, excessively, references, primary, sources, please, improve, this, article, adding, secondary, tertiary, sources, find, sources, news, newspapers, bo. RaPTA redirects here For the ancient port city see Rhapta This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 17 amp 18 Geo 5 c 4 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that authorised the alteration of the British monarch s royal style and titles and altered the formal name of the British Parliament and hence of the state in recognition of most of Ireland separating from the United Kingdom as the Irish Free State It received royal assent on 12 April 1927 1 Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927Act of ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomLong titleAn Act to provide for the alteration of the Royal Style and Titles and of the Style of Parliament and for purposes incidental thereto Citation17 amp 18 Geo 5 c 4DatesRoyal assent12 April 1927Commencement12 April 1927Status Current legislationText of statute as originally enactedRevised text of statute as amended Contents 1 Background to the Act 2 Provisions of the Act 3 Subsequent developments 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground to the Act EditAs a result of the Anglo Irish Treaty in December 1922 most of Ireland was detached from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to become the Irish Free State However six north eastern counties all within Ulster remained united with Great Britain as Northern Ireland The King s title proclaimed under the Royal Titles Act 1901 was George V by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King Defender of the Faith Emperor of India 2 At the 1926 Imperial Conference it was agreed by the Imperial government at Whitehall and those of the various Dominions that the existing royal style and titles of their shared monarch hardly accorded with the altered state of affairs arising from the establishment of the Irish Free State as a Dominion 2 The Conference concluded that the wording should be changed to George V by the Grace of God of Great Britain Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King Defender of the Faith Emperor of India 3 Under the existing constitutional arrangements of the British Commonwealth it was necessary for legislation to be enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in order for the royal style and titles to be altered the resulting Act would then extend automatically into the law of the various Dominions The British Government introduced the necessary bill into the House of Commons in March 1927 and easily secured its passage through both Houses of Parliament Provisions of the Act EditThe Act contained three substantive provisions Firstly the King was authorised to issue a royal proclamation within six months of the Act s passing authorising him to alter the royal style and titles 4 Following the precedent set by similar legislation in the past the Act did not itself set out the form of the new style and titles that were to be adopted Secondly the Act formally renamed the parliament sitting at Westminster from Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 5 Finally the Act established that the term United Kingdom when used in every Act of Parliament passed and public document issued after the passing of this Act would mean Great Britain and Northern Ireland unless the context required otherwise 6 A royal proclamation was subsequently issued under the terms of the Act on 13 May 1927 The proclamation followed the recommendation of the Imperial Conference by altering the Latin and English forms of the existing royal style and titles the former by replacing Britanniarum with Magnae Britanniae Hiberniae and the latter by replacing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of with Great Britain Ireland and 7 The Great Seal of the Realm and Great Seal of Scotland were replaced to update the change of royal style The new designs by Percy Metcalfe were delivered at a Privy Council meeting on 27 October 1930 8 Subsequent developments EditOver the next quarter of the century the relationship between the various members of the Commonwealth continued to evolve In particular the outcome of the 1930 Imperial Conference and the resultant Statute of Westminster 1931 the formal declaration by the Irish state of its republican status and its consequent secession as the Republic of Ireland from the Commonwealth and the request by India that it remain a member of the Commonwealth despite adopting a republican constitution all altered both the nature and composition of the Commonwealth The royal style and titles were altered in 1948 to reflect the independence of India the previous year by omitting the title Emperor of India However the accession of a new monarch Elizabeth II in 1952 was taken as an opportunity to completely alter both the form of the style and titles and the manner in which they would be legislated for henceforth each Commonwealth realm would pass its own legislation establishing its own version of the style and titles The resulting legislation for the United Kingdom and its dependencies was the Royal Titles Act 1953 The reference to Ireland in the royal style and title was not changed to Northern Ireland until May 1953 9 See also EditStyle of the British sovereign Title and style of the Canadian monarch Royal Style and Titles ActReferences Edit Oliver J D B 2004 What s in a Name In John Tiley ed Studies in the history of tax law Tax Law History Conference Oxford Portland Or Hart Publishing ISBN 1841134732 a b Imperial Conference 1926 Summary of Proceedings Cmd 2768 p 15 London HMSO 1926 Cmd 2768 1926 p 16 Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 s 1 s 2 1 s 2 2 No 33274 The London Gazette 13 May 1927 pp 3111 3111 Creation of Irish Free Satte Changes in the King s Titles Necessitated The Irish Times 28 October 1930 p 6 Retrieved 18 March 2020 Royal Arms Styles and Titles of Great Britain External links Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article Royal and Parliamentary Titles Proclamation 1927 Royal Arms Styles and Titles of Great Britain Documents Full text of the 1927 Act and royal proclamation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 amp oldid 1162157709, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
