British monarchy

:This article describes the British monarchy from the perspective of the United Kingdom. In the other Commonwealth Realms, the constitutional role of the monarchy is identical, but the historical and cultural significance may differ.

Style

Main article: Style and Title

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The present Sovereign's full style and title is: "Elizabeth the Second, 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 "Head of the Commonwealth" is held by the Queen personally, and is not vested in the British Crown. (However, her father, George VI, was also recognised as such.) Pope Leo X first granted the title "Defender of the Faith" to King Henry VIII in 1521, rewarding him for his support of the Papacy during the early years of the Protestant Reformation. However, Henry VIII later broke from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England; Pope Paul III revoked the grant, but Parliament passed a law authorising its continued use.

Related Topics:
Head of the Commonwealth - George VI - Pope Leo X - Defender of the Faith - 1521 - Protestant Reformation - Pope Paul III

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The Sovereign is known as "His Majesty" or "Her Majesty," though, in certain formal circumstances, "Most Gracious Majesty" or "Most Excellent Majesty" is used instead. The form "Britannic Majesty" appears in international treaties and on passports to differentiate the British monarch from foreign rulers. Queens Consort (wives of Kings) and Queens Dowager (widows of Kings) are also entitled to the style "Majesty," but husbands of female monarchs are not. Thus, the husband of the present Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, is only styled "Royal Highness."

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The ordinal used for the monarch only takes into account monarchs since the Norman Conquest. If only one monarch has used a particular name, then no ordinal is used; for example, Queen Victoria is never known as "Victoria I." After the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, numbering was based solely on previous English monarchs, and not on Scottish ones. In 1953, however, Scottish nationalists challenged the right of the Queen to style herself "Elizabeth II," on the grounds that there had never before been an "Elizabeth I" in Scotland. In MacCormick v. Lord Advocate, the Scottish Court of Session ruled against the plaintiffs, finding that the Queen's title was a matter of her own choice and prerogative. Nevertheless, it was announced that future monarchs would use the higher of the English and Scottish ordinals. Retroactively applying this policy yields no change in numbering.

Related Topics:
Norman Conquest - 1707 - 1953 - MacCormick v. Lord Advocate - Court of Session

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Traditionally, a monarch's signature includes his or her regnal name (but not ordinal) followed by the letter R. The letter stands for rex or regina (king or queen in Latin). Hence, the present Queen signs "Elizabeth R". From the reign of Victoria to that of George VI, they also signed an I, due to their status as Emperor of India, thus Queen Victoria would sign her name "Victoria RI".

Related Topics:
R - Latin - Victoria - George VI - I - Emperor of India

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