King in Council (Sweden)
King in Council, or Royal Majesty, (most formally Konungen i Statsrådet, but a term for it most often used in legal documents was Kunglig Majestät or short form Kungl.Maj:t or K.M:t. in Swedish) was a term of constitutional importance that was used in Sweden before 1975 when the 1974 Instrument of Government came into force.
Royal Majesty denoted several functions, but most importantly, it was the commonly used term that designated the supreme
History of the term Kunglig Majestät
The term Kunglig Majestät was earliest in use in Sweden in the 16th century, when the
Originally the term Kunglig Majestät therefore referred to the Monarch personally but later only to him (her) as a Sovereign in the Privy Council (Council of State) (Swedish: Statsrådet "Council of State", before 1789 Riksrådet "Council of the Realm").
Most commonly, decisions in the council required the king's formal participation. But when the king was away in other countries, or in remote parts within the country, the Council of State could reign in his name (sections 39–43 in the
The term Kunglig Majestät was also used by three courts acting on the king's behalf and using the king's seal according to section 23 in the 1809 Instrument of Government.[4] This was a remnant from the Judicial committee – Justitierevisionen ("the Justice revision") of the Privy Council or the Council of the Realm (Swedish: Riksrådet), before the Supreme Court was established in 1789.
The different uses of the term Kunglig Majestät were thus:
- Kungl. Maj:t i Statsrådet ("The King in the Council of State"),[5]
- Kungl. Maj:t i kommandokonselj ("The King in the 'Command Council' "), i.e. with military advisers (mostly the Minister for Defence) from the Ministry of Defence (Swedish: Försvarsdepartementet)[6]
- Kungl. Maj:t i Högsta Domstolen ("The King in the Supreme Court)[5]
- Kungl. Maj:t i Regeringsrätten ("The King in the Supreme Administrative Court")[5]
- Kungl. Maj:t i Kammarrätten ("The King in the Administrative High Court")[7]
Current usage
Today, with the exception of remnants of previous usage, the term Royal Majesty is at present in Sweden only used for Royal orders of knighthood, Kunglig Majestäts Orden.[8]
See also
- History of Sweden
- Oath of Allegiance (Sweden)
- Privy Council of Sweden
- Royal Order of the Seraphim
- Conseil du Roi (historical French counterpart)
References
- ^ Instrument of Government (1809) sections 39, 40, 41,42, 43 (in Swedish). The whole Act can be read here (in Swedish). See also this page (in Swedish) in the Swedish encyclopaedia Nordisk Familjebok.
- ^ Instrument of Government of 1809 with later amendments (in Swedish). Archived 2010-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
- Nordisk Familjebok, edition of 1908, columns 1166 and 1167 (in Swedish).
- ^ Instrument of Government (1809) section 23; and Instrument of Government of 1809 with later amendments (in Swedish). Archived 2010-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Lilla Uppslagsboken, edition of 1964-1967, binding 6, Förlagshuset Norden AB, Nordens boktryckeri, Malmö 1974, column 25; and Nordisk Familjebok, Encyklopedi och konversationslexikon, edition of 1952 (the fourth), Förlagshuset Norden AB, Förlagshuset Nordens Boktryckeri, Malmö 1953, 13th binding, column 34 (both in Swedish).
- ^ Nordisk Familjebok, Encyklopedi och konversationslexikon, the fourth edition of 1952, Förlagshuset Norden AB, Förlagshuset Nordens Boktryckeri, Malmö 1953, 13th binding, column 34; and section 15 of the Instrument of Government of 1809 (both in Swedish).
- ^ När Var Hur 1957, Bokförlaget Forum AB, AB ÅETÅ tryck, Åhlén & Åkerlunds Boktryckeri, Stockholm 1956 (in Swedish).
- ^ Royal Court of Sweden Archived 29 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine "The Royal Court of Sweden designates the order as being the Order of Knights and the order is in their English translation designated as Order of His Majesty the King."