Regency Acts

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The Regency Acts are

today.

An example of a pre-1937 Regency Act was the

King George III

, was incapacitated.

History

Prior to 1937, there was no permanent, general provision in British law for a

Queen Mary I

, regent if Mary died and her heir was male and under 18 or an unmarried female under 15.

By the

] Since then, several Regency Acts have been passed.

• Notable British regents
• 
  Sir Thomas Parker
  August–September 1714
• 
  Prince George (future George II)^[1]
  1716–1717
• 
  Queen Caroline^[1]
  

  • May–September 1729
  • June–September 1732
  • May–October 1735
  • 1736–1737
• 
  Prince George (future George IV)^[1]
  1811–1820

Regency Act 1705 and Succession to the Crown Act 1707

With the passage of the Act of Settlement 1701 establishing the Protestant Succession and making Sophia of Hanover the heir presumptive to the throne, it became likely that upon Queen Anne's death the country would be without a monarch in residence. The Regency Act 1705 was passed "to put it [the succession] in such a method as was not to be resisted but by open force of arms and a public declaration for the Pretender".^[2]

The Act required

.

Two years later, after the union of Scotland and England, the new Parliament of Great Britain passed the Succession to the Crown Act 1707 to reaffirm the above procedure and modify it slightly. Under the Act, if the monarch died while the heir to the throne was overseas, the government would be run until the new monarch returned by between seven and fourteen "Lords Justices". Seven of the Lords Justices were named in the Act, and the next monarch could appoint seven others, who would be named in writing, with three copies to be sent to the Privy Council in England.^[4]

The Act made it treason for any unauthorized person to open them or to neglect to deliver them to the Privy Council.^[5] The Lords Justices were to have the power to give royal assent to bills, except that they would be guilty of treason if they amended the Act of Uniformity 1662 or the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Act 1707.^[6]

Upon Anne's death in 1714, the new king, George I, was in his home realm of Hanover. In accordance with the Succession to the Crown Act, Thomas Parker, Lord Chief Justice, became head of the regency. He served for a little over a month.^[1]

Regency Act 1728

Regency During the King's Absence Act 1728
Act of Parliament
2 Geo. 2. c. 27
Dates
Royal assent	14 May 1729
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1867
Status: Repealed

The second Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain to deal exclusively with a regency was in 1728, the Regency During the King's Absence Act 1728 (

and was returning to his homeland for a visit.

Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1750

Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1750 Commencement		17 January 1751
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1867
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

In 1751,

, as the new heir apparent. However, George was then only 12. If the King were to die before Prince George turned 18, the throne would pass to a minor.

That made Parliament provide for a regent by passing the Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1750

, would require a majority vote of the council. The provisions of the Act actually never came into force since Prince George had already come of age by the time that his grandfather died.

Minority of Heir to the Crown Act 1765

Minority of Heir to the Crown Act 1765
Act of Parliament
5 Geo. 3. c. 27
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1867
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

In 1760, King George III ascended the throne, with his brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, 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 (

, or his mother, Princess Augusta, would act as regent. The Act also required the formation of a Council of Regency. As with the previous act, the provision of the new act actually never came into force since when George III died, his eldest son was already aged 57.

Regency Bill 1789

The Regency Bill 1789 was a proposed

, and others thought the Act to be illegal, but after 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.

Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act 1811

United Kingdom legislation

Care of King During his Illness, etc. Act 1811
Act of Parliament
51 Geo. 3. c. 1
Dates
Royal assent	5 February 1811
Status: Repealed

In late 1810, King George III was once again overcome by mental illness after the death of his youngest daughter,

discharged those functions in the name and on behalf of the King from 1811 to 1820, when the King died and the Prince of Wales succeeded to the throne.

Parliament restricted some of the powers of the Prince Regent, as the Prince of Wales became known. These constraints were in regards to appointments to certain offices, though they expired one year after the passage of the Act. The period from 1811 to 1820 is known as the Regency era.

The importance of this Regency Act was that it did not require a Council of Regency, as required by previous legislation. One reason was that the Prince Regent was heir apparent to the throne in any case and so would assume full powers upon his father's death.

Regency Act 1830

In 1830, the throne passed to George IV's younger brother (George III's third son),

.

As Parliament mistrusted the surviving younger sons of George III, the Act (

Victoria, Dowager Duchess of Kent

. However, if Queen Adelaide gave birth to a child, that child would 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 immediately succeed Victoria in Victoria's lifetime as king or queen. The Act prohibited either monarch from marrying during the regency without the Regent's consent and made it

However, since Victoria became queen at 18, and Queen Adelaide had no more children, a regency was unnecessary and so the Act never came into force.

Lords Justices Act 1837

United Kingdom legislation

Lords Justices Act 1837
Act of Parliament
7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 72
Dates
Royal assent	15 July 1837
Repealed	19 March 1937
Other legislation
Repealed by	Regency Act 1937
Status: Repealed

In 1837, Victoria succeeded her uncle at 18 while she was still unmarried and without children. The next in the line of succession was her uncle, the 66-year-old Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who succeeded King William IV in the Kingdom of Hanover. Ernest Augustus left the United Kingdom to take up his role in Hanover. That meant that until the Queen married and had legitimate children, the heir presumptive to the throne and his children would reside abroad. Although they would almost certainly return to the United Kingdom in the event of Victoria dying without having been survived by a legitimate child, that would take some weeks by using 19th-century transport.

To provide for the continuation of government in such an instance, Parliament passed the Lords Justices Act 1837 (

, 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; for example, they could not dissolve Parliament or create peerages.

Regency Act 1840

Regency Act 1840
Act of Parliament
3 & 4 Vict. c. 52
Dates
Royal assent	4 August 1840

By 1840, Queen Victoria had married her cousin,

. 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 Lords 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 Prince Albert to rule as regent until the eldest son (or daughter, if no sons) reached the age of 18. The Act did not require a Regency Council to operate alongside Prince Albert, which potentially gave him more power than earlier proposed regents. The Act was fairly controversial at the time, as the British people were suspicious of Prince Albert, and he was generally unpopular in Parliament. However Victoria lived until 1901 (thus her surviving children were adults by then), and in any case, Albert predeceased her and so he did not become the regent.

The Act would have prohibited the monarch from marrying during the regency without written consent from the Regent and both houses of Parliament and made it

Regency Act 1910

United Kingdom legislation

Regency Act 1910
Act of Parliament
10 Edw. 7. & 1 Geo. 5. c. 26
Dates
Royal assent	3 August 1910
Text of statute as originally enacted

In 1910 King Edward VII's son,

was well over 18 by the time George V died.

Acts currently in force governing the establishment of a regency

The Acts currently in force governing the cases in which a Regency shall come into existence and when a regency shall cease, the determination of who shall be regent and the powers of such regent are the Regency Act 1937, the Regency Act 1943, and the Regency Act 1953, jointly referred to as the "Regency Acts 1937 to 1953".

Regency Act 1937

United Kingdom legislation

Regency Act 1937

Act of Parliament
Commencement		19 March 1937
Other legislation
Amended by	Regency Act 1943 Regency Act 1953 Succession to the Crown Act 2013
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Regency Act 1937 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

In 1936, George VI (George V's second son) became king, with his elder daughter, Princess Elizabeth, as heir presumptive. However, Elizabeth was under the age of 18, leading to the need for a new regency act.

Rather than pass a specific regency act relating to the death or incapacity of George VI only, Parliament passed the Regency Act 1937 (1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6 c. 16), which provided for the incapacity or minority of all future monarchs. It also repealed the Lords Justices Act 1837, and established in statute the office of

, to be appointed during the monarch's absence abroad, or temporary illness not amounting to complete incapacity.

The Act ordered that a regent should perform the royal functions if 'the Sovereign is by reason of infirmity of mind or body incapable for the time being of performing the royal functions or that they are satisfied by evidence that the Sovereign is for some definite cause not available for the performance of those functions'.^[11] Such a determination must be made by at least three of:

• the wife or husband of the Sovereign
• the Lord Chancellor
• the Speaker of the House of Commons
• the
  Lord Chief Justice of England
• the Master of the Rolls^[11]

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
• capable of succeeding to the Crown under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701

The counsellors of state were to consist of:

• the monarch's consort
• the next four people in the line of succession over the age of 21, excluding any person who is disqualified from being regent

Thus, at the time of the passing of the Act, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester would have become regent in the event that King George VI died while Princess Elizabeth was still a minor. The current prospective regent under the Act, who would assume the functions of regent should Charles III become incapacitated, would be his elder son William, Prince of Wales.

Section 4 of the Act prohibits the regent from giving

.

Regency Act 1943

United Kingdom legislation

Regency Act 1943

Act of Parliament
Commencement		11 November 1943
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

This Act (

6 & 7 Geo. 6

. 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.

Regency Act 1953

United Kingdom legislation

Regency Act 1953

Act of Parliament
Commencement		19 November 1953
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

In 1952 King George VI died and was succeeded by his elder daughter,

, while still under the age of 18 years. That provision, which ceased to have any relevance in law once all children of Elizabeth and Philip reached adulthood, was to the effect that Prince Philip, if living, would act as regent in case of an underage succession to the Crown by one of the children born of his marriage to Queen Elizabeth II. Furthermore, if a regency was necessary during Elizabeth II's reign, the Duke of Edinburgh would act as regent if the Queen had no eligible children or grandchildren.

At the bill's second reading,

David Maxwell-Fyfe

, the Home Secretary, explained:

The Amendment is confined to the Duke, and accordingly, in the event of the Duke's death, which we all fervently hope will not occur for many years, the Amendment would cease to have effect, and in the circumstances in which provision is made by the Bill for the Duke being the Regent, the Princess Margaret would, if alive, be Regent. This is in no sense an exclusion Bill.[14]

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.

Most of the provisions of the Regency Act 1953 (

had said:

There might well arise a case where the heir to the Throne was under 18 years of age and where it would be necessary to have a Regent, but that such Regent would only be a few months older. It would then be rather absurd to appoint as Regent someone only six months older than the King. Consequently ... there should be a minimum difference of three years.[15]

Counsellors of State Act 2022

Counsellors of State Act 2022

Act of Parliament
Commencement		7 December 2022
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The act appointed

respectively reached the age of 21.

Situations in which the royal functions are transferred to a regent

According to the Regency Acts 1937 to 1953, presently in force, there is provision for the establishment of a regency either on account of the minority of the monarch or of the absolute incapacity of the monarch to discharge the royal functions.

Regency in the case of the minority of the sovereign

According to the Regency Acts in force, if the monarch is under the age of 18 years when he or she succeeds to the throne, a regency is automatically established, and, until the monarch attains the age of 18 years, the royal functions are discharged by the regent in the name and on behalf of the monarch.

In that case, any oaths or declarations required by statute to be taken by the sovereign on or after succeeding to the Crown are postponed until the sovereign's personal assumption of the royal functions, and for the purpose of all such enactments regarding oaths and declarations that the new monarch must make upon accession "the date on which the Sovereign attains the age of eighteen years shall be deemed to be the date of His Accession".

Regency in the case of infirmity or unavailability

Unlike any of the preceding Regency Acts, the Regency Act 1937 (which is still in force) established in law a procedure for determining the incapacity of the sovereign due to infirmity of mind or body or due to the monarch's unavailability for another definite cause.

When a declaration of incapacity is made in accordance with the procedure set out in the Regency Act 1937 a regency is established and the royal functions are transferred from the sovereign to a regent, who discharges them in the name and on behalf of the monarch until a declaration is made in accordance with the said Act to the effect that the monarch's incapacity has ceased.

Declarations of incapacity and capacity

According to section 2 of the Regency Act 1937, the people who can make a declaration of incapacity (or a declaration that the incapacity has ended) are the sovereign's consort, the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and the Master of the Rolls. As of 15 January 2024^[update] these positions are held by, respectively, Queen Camilla, Alex Chalk, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, and Sir Geoffrey Vos.

Any declaration of incapacity or of cessation of incapacity needs to be signed by three or more of them. Declarations based on the monarch's unavailability for a definite cause need to be supported by evidence, and declarations attesting the sovereign's incapacity by reason of infirmity of mind or body need to be supported by evidence including evidence provided by physicians.

A declaration of incapacity or of cessation of incapacity needs to be made to the Privy Council and communicated to the governments of the dominions.

Incapacity of the Regent

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Under the Regency Act 1937, a declaration of incapacity can also be made with respect to the regent. Thus, if the person serving as regent becomes incapable of discharging the royal functions, either on account of an infirmity of mind or body, or because the regent has become, for a definite cause, unavailable to perform the said functions, the same group of people who can make a declaration of incapacity regarding the sovereign (the spouse of the monarch, the Lord Chancellor, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice of England and the Master of the Rolls) are empowered to make a declaration of incapacity regarding the regent.

The requirements for that declaration of incapacity are the same ones that are valid with regard to a declaration affecting the sovereign: the incapacity of the regent must be attested by evidence; in the case of infirmity that evidence shall include evidence provided by physicians; the declaration needs to be signed by at least three of the people empowered by law; and it needs to be lodged with the Privy Council.

Under section 3, subsection 5, of the Regency Act 1937, when the regent is the object of a declaration of incapacity, he or she ceases to be the regent, as if he or she were dead, and the person next in line capable of discharging the regency becomes regent in his or her place.

When a regent is removed from office by a declaration of incapacity and subsequently the incapacity ceases to exist, the regent can be restored to office by means of a declaration of cessation of incapacity. In that case upon the declaration of cessation of incapacity, a change of regent takes place, with the person who has a lower place in the order of succession ceasing to be the regent, and in his or her stead the person with a higher position in the order of succession, who had only ceased to be regent due to the declaration of incapacity, resuming the office of regent. The requirements for declaration of cessation of incapacity regarding the regent are the same ones that are valid for a declaration of cessation of incapacity regarding the sovereign.

Assumption of office by the Regent: oaths to be taken before the Privy Council

Whenever a regency is established, either on account of incapacity of the sovereign (duly declared in accordance with the procedure prescribed in statute), or on account of the minority of the Sovereign, and also when there is a change of regent, the new "Regent shall, before he acts in or enters upon his office,"^{[citation needed]} take the oaths required by the Regency Act 1937; accordingly, a new regent only enters into the execution of his office by taking the oaths, and therefore cannot discharge any of the royal functions before taking them.

The oaths required to be taken by a new Regent upon his assumption of office are as follows:^{[citation needed]}

I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to [here insert the name of the Sovereign] his heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.

I swear that I will truly and faithfully execute the office of Regent, and that I will govern according to law, and will, in all things, to the utmost of my power and ability, consult and maintain the safety, honour, and dignity of [here insert the name of the Sovereign] and the welfare of his people. So help me God.

I swear that I will inviolably maintain and preserve in England and in Scotland the Settlement of the true Protestant religion as established by law in England and as established in Scotland by the laws made in Scotland in prosecution of the Claim of Right, and particularly by an Act intituled "An Act for Securing the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government" and by the Acts passed in the Parliament of both Kingdoms for Union of the two Kingdoms, together with the Government, Worship, Discipline, Rights, and Privileges of the Church of Scotland. So help me God.

The said oaths need to be taken and subscribed by the new Regent before the Privy Council, and the Regency Act, 1937 specifies that "the Privy Council are empowered and required to administer those oaths and to enter them in the Council Books".^{[citation needed]}

Guardianship of the sovereign during a regency

Unlike the situations of minor infirmity or of travel abroad that allow for the possible delegation of the royal functions by the monarch to

(as authorised by section 6 of the Regency Act 1937), the establishment of a regency carries with it the notion that the sovereign is not fit and able to administer the affairs of his own person, so that he needs a legal guardian. The guardianship of the monarch, however, is not governed by the same ordinary body of laws that regulate the appointment of legal guardians to people in general. Instead of the legal guardian of the sovereign being appointed by a court based on the recommendations of the social services, the guardianship of the monarch is provided for directly by Regency Act 1937, presently in force.

Because the sovereign in his or her private capacity is not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, the institution of a regency remains the sole method of placing the person of the sovereign under legal guardianship. And, according to the provisions of the Regency Acts in force, the creation of a regency to discharge the royal functions and the legal guardianship of the monarch go hand in hand: the monarch is only subject to legal guardianship when there is a regency, and always when there is a regency the monarch is placed under legal guardianship.

The legal guardianship of the person of the monarch (with the corresponding power to administer the private property of the sovereign) does not necessarily rest with the regent. However, if the none of the prospective guardians provided for in the statute exist, then, also according to the statute, the regent becomes the guardian of the sovereign. Accordingly, during a regency, the regent is the person invested with the royal authority, that discharges the royal functions on behalf of the monarch. The guardian, on the other hand, has the legal custody of the sovereign (who is either a minor or an incapacitated person) and the duty to care for the monarch's personal well-being. The two roles may or may not be combined.

According to section 5 of the Regency Act 1937,^[18] if the monarch is under the age of eighteen years and unmarried, then his or her mother, if living, shall have the guardianship of the monarch's person. On the other hand, if the sovereign is married, but is still under the age of eighteen years, or if the sovereign is a married adult, but has been declared incapable for the time being of performing the royal functions, then the wife or husband of the sovereign, if of full age, shall have the guardianship of the person of the monarch. In all other cases except the two situations described above (that is, if the sovereign is unmarried and under the age of eighteen years, but his mother is no longer living; or if the sovereign is married, but the wife or husband is not of full age; or if the sovereign has been declared incapable of performing the royal functions, but does not have a wife or husband), then the regent shall be the legal guardian of the monarch and shall have custody of his or her person, and the property of the sovereign, except any private property which in accordance with the terms of any trust affecting it is to be administered by some other person, shall be administered by the regent.^[11]

Current position

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Regency

As of 2024^[update], under the provisions of the Regency Acts in force, William, Prince of Wales, would become regent in the event of the incapacity of his father, King Charles III.

As of 2024^[update], the first person under the age of 18 in the line of succession to the throne is William's eldest child (and elder son) Prince George of Wales, who is second in line to the throne after his father. If the prince were to succeed to the throne before his 18th birthday on 22 July 2031, his uncle, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (the King's younger son), would serve as regent (if domiciled in the United Kingdom, as required by the 1937 Act), as George's younger siblings Charlotte and Louis (currently third and fourth in line, respectively) would also be minors. In the event that Prince Harry would be unable to serve as regent (a possibility since his 2019 decision to take up residence in the United States), the next in line would be the King's brother (Prince George's grand-uncle) Prince Andrew, Duke of York, followed by the Duke of York's elder daughter Princess Beatrice.

Legal guardianship

If the King were to be declared incapable of discharging the royal functions, the legal guardianship of the incapacitated monarch would be vested in his consort, Queen Camilla. If she were to be unable to carry out the duties of legal guardian, they would then revert to the sitting regent.

Prince George of Wales, should he ascend to the throne prior to his 18th birthday on 22 July 2031, is the first person in the present line of succession who would require a regency and legal guardianship until he turns 18. According to the Regency Acts as currently in force, should this occur, his legal guardianship would be vested in his mother, Catherine, Princess of Wales. If she were to be unable to carry out the duties of legal guardian, they would then revert to the sitting regent.

See also

• Letters Patent, 1947, for the position in Canada

Explanatory notes

References

External links

• Text of the Regency Act 1937 (c. 16) as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
• Text of the Regency Act 1943 (c. 42) as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
• Text of the Regency Act 1953 (c. 1) as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
• Heraldica.org website on Regency