Her Majesty's Government (term)

For Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, see Government of the United Kingdom.

The phrase Her Majesty's Government (His Majesty's Government during the reign of a male monarch) is a formal term referring to the government of a Commonwealth realm or one of constituent provinces, states or territories. In use since at least the height of the British Empire, the phrase has been inherited and integrated into the countries that emerged from that polity.

History

In the British Empire, the term His (or Her) Majesty's Government was originally only used by the imperial government in London. As the Empire developed into the Commonwealth of Nations, the former Dominions came to be seen as realms of the sovereign equal in status to the United Kingdom, and, from the 1920s and 1930s, the form His Majesty's Government in... began to be used by the United Kingdom and Dominion governments to differentiate between independent jurisdictions, such as His Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State.[1] Colonial, state, and provincial governments, on the other hand, continued to use the lesser title Government of [region/territory], and eventually the phrase used in the former Dominions altered to mirror that of the UK, becoming, for example, Her Majesty's Australian Government.

Usage

The wordmark for the Government of the United Kingdom, showing the abbreviation HM for Her Majesty's

The term is employed in order to signify that the government of a Commonwealth realm or,[2] less commonly, a division thereof, belongs to the reigning sovereign, and not to the cabinet or prime minister,[3][4] though individual governments (also known as ministries) may be identified by reference to the prime minister who chairs the cabinet at the time; the Attlee government or Manley government, for example.

Today, however, most Commonwealth realm governments, other than that of the UK (where the abbreviation HMG is frequently used), have reverted to predominantly using the form Government of [region], with Her Majesty's Government being typically employed in formal circumstances. Within federations, such as Canada and Australia, disambiguation between federal, provincial, or state governments is sometimes required—for instance, a 1989 Canadian Supreme Court decision refers to "Her Majesty's Government for the Province of Nova Scotia"[5]—while in foreign affairs a national qualifier can be employed to differentiate between the governments of different monarchies; Her Britannic Majesty's Government for example.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Walshe, Joseph P. (29 August 1927), Documents on Irish Foreign Policy > Despatch from Joseph P. Walshe (for Patrick McGilligan) to L.S. Amery (London) (D.5507) (Confidential) (Copy), Royal Irish Academy, retrieved 24 October 2009
  2. ↑ Government of Canada. "Speech From the Throne > Frequently Asked Questions". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  3. ↑ Cox, Noel (September 2002). "Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence". Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law. Perth: Murdoch University. 9 (3): 12. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  4. ↑ Neitsch, Alfred Thomas (2008). "A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review. Ottawa: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 30 (4): 23. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  5. ↑ Mackeigan v. Hickman, 2 S.C.R. 796 (Supreme Court of Canada 5 October 1989).
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