Legal Regent Meaning

Whenever a regency is established, either because of the incompetence of the sovereign (duly declared in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law) or because of the minority of the sovereign, and even if there is a change of regent, the new „regent before acting or taking office” must take the oaths required by the Regency Act 1937; As a result, a new regent only enters the exercise of his office by taking an oath and therefore cannot exercise any of the royal functions before accepting them. Since the sovereign in his private capacity is not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, the establishment of a regency remains the only way to place the person of the sovereign under legal guardianship. And under the provisions of the current regency laws, the creation of a regency to fulfill royal functions and the legal guardianship of the monarch go hand in hand: the monarch is subject to legal guardianship only if there is a regency, and whenever there is a regency, the monarch is placed under legal guardianship. The Act ordered that a regent perform royal duties if „the sovereign is temporarily unable to perform the royal functions by reason of infirmities of mind or body, or if he is satisfied by evidence that the sovereign is unavailable to perform these functions for any reason.” [10] Such a decision must be made by at least three: the second Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain to deal exclusively with a regency was 1728, the Regency During the King`s Absence Act 1728 (2 Geo. 2 c. 27). It stipulated that Queen Caroline would act as regent in the absence of her husband, King George II, instead of her son Frederick, Prince of Wales, whom he despised. The law was necessary because George II was also Elector of Hanover and was returning to his homeland for a visit. The conditions of this declaration of incompetence are the same as for a declaration concerning the sovereign: the incompetence of the regent must be attested by evidence; in the case of infirmity, this proof must include medical evidence; The declaration must be signed by at least three of the legally authorized persons; and it must be deposited with the Privy Council. Where a declaration of incapacity is made in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Regency Act 1937, a regency shall be established and the royal functions shall be transferred from the sovereign to a regent who shall exercise them in the name and on behalf of the monarch until a declaration is made under that law that the monarch`s incompetence has ceased. The law would have prohibited the monarch from marrying during the regency without the written consent of the regent and both houses of Parliament, and it would be high treason to marry the monarch or to participate or participate in the marriage without that consent.

The Act also prohibited the Regent from giving Royal Assent to an Act amending the succession to the throne or an Act repealing or amending the Act of Uniformity of 1662 or the Scottish Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Act of 1707. As Parliament was suspicious of George III`s surviving younger sons, the Act (1 Will. 4 c. 2) placed any possible regency caused by Victoria`s death before the age of 18 in her mother, 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. By the Act of Settlement of 1701, Parliament adopted the succession of the Electress Sophie of Hanover. This decision was confirmed by the Act of Union of 1707 and extended to the whole of Great Britain. With the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy firmly rooted in British law, it became possible for the British Parliament to pass legislation to determine who would act as regent in the absence, incompetence or minority of the reigning monarch.

[ref. needed] Since then, several regency laws have been passed. In 1760, King George III ascended the throne, with his brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, as heir apparent to the throne. However, the new king soon married and had several children. In 1765, the king had three children in the line of succession. Parliament again passed a regency law to provide for a regent in the event of the king`s death. From 2022, the first person under 18 in line to the throne will be William`s eldest (and eldest son), Prince George of Wales, who is second in line to the throne after his father. If the prince ascended the throne before his 18th birthday on July 22, 2031, his uncle, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (the king`s youngest son), would serve as regent (if he resides in the United Kingdom, as required by the 1937 law), George`s younger siblings, Charlotte and Louis (currently third and fourth in order, or would be minor. In the event that Prince Harry is unable to serve as regent (a possibility since his 2019 decision to move to the United States), the next in the line would be the king`s brother (Prince George`s great-uncle), Prince Andrew, Duke of York, followed by the Duke of York`s eldest daughter. Princess Beatrice.

Prince George of Wales, if he was born before his 18th birthday. The accession to the throne on July 22, 2031 is the first person in the current line of succession who would need regency and legal guardianship until the age of 18. Under the Regency Acts, as currently amended, his legal guardianship would devolve to his mother, Catherine, Princess of Wales. If she was unable to act as legal guardian, she would return to the acting regent. Most of the provisions of the Regency Act 1953 (2 & 3 Eliz. 2 c. 1) expired when the Queen`s children reached adulthood. The only provision of the 1953 Act that is still relevant is section 2, which reduced to 18 the age at which the heir to the throne or the heir presumed to the throne could become regent. This was done to eliminate the perceived anomaly that a person could become a Councillor of State at the age of 18 and personally exercise royal functions after his accession to the throne, but could not act as regent until the age of 21. In fact, it was planned in 1937.

In 1937, while the bill was still before committee, Attorney General Donald Somervell said: This is what Parliament intended for a regent in passing the Minority of Successor to Crown Act 1751 (24 Geo. 2 c. 24). The Act provided that George`s mother, Augusta, a widowed Princess of Wales, was to act as regent and stipulated that a regency council was to be established to rule alongside Princess Augusta. The Council of Regency was to limit the power of the Regent; Certain acts of royal prerogative, such as declarations of war or the signing of peace treaties, would require a majority of the Council. In fact, the provisions of the law never came into force, as Prince George was already of legal age at the time of his grandfather`s death. Unlike minor infirmities or travel abroad, which allow for the eventual delegation of royal functions by the monarch to councillors of state (as permitted by section 6 of the Regency Act 1937), the establishment of a regency implies the idea that the sovereign is unable and unable to manage the affairs of his own person. so he needs a legal guardian. However, the guardianship of the monarch is not subject to the same ordinary laws that govern the appointment of legal guardians for persons in general. Instead of the sovereign`s legal guardian being appointed by a court based on the recommendations of social services, the monarch`s guardianship is directly regulated by the Regency Act of 1937, currently in force. If the king were declared incapable of exercising royal functions, the legal guardianship of the incapable monarch would be transferred to his wife, Queen Camilla.

If she was unable to act as legal guardian, she would return to the acting regent. Prior to 1937, there was no permanent and general provision in British law for the appointment of a regent if the British monarch was incapable, a minor or absent from the country. Before the Glorious Revolution, it was up to the sovereign to decide who would be regent in all cases, although the decision was often implemented by legislation.