The Crown

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: Permission denied in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 12

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: No such file or directory in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 12

Warning: fopen(/home/templatecore2cache//*cluesnet.com/b9/b960b72d6314fac0d2a9138fb1f96e6ba94e86cd.tc2cache) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 130

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 131

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 132

Throughout the Commonwealth realms The Crown is an abstract metonymy concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government. It evolved naturally as a separation of the literal crown and property of the nation-state from the person and personal property of the monarch.

Similar concepts of "The Crown" also operate in other constitutional monarchies, in which (like the United Kingdom) the monarch is Head of State, but the actual governing of the nation is conducted according to the wishes of a democratically elected national legislature. The Doctrine of the Holy Crown of Hungary is an example that similar concepts (although in symbolic rather than legal contexts) can survive even in a republic.

Description The Crown itself is a corporation sole that represents the legal embodiment of the Executive Government. The real crowns (such as Britain's Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and the Honours of Scotland) are the property of the Crown, not of the incumbent personally.

Like any corporation, the Crown is an artificial person (in this case, coextensive with a natural person) which can own property and has certain rights as provided by law to business entities. In the case of Commonwealth realms, the rights and powers of the Crown vary from state to state, because each national or state Crown is a separate corporation sole.

The Crown, as presented in the person of the Sovereign who holds the corporation sole, is the legal authority for the existence and operations of the government in each Commonwealth realm (including Australian states and Canadian provinces).

Most operations of the Crown are directed by Ministers of each of the democratically elected national parliaments (including Canadian provincial and Australian state parliaments).

Exceptions include ceremonial operations carried out by the sovereign personally, and the so-called Reserve powers, the parameters of which are established by the constitution of each Commonwealth realm, such as the granting of Royal Assent by the Crown in Parliament to legislative acts, and the formal invitation to form a government. In general, they are exercised by the Monarch directly or by a vice-regal representative (such as a Governor-General, Governor, or Lieutenant-Governor), to ensure that the elected government follows the rules of the national constitution.

For example the Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was displeased with the results of a general election, including the loss of his own seat, he immediately asked Governor-General Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy to call a new election which the Governor-General refused to do; for further details, see King-Byng Affair.

==United Kingdom==In the United Kingdom, as an example, The Crown in Right of the United Kingdom is an entity that represents all rulership in the UK, but is separate from the person currently wearing it. For instance, the Queen owns some of her castles herself, and if she abdicated, she would keep them (though upon her death they would revert to her heir, who in all likelihood would be the reigning monarch at the time). Others belong to the Crown, and would belong to the next monarch. This situation arose on the abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom in 1936, when the new King, George VI of the United Kingdom, was obliged to purchase Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House from the former king.

Crown dependencies The Crown dependencies are held in Right of the United Kingdom, and the Queen's British ministers have the right to advise her on actions in the dependencies, not their insular ministers.

Although the dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, the Parliament at Westminster has a competency and ability to legislate directly for them, although by convention does not often do so without the consent of their insular legislatures.

==Other Commonwealth realms==The Crown in each of the Commonwealth realms is a similar but separate legal concept.

Both Canada and Australia are federations: therefore, besides the Crown in Right of Canada and the Crown in Right of the Commonwealth of Australia, there are Crowns in Right of each Provinces and territories of Canada and each States and territories of Australia. For example, there is the Crown in Right of the province of British Columbia. The rights which the Crown possesses in right of a Canadian province are exercised by the province's lieutenant-governor (e.g., the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia), not the Governor-General of Canada, and such rights are exercised under the advice of the provincial ministers (not the federal ministers). The situation in Australia is analogous with Governors of the Australian states and Premiers of the Australian states instead of the Canadian equivalents.

Crown Servants Many government workers in the United Kingdom are Crown Servants. The Crown takes responsibility for upholding the Queen's peace, and traditionally prison warders and police officers were directly employed by the Crown, and not by the Prison Service or Police Authorities. In a related way, there is the Crown Prosecution Service in the criminal courts whose lawyers are called Crown Prosecutors. Those working within the intelligence services such as MI5 and Secret Intelligence Service are also Crown Servants. Crown servants may not sit as Members of Parliament and this is used as a way of allowing MPs to retire before their time—they are awarded a sinecure job as a Crown Servant and thus disbarred as an MP (see resignation from the British House of Commons).The Crown is also the source of all justice in the U.K., which meant that it was immune from prosecution until the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 opened the Crown to ordinary contractual claims through the courts as for any other person.

Origins The concept of the Crown took form under the feudal system, evolving from and synthesising oriental and barbarian concepts of kingship. Under the feudal System, in England and (separately) Scotland, all rights and privileges were ultimately granted by the ruler (though this was not the case in all countries that had this system). All land was granted by the Crown to lords, in exchange for feudal services, and they in turn granted the land to lesser lords. One exception to this was common socage—owners of land held as socage held it subject only to the Crown. The Crown as ultimate owner of all property also owns any property which has become bona vacantia.

Exercise of the Rights of the Crown In Commonwealth law, the expression "Crown in Right of ..." is often used: e.g., the Crown in Right of the United Kingdom, the Crown in Right of Canada, the Crown in Right of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Crown in Right of the State of New South Wales, etc.

In practice, the powers of the Crown outside the United Kingdom are rarely exercised by the Monarch directly, but rather by a local vice-regal representative such as a Governor-General, Governor, or Lieutenant Governor, on the advice of the ministers of the appropriate local (federal/national, state or provincial) government. In those few cases where the Monarch exercises powers directly, she again generally does so on the advice of the ministers of that government.

In the Courts In criminal law, the prosecuting party is the Crown; generally speaking, this is indicated by having Rex (for a male monarch) or Regina (for a female one) v. the defendant as the standard for naming criminal trials; in Australia particularly, on official transcripts of criminal trials the heading page reads "(name of defendant) v. The Queen".

This practice of using the seat of sovereignty as the injured party is analogous with criminal cases in the United States, where the format is people" or "the State" v. defendant (e.g. People v. LaValle or New Jersey v. T. L. O.) per popular sovereignty.

The Crown can also be a plaintiff or defendant in civil actions to which the government of the Commonwealth Realm in question is a party.

Powers of the Crown The powers which belong to each Crown in right of a particular realm can only be exercised on the advice of the ministers of the realm. So, for example, the rights which the Crown possesses in right of the United Kingdom can only be exercised under the advice of British Cabinet, and the rights which the Crown possesses in right of Canada can only be exercised under the advice of Canadian Cabinet. The British prime minister cannot advise Her Majesty in exercise of her rights in regard to Canada, nor can the Canadian prime minister advise her in exercise of her rights in regard to the United Kingdom.

The monarch, or her appointed representative, has the legal right to refuse the advice of ministers, and act instead in accordance with their personal views. However, these "reserve powers" are almost never used, outside of times of constitutional crisis.

See also

Crown copyright
Crown dependency
Royal Prerogative
Succession to the British Throne
Imperial Crown#Legal usage
Doctrine of the Holy Crown (Hungary)

The Crown at Playhatch
16th century country inn. Includes menu, winelist and booking information. Located in Playhatch.

The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate opens Round 3 of Offshore Wind Farm Tender. more...

The Crown Hotel, Wells next the Sea, Norfolk - Accommodation in ...
The Crown Hotel, a former coaching inn overlooks the quiet tree-lined green known as The Buttlands. The hotel has been refurbished to retain its character whilst creating an ...

The Crown
Description The Crown at Playhatch is a sixteenth-century cottage inn full of character. The Crown has a good reputation throughout Reading and surrounding areas and has been ...

The Crown Hotel, Framlingham, Suffolk - A traditional Suffolk country ...
The Crown Hotel is situated in the heart of historic Framlingham, newly renovated, it is a fine example of an old English coaching inn. The hotel has 14 ensuite bedrooms ...

CROWN HOTEL - Restaurant & Bar : The most illustrious address in ...

The Crown at Whitebrook
Welsh Tourist Board 3 Star Restaurant, plus 10 en suite bedrooms.

The Crown Bar - Santa Ponsa
The Crown - Your British Bar in The Square at Costa de la Calma, Santa Ponsa, Mallorca ... Welcome to the website of The Crown in Santa Ponsa. One of the oldest established British ...

The Bildeston Crown - Public House, Restaurant and Hotel - Welcome
The Bildeston Crown, situated in Bildeston in the beautiful Suffolk countryside is a original imber-framed public house, restaurant and hotel. Holding it's own unique character it ...

The Crown at Playhatch
Accomodation information : Nestled between the Thames and the Chiltern hills with excellent transport and rail links the Crown's luxurious ensuite accommodation is ...