Proclamation of accession of Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II was proclaimed queen throughout the Commonwealth after her father, King George VI, died in the early hours of 6 February 1952, while Elizabeth was in Kenya. Proclamations were made in different Commonwealth realms on 6, 7, 8, and 11 February (depending on geographic location and time zone). The line of succession was identical in all the Commonwealth realms, but the royal title as proclaimed was not the same in all of them.

The royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II, surmounted by St Edward's Crown.

Australia
The proclamation of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the Australian throne being read at Queensland's Government House by Governor Sir John Lavarack

The Governor-General of Australia, Sir William McKell, issued the proclamation of Elizabeth's accession as queen of Australia. On Friday, 8 February. It was read from the steps of Parliament House as follows:[1]

WHEREAS it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy Our Late Sovereign Lord, King George the Sixth, of blessed and glorious memory, by whose decease the Crown is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary: We, therefore, Sir William John McKell, The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Commonwealth of Australia and members of the Federal Executive Council do now hereby, with one voice and consent of tongue and heart, publish and proclaim that the High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, become Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of this realm and of all her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, Supreme Liege Lady in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, to whom her lieges do acknowledge all faith and constant obedience, with hearty and humble affection: Beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Princess Elizabeth the Second with long and happy years to reign over us. Given at Canberra this seventh day of February in the Year of our Lord One thousand nine hundred and fifty two, and in the first year of Her Majesty's reign. God Save the Queen

Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada issued the first proclamation of the queen's accession,[2][3] doing so on Wednesday, 6 February.[3] It was read at Rideau Hall as follows:[4]

WHEREAS it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy Our Late Sovereign Lord King George the Sixth of blessed and glorious memory by whose decease the Crown of Great Britain, Ireland and all other His late Majesty's dominions is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Now Know Ye that I, the said Right Honourable Thibaudeau Rinfret, Administrator of Canada[n 1] as aforesaid, assisted by Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada do now hereby with one voice and consent of tongue and heart, publish and proclaim that the High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is now by the death of Our late Sovereign of happy and glorious memory become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lady Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith, Supreme Liege Lady in and over Canada, to whom we acknowledge all faith and constant obedience with all hearty and humble affection, beseeching God by whom all Kings and Queens do reign to bless the Royal Princess Elizabeth the Second with long and happy years to reign over us.
Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms at Ottawa, this Sixth day of February, in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifty-two, and in the first year of Her Majesty's reign.

New Zealand

The Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Bernard Freyberg, proclaimed the queen's accession in New Zealand on Monday, 11 February, attended by the Chief Justice, Sir Humphrey O'Leary, and members of the Executive Council, who took the oath of allegiance after the ceremony.[5][6] The proclamation, published in The New Zealand Gazette, read, in part, as follows:

The High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, become Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the grace of God, Queen of this realm and of all her other realms and territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith ...

South Africa

The Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, Ernest George Jansen, proclaimed the queen's accession in Cape Town on Thursday, 7 February, as follows:[7]

WHEREAS it hath pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lord King George the Sixth of blessed and glorious memory, by whose demise the Crown of Great Britain, Ireland and all His late Majesty's other Dominions is solely and rightfully come to the high and mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary;

I, THEREFORE, do hereby publish and proclaim that the high and mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Queen, Defender of the Faith, Sovereign in and over the Union of South Africa, to whom now all faith and constant obedience, with all hearty and humble affection are due; beseeching God, by Whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Princess Elizabeth the Second with long and happy years to reign over us.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

Given under my Hand and Great Seal at Cape Town this Seventh day of February, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-two.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Accession Council met twice at St James's Palace: first at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 February, before the queen had returned from Kenya, to make their proclamation declaring the accession of the new sovereign, as the late king's successor in accordance with the line of succession to the British throne,[8] and, secondly, at a meeting begun at 10 a.m. on Friday, 8 February, when the queen was personally present, to receive her oath for the security of the Church of Scotland and her own personal declaration, pledging that she would always work to uphold constitutional government and to advance the happiness and prosperity of her peoples all the world over.[9] Her declaration for securing the Protestant succession, as required by the 1689 Bill of Rights and the Accession Declaration Act 1910,[10] was to be made later, at the next state opening of parliament on 4 November.[11]

After the Accession Council had completed the formalities for their proclamation on 6 February, it had been issued for publication in a supplement to that day's London Gazette:[12]

Upon the intimation that our late Most Gracious Sovereign King George the Sixth had died in his sleep at Sandringham in the early hours of this morning the Lords of the Privy Council assembled this day at St. James's Palace, and gave orders for proclaiming Her present Majesty.
WHEREAS it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lord George VI

— King George the Sixth of Blessed and Glorious memory, by whose Decease the Crown is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary:
WE, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm, being here assisted with these His late Majesty's Privy Council, with representatives of other Members of the Commonwealth, with other Principal Gentlemen of Quality, with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, do now hereby with one voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart publish and proclaim that the High and Mighty Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, become Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of all Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom Her lieges do acknowledge all Faith and constant Obedience with hearty and humble Affection, beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Princess Elizabeth the Second with long and happy Years to reign over us.
Given at St. James's Palace this Sixth Day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifty-two

Brief pause for trumpets. And then shouts

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

The accession proclamation was published in The Times on 7 February, quoting the London Gazette. According to the Times, it was expected that the public proclamation would be made in due form by the heralds of the College of Arms. The practice had been to read it first from the Friary Court balcony at St James's Palace and, in the City of London, the custom had been to lay it before the Court of Aldermen and to read it, after a ceremony at Temple Bar, London, at the corner of Chancery Lane, in Fleet Street, and at the Royal Exchange.

After the meeting with the Queen at St James's Palace in the morning of 8 February, the accession proclamation was read to the public by the Garter King of Arms, Sir George Bellew, first at 11 a.m. from the Friary Court balcony, then in Trafalgar Square, in Fleet Street, and at the Royal Exchange.[9][13]

After the announcement of George VI's death had been formally communicated to the Legislative Board of Turks and Caicos Islands (at that time a dependency of Jamaica, itself then a Crown colony), a proclamation was issued and published there on Friday, 8 February.[14]

Royal title

The proclamation in the United Kingdom marked the first inclusion, by an Accession Council, of the title Head of the Commonwealth, and the first reference to "representatives of other Members of the Commonwealth" as among those proclaiming. Also, the Crown, which had been referred to as the Imperial Crown of Great Britain and Ireland, was also now non-specific, and Elizabeth's title was not her official one. These last two points reflected the existence of the Republic of Ireland (Ireland would not be officially removed from the Queen's title until the year following), as well as the sovereignty of countries over which Elizabeth was now separately queen. However, the Canadian proclamation, necessarily separate due to the country's legal independence from the UK, continued to refer to the new sovereign as Queen of Ireland, and the Crown she inherited as being that of "Great Britain, Ireland and all other His late Majesty's dominions." Elizabeth was also proclaimed Queen of Ireland in South Africa.[15]

Changes of the royal style and title in any realm do not as such change the constitutional status or position of the monarch or the Crown.[16]

See also

Notes
  1. Thibaudeau Rinfret, Chief Justice of Canada, was Administrator of the Government (acting as Governor General of Canada) between the departure of the Earl Alexander of Tunis, and the appointment of Vincent Massey on 28 February 1952.

References
  1. "Proclamation of the accession of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, from the steps of Parliament House, Canberra, 1952 Feb. 8". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  2. Bell, Lynne L.; Bousfield, Gary (2007), Queen and Consort: Elizabeth and Phillip, 60 Years of Marriage, Toronto: Dundrun Press, p. 143, ISBN 9781550027259
  3. Toffoli, Gary. "Queen Elizabeth in 3D: Facts About the Monarchy". CBC. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  4. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1952), Documents on Canadian External Relations, 18, Queen's Printer for Canada, archived from the original on 15 May 2013, retrieved 20 December 2009
  5. A.A.P.-Reuter (9 February 1952), "Proclamation in N.Z. on Monday", The Canberra Times, retrieved 18 April 2013
  6. The proclamation as signed, which was published in the New Zealand Gazette Archives Reference: IA9-21 item 43: Accession Proclamation 11 February 1952, as signed by Governor-General, members of the Executive Council and others.
  7. Government of South Africa (7 February 1952). "Proclamation No. 12 of 1952". Government Gazette Extraordinary. Queen's Printer. CLXVII (4781).
  8. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1952/feb/06/preamble |chapter-url= missing title (help). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Lords. 6 February 1952.
  9. "Elizabeth's Pledge as Queen Heavy Task Accepted", The West Australian, 9 February 1952, retrieved 22 April 2013
  10. Maer, Lucinda; Gay, Oonagh (27 August 2008), The Coronation Oath, Queen's Printer
  11. Parliament of the United Kingdom (November 2011), Written evidence submitted by Professor Robert Blackburn, PhD, LLD, Professor of Constitutional Law, King's College London, Queen's Printer, retrieved 22 April 2013
  12. "No. 39458". The London Gazette. 6 February 1952. p. 757.
  13. "1952: New Queen proclaimed for UK". BBC. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  14. "Culture & History > Royal Events > Queen Elizabeth II > Queen Elizabeth II Biography". Turks and Caicos National Museum. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  15. "Proclamations of Accession of English and British Sovereigns (1547-1952)". Heraldica. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  16. Noel Cox The Development of a Separate Crown in New Zealand Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine which considers also the positions of Australia and Canada; and see Noel Cox LLM (Hons), PhD, Lecturer, Auckland University of Technology, in Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law Volume 9, Number 3 (September 2002): Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence (Ontario Court of Appeal).
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