View source for The Crown

{{Short description|Political term in the Commonwealth realms}}
{{About|the concept of the state in some nations|the television series|The Crown (TV series){{!}}''The Crown'' (TV series)|other uses|Crown (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}
[[File:2022 pattern Tudor Crown (2D) Sodacan style.svg|thumb|A symbolic representation of the Crown, present on the symbols of many institutions in Commonwealth realms]]
'''The Crown''' is a political concept used in [[Commonwealth realm]]s, analogous to the concept of [[the state]] in legal systems influenced by [[Roman civil law]].<ref name="Jackson 2013">{{Citation |last=Jackson |first=Michael D. |title=The Crown and Canadian Federalism |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcIf46DzpfUC&pg=Pnto |access-date=20 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140241/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcIf46DzpfUC&pg=Pnto#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=5 September 2024 |url-status=live |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1-4597-0989-8}}</ref>

English [[common law]] never developed a concept of the state and left supreme executive power with the king.<ref name="Jackson 2013"/> The concept of the Crown as a [[corporation sole]] developed in the [[Kingdom of England]] as a separation of the physical crown and property of the kingdom from the person and personal property of the monarch. It spread through English and later [[British colonisation]], becoming embedded in the legal lexicon of the British [[dominion]]s. As the dominions gained control over the [[royal prerogative]] in the 1930s, the concept evolved such that 'the Crown [[wikt:in right of|in right of]]' each realm and territory acts independently of the other realms and territories.<ref name="Cox 2003"/>

Depending on the context, it may refer to the entirety of the state, the [[executive government]] specifically (either of a realm or one of its provinces, states or territories) or only to the [[Commonwealth realms#Monarch|monarch]] and their [[Viceroy|direct representatives]].<ref name="Jackson 2013"/> The Crown as a political concept should not be confused with physical [[crown]]s, such as those of the [[British regalia]].

==Definition==
[[File:Carl III af Det Forenede Kongerige.jpg|thumb|[[King Charles III]] (wearing the [[Imperial State Crown]]), the living embodiment of the Crown in each of the [[Commonwealth realm]]s]]
The term ''the Crown'' does not have a single definition. Legal scholars Maurice Sunkin and Sebastian Payne opined, "the nature of the Crown has been taken for granted, in part because it is fundamental and, in part, because many academics have no idea what the term ''the Crown'' amounts to".<ref>{{citation| last1=Sunkin| first1=Maurice| last2=Payne| first2=Sebastian| title=The Nature of the Crown: A Legal and Political Analysis| publisher=Oxford University Press| location=Oxford| year=1999}}</ref> [[Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson]] theorised that the Crown is "an amorphous, abstract concept" and, thus, "impossible to define",<ref name=TIvDE>{{cite court| litigants=Town Investments v Department for the Environment| opinion=Lord Morris of Borth-y-Gest, Lord Simon of Glaisdale, Lord Kilbrandon, Lord Edmund-Davies| pinpoint=359| court=House of Lords| date=1978| url=https://app.justis.com/case/town-investments-ltd-v-department-of-the-environment/overview/c4ytm5Cto3Wca| access-date=2 March 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302224739/https://app.justis.com/case/town-investments-ltd-v-department-of-the-environment/overview/c4ytm5Cto3Wca| url-status=live}}</ref> while [[William Wade (legal scholar)|William Wade]] stated the Crown "means simply [[Queen Elizabeth II|the Queen]]".<ref>{{citation| last=Wade| first=William| chapter=The Crown, Ministers, and Officials: Legal Status and Liability| editor-last1=Sunkin| editor-first1=M.| editor-last2=Payne| editor-first2=S.| title=The Nature of the Crown| page=24}}</ref> 

Warren J. Newman described the Crown as "a useful and convenient means of conveying, in a word, the compendious formal, executive and administrative powers and apparatus attendant upon the modern constitutional and monarchical state."<ref>{{citation| url=https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/22.1-Full-Issue.pdf| editor-last1=Lagassé| editor-first1=Philippe| editor-last2=MacDonald| editor-first2=Nicholas A.| title=The Crown in the 21st Century| last1=Newman| first1=Warren J.| series=Some Observations on the Queen, the Crown, the Constitution, and the Courts| journal=Review of Constitutional Studies| volume=22| issue=1| year=2017| page=56| publisher=Centre for Constitutional Studies| location=Edmonton| access-date=5 June 2023| archive-date=16 August 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816131152/https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/22.1-Full-Issue.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[Lord Simon of Glaisdale]] stated:<ref>{{Cite BAILII|litigants=Town Investments Ltd v Department of the Environment|court=UKHL|year=1977|num=2|para=16|parallelcite=[1978] [[Law Reports|AC]] 359}}.</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=The crown as an object is a piece of jewelled headgear under guard at the Tower of London. But it symbolizes the powers of government which were formerly wielded by the wearer of the crown{{nbs}}... The term "the Crown" is therefore used in constitutional law to denote the collection of such of those powers as remain extant (the royal prerogative), together with such other powers as have been expressly conferred by statute on "the Crown".}}

[[Lord Diplock]] suggested the Crown means "the government [and] all of the ministers and parliamentary secretaries under whose direction the administrative work of the government is carried out by the civil servants employed in the various government departments."<ref name="TIvDE" /> This interpretation was supported by section 8 of the [[Pensions (Colonial Service) Act 1887]] ([[50 & 51 Vict.]] c. 13), which set the terms "permanent civil service of the state", "permanent civil service of Her Majesty" and "permanent civil service of the Crown" as having the same meaning.<ref>{{harvnb| Torrance| 2023| pp=9–10}}</ref>

In each Commonwealth realm, the term ''the Crown'',  at its broadest, means the [[government]] or the polity known as [[the state]], while the sovereign in all realms is the living [[metaphor|embodiment]] of the state,<ref>{{Citation| last=Elizabeth II| author-link=Elizabeth II| publication-date=1 April 2005| title=Interpretation Act| section=46.1.b| location=Ottawa| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| url=http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-i-21/latest/rsc-1985-c-i-21.html| access-date=7 August 2009| year=2005| archive-date=5 July 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705082900/http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-i-21/latest/rsc-1985-c-i-21.html| url-status=live}}</ref> or symbolic [[personification]] of the Crown.{{efn|In the Canadian context, the monarch has been described by [[Eugene Forsey]] as the "symbolic embodiment of the people—not a particular group or interest or party, but the people; the whole people";<ref name=Forsey>{{Cite journal| last=Forsey| first=Helen| title=As David Johnson Enters Rideau Hall...| journal=The Monitor| publisher=Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives| location=Ottawa| date=1 October 2010| url=http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/david-johnson-enters-rideau-hall| access-date=23 January 2011| archive-date=23 January 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123195933/https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/david-johnson-enters-rideau-hall| url-status=live}}</ref> his daughter, Helen Forsey, said of his opinion on the Crown, "for him, the essence of the monarchy was its impartial representation of the common interests of the citizenry as a whole, as opposed to those of any particular government."<ref name=Forsey/> The [[Department of Canadian Heritage]] said the Crown serves as the "personal symbol of allegiance, unity, and authority for all Canadians,"<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/101/102-eng.cfm| author=Department of Canadian Heritage| title=Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion > The crown in Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=19 February 2009| archive-date=27 August 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827092532/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/101/102-eng.cfm| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=Department of Canadian Heritage| author-link=Department of Canadian Heritage| title=Canada: Symbols of Canada| place=Ottawa| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2010| url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/pc-ch/CH4-130-2010-eng.pdf| page=3| access-date=4 December 2016| archive-date=21 October 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021093649/http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/pc-ch/CH4-130-2010-eng.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> a concept akin to that expressed by [[King Louis XIV]]: "{{lang|fr|L'État, c'est moi}}", or, "I am the state".<ref>{{Citation| first=Shea| last=Derwyn| author-link=Derwyn Shea| contribution=Bill 22, Legislative Assembly Oath of Allegiance Act, 1995 > 1720| contribution-url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_transcripts_details.do;jsessionid=c72d607830d68e75be455a5244a3950ae2235bd3f36e.e3eQbNaNa3eRe34KaN4RaNeRb310n6jAmljGr5XDqQLvpAe?locale=en&Date=1996-04-10&ParlCommID=45&BillID=&Business=Bill+22%2C+Legislative+Assembly+Oath+of+Allegiance+Act%2C+1995&DocumentID=19205| title=Committee Transcripts: Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly| date=10 April 1996| place=Toronto| publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario| url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_transcripts_details.do?locale=en&Date=1996-04-10&ParlCommID=45&BillID=&Business=Bill+22%2C+Legislative+Assembly+Oath+of+Allegiance+Act%2C+1995| access-date=16 May 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611135306/https://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_transcripts_details.do?locale=en&Date=1996-04-10&ParlCommID=45&BillID=&Business=Bill+22,+Legislative+Assembly+Oath+of+Allegiance+Act,+1995| archive-date=11 June 2011| df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Robertson Davies]] stated in 1994, "the Crown is the consecrated spirit of Canada",<ref>{{Cite book| last=Davies| first=Robertson| author-link=Robertson Davies| title=Hunting Stuart and The Voice of the People| publisher=Simon & Pierre| date=8 August 1996| location=Toronto| isbn=978-0-88924-259-3| url=https://archive.org/details/huntingstuartvoi0000davi}}</ref> and past Ontario chairman of the [[Monarchist League of Canada]] Gary Toffoli opined, "the Queen is the legal embodiment of the state at both the national and the provincial levels [...] She is our sovereign and it is the role of the Queen, recognized by the constitutional law of Canada, to embody the state."<ref>{{Citation| first=Gary| last=Toffoli| contribution=Bill 22, Legislative Assembly Oath of Allegiance Act, 1995 > 1620| contribution-url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_transcripts_details.do;jsessionid=c72d607930d600b4e9b4ead54d5496d1d6b94ab16cbc.e3eRb3iNcheNe34OaN4La3yRa3j0n6jAmljGr5XDqQLvpAe?locale=en&Date=1996-04-10&ParlCommID=45&BillID=&Business=Bill+22%2C+Legislative+Assembly+Oath+of+Allegiance+Act%2C+1995#P58_1620| title=Committee Transcripts: Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly| date=10 April 1996| place=Toronto| publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario| url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_transcripts_details.do?locale=en&Date=1996-04-10&ParlCommID=45&BillID=&Business=Bill+22%2C+Legislative+Assembly+Oath+of+Allegiance+Act%2C+1995| access-date=16 May 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611135306/https://www.ontla.on.ca/web/committee-proceedings/committee_transcripts_details.do?locale=en&Date=1996-04-10&ParlCommID=45&BillID=&Business=Bill+22,+Legislative+Assembly+Oath+of+Allegiance+Act,+1995| archive-date=11 June 2011| df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}{{refn|<ref name=Compendium>{{cite web| author=Table Research Branch of the House of Commons| author-link=House of Commons of Canada| title=Compendium of Procedure| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| date=March 2008| location=Ottawa| page=1| url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/compendium/web-content/pdf-e/parliamentaryframework-e/c_d_rolecrowngovernorgeneral-e.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121025024722/http://www.parl.gc.ca/compendium/web-content/pdf-e/parliamentaryframework-e/c_d_rolecrowngovernorgeneral-e.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2012| url-status=live| access-date=14 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=Cabinet Secretary and Clerk of the Executive Council| title=Executive Government Processes and Procedures in Saskatchewan: A Procedures Manual| location=Regina| publisher=Queen's Printer for Saskatchewan| date=April 2004| page=10| url=http://www.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=635,617,534,206,Documents&MediaID=752&Filename=2004Manual.pdf| access-date=30 July 2009| archive-date=11 June 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611021424/http://www.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=635,617,534,206,Documents&MediaID=752&Filename=2004Manual.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Canada/TheQueensroleinCanada.aspx| author=The Royal Household| title=The Queen and the Commonwealth > Queen and Canada > The Queen's role in Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer| access-date=15 May 2009| archive-date=20 February 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220102227/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Canada/TheQueensroleinCanada.aspx| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| last=MacLeod| first=Kevin S.| author-link=Kevin S. MacLeod| title=A Crown of Maples| page=51 |place=Ottawa| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2012| edition=2| url=http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/DAMAssetPub/DAM-CRN-jblDmt-dmdJbl/STAGING/texte-text/crnMpls_1336157759317_eng.pdf?WT.contentAuthority=4.4.4 |isbn=978-0-662-46012-1| access-date=28 November 2012| archive-date=4 February 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204231448/http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/DAMAssetPub/DAM-CRN-jblDmt-dmdJbl/STAGING/texte-text/crnMpls_1336157759317_eng.pdf?WT.contentAuthority=4.4.4}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| last=Marleau| first=Robert| author2=Montpetit, Camille| title=House of Commons Procedure and Practice| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |year=2000| location=Ottawa| section=1. Parliamentary Institutions > Institutional Framework > The Crown| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Sec=Ch01&Seq=3&Lang=E |isbn=2-89461-378-4| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008170948/http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Lang=E&Sec=Ch01&Seq=3| archive-date=8 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=Citizenship and Immigration Canada| author-link=Citizenship and Immigration Canada| title=Discover Canada| location=Ottawa| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2009| page=2| url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/discover.pdf| isbn=978-1-100-12739-2| access-date=3 December 2009| archive-date=22 November 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122160954/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/discover.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| last=Tidridge| first=Nathan| title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy: An Introduction to Our Form of Government| page=17| publisher=Dundurn Press| location=Toronto| year=2011| isbn=978-1-4597-0084-0| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC| access-date=29 October 2015| archive-date=22 February 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222041846/https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC| url-status=live}}</ref>}} The body of the reigning sovereign thus holds two distinct personas in constant coexistence, an ancient theory of the "King's two bodies"—the body natural (subject to infirmity and death) and the body politic (which never dies).<ref name=Twomey34>{{citation| url=https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/22.1-Full-Issue.pdf| title=The Role of Monarchy in Modern Democracy: European Monarchies Compared| editor-last1=Hazell| editor-first1=Robert| editor-last2=Morris| editor-first2=Bob| chapter=Royal Succession, Abdication, and Regency in the Realms| last=Twomey| first=Anne| date=17 September 2020| page=34| publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing| location=London| isbn=978-1-5099-3103-3| access-date=2 May 2023| archive-date=16 August 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816131152/https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/22.1-Full-Issue.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> The Crown and the sovereign are "conceptually divisible but legally indivisible [...] The office cannot exist without the office-holder".{{efn|As Peter Boyce put it, "the Crown as a concept cannot be disentangled from the person of the monarch, but standard reference to the Crown extends well beyond the Queen's person."<ref>{{Citation| last=Boyce| first=Peter John| title=The Queen's Other Realms: The Crown and Its Legacy in Australia, Canada and New Zealand| page=81| publisher=Federation Press| location=Sydney| year=2008a| isbn=978-1-86287-700-9}}</ref>}}<ref>{{citation| url=https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/Succeeding+Canadian+throne/7651371/story.html| last1=Bowden| first1=James| last2=Philippe| first2=Lagassé| title=Succeeding to the Canadian throne| date=6 December 2012| work=Ottawa Citizen| access-date=6 December 2012| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130110062651/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/Succeeding+Canadian+throne/7651371/story.html| archive-date=10 January 2013}}</ref> This theory is the basis of the immediate succession of the new British monarch upon the death of his or her predecessor; whilst the body natural may have passed, the body politic lives on.

The terms ''the Crown'',<ref>{{citation| url=http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-11/FullText.html| author=Elizabeth II| title=Financial Administration Act| date=9 October 2012| section=83.1| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=6 December 2012| archive-date=2 August 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802061843/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-11/FullText.html| url-status=live}}</ref> ''the Crown in Right of [jurisdiction]'', ''His Majesty the King in Right of [jurisdiction]'',<ref>{{cite web| author=Elizabeth II| author-link=Elizabeth II| title=Memorandum for Understanding of Cooperation on Addressing Climate Change| date=21 May 2004| page=1| location=Toronto| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| url=http://arizonaenergy.org/images/ontario_mou_e.pdf| access-date=16 May 2009| archive-date=20 November 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120042909/http://arizonaenergy.org/images/ontario_mou_e.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> and similar, are all synonymous and the monarch's [[legal personality]] is sometimes referred to simply as the relevant jurisdiction's name.<ref name=Compendium/><ref>{{Cite web| author=Elizabeth II| author-link=Elizabeth II| title=A First Nations–Federal Crown Political Accord| url=http://www.afn.ca/cmslib/general/PolAcc.pdf| series=1| year=2004| page=3| place=Ottawa| publisher=Assembly of First Nations| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051006193757/http://afn.ca/cmslib/general/PolAcc.pdf| archive-date=6 October 2005| access-date=29 September 2009}}</ref> In countries using systems of government derived from Roman [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]], the state is the equivalent concept.<ref>{{citation| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcIf46DzpfUC&pg=PA20| last=Jackson| first=Michael D.| title=The Crown and Canadian Federalism| page=20| publisher=Dundurn Press| location=Toronto| year=2013| isbn=978-1-4597-0989-8| access-date=17 August 2017| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140242/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcIf46DzpfUC&pg=PA20#v=onepage&q&f=false| url-status=live}}</ref> However, the terms ''the sovereign'' or ''monarch'' and ''the Crown'', though related, have different meanings: ''the Crown'' includes both the monarch and the government.

The Crown also represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative, and judicial governance. While the Crown's legal personality is usually regarded as a [[corporation sole]],<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20| author=George V| title=Law of Property Act 1925| location=London| publisher=King's Printer| date=9 April 1925| section=s. 180| access-date=11 September 2015| archive-date=9 August 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809091852/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/15-16/20 |url-status=live}}</ref> it can, at least for some purposes, be described as a [[corporation aggregate]] headed by the monarch.<ref>{{citation| title=The Crown as Corporation| first=Frederic| last=Maitland| author-link=Frederic William Maitland| journal=Law Quarterly Review| issue=17| year=1901| pages=131–46 |url= http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/maitland/crowncor.mai |access-date=9 September 2015| archive-date=10 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010092649/http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/maitland/crowncor.mai| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=The Law Commission| type=Affidavit| date=November 1996| location=Lincoln County, Nevada| title=Paper 143: The execution of deeds and documents by or on behalf of bodies corporate| journal=Halsbury's Laws of England| publication-date=1974| volume=9| edition=4| id=1206| url=http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cp143_Execution_of_Deeds_and_Documents_Consultation.pdf |access-date=11 September 2015| archive-date=23 July 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723153849/http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/app/uploads/2015/03/cp143_Execution_of_Deeds_and_Documents_Consultation.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Frederic William Maitland]] argued the Crown is a corporation aggregate embracing the government and the "whole political community".<ref>{{citation| last=Maitland| first=Frederic William| title=The Constitutional History of England| publisher=Cambridge University Press| location=Cambridge| year=1908| page=418}}</ref> J.G. Allen preferred to view the Crown as a corporation sole; one office occupied by a single person, enduring "through generations of incumbents and, historically, lends coherence to a network of other institutions of a similar nature."<ref>{{citation| last=Allen| first=J.G.| title=The Office of the Crown| journal=Cambridge Law Journal| location=Cambridge| volume=77| issue=2| date=July 2018| page=300| doi=10.1017/S0008197318000338| s2cid=149843556| url=http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/18452/22408| access-date=13 April 2023| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905134141/https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/22408;jsessionid=74743043243267F1CB9A0CAA9F9F830B |url-status=live}}</ref> Canadian academic Philippe Lagassé found the crown "acts in various capacities, as such: crown-in-council (executive); crown-in-parliament (legislative); crown-in-court (judicial). It is also an artificial person and office as a corporation sole. At its most basic, "the Crown" is, in the UK and other Commonwealth realms, what in most other countries is 'the state'."<ref>{{citation| last=Lagassé| first=Philippe| title=The State, The Crown, and Parliament, lecture given at Carleton University| location=Ottawa| date=2 November 2021}}</ref>

==History==
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| caption2    =[[Rideau Hall]] in [[Ottawa]], Ontario; the seat of the [[governor general of Canada]] and a property of the Crown in Right of Canada
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| caption1    =[[Balmoral Castle]] in [[Aberdeenshire]], Scotland, a privately owned property of Charles III and not property of the Crown
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}}

The concept of the Crown took form under the [[feudal system]].<ref>{{cite journal| title=The Crown as Corporation| author-link=Frederic William Maitland| last=Maitland| first=Frederic| journal=Law Quarterly Review| number=17| year=1901| pages=131–46| url=http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/maitland/crowncor.mai| access-date=9 September 2015| archive-date=10 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010092649/http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/maitland/crowncor.mai| url-status=live}}</ref> Though not used this way in all countries that had this system, in England, all rights and privileges were ultimately bestowed by the ruler. Land, for instance, 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. When such lands become ownerless, they are said to [[escheat]]; i.e. return to direct ownership of the Crown ([[Crown land]]). {{lang|la|[[Bona vacantia]]}} is the [[royal prerogative]] by which unowned property, primarily unclaimed inheritances, becomes the property of the Crown.{{efn|Jurisdictions in which this prerogative does not apply include [[Cornwall]], where unowned property becomes the property of the [[duke of Cornwall]], and [[Lancashire]], where it becomes the property of the [[duke of Lancaster]].}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nguyen|first=Nam H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPVRDwAAQBAJ&q=Bona+vacantia&pg=PT779|title=Essential 25000 English-Cebuano Law Dictionary|date=18 March 2018|publisher=Nam H Nguyen|language=en|access-date=3 October 2020|archive-date=5 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140242/https://books.google.com/books?id=KPVRDwAAQBAJ&q=Bona+vacantia&pg=PT779#v=snippet&q=Bona%20vacantia&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

As such, the physical crown and the property belonging to successive monarchs in perpetuity came to be separated from the person of the monarch and his or her private property. After several centuries of the monarch personally exercising supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power, these functions decreased as parliaments, ministries, and courts grew through the 13th century.<ref>{{citation| url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8885/CBP-8885.pdf| last=Torrance| first=David| title=The Crown and the Constitution| date=11 January 2023| publisher=House of Commons Library| page=8| access-date=1 March 2023| archive-date=2 March 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302033737/https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8885/CBP-8885.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> The term ''the Crown'' then developed into a means by which to differentiate the monarch's official functions from his personal choices and actions.<ref name=Torrance7>{{harvnb| Torrance| 2023| p=7}}</ref> Even within medieval England, there was the [[doctrine of capacities]] separating the person of the king from his actions in the capacity of monarch.<ref>{{cite book|first=Claire|last=Valente|title=The Theory and Practice of Revolt in Medieval England|publisher=Aldershot|location=Ashgate|year=2003|isbn= 0-7546-0901-4|page=30}}</ref>

The Crown was first defined as an 'imperial' crown during the reign of [[Henry VIII]] in the [[Ecclesiastical Appeals Act 1532]] which declared that 'this realm of England is an empire{{Nbs}}... governed by one Supreme Head and King having the dignity and royal estate of the imperial Crown of the same'.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Johnston |editor-first1=W. Dawson |editor-last2=Johnston |editor-first2=Jean Browne |date=1896 |title=English Historical Reprints |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMghAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA32 |location=Michigan |publisher=Sheehan & Co. |page=32 |isbn= |access-date=23 July 2024 |archive-date=1 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701134422/https://books.google.com/books?id=aMghAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA32 |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[William Blackstone]]'s 1765 ''[[Commentaries on the Laws of England]]'', he explained that "the meaning therefore of the legislature, when it uses these terms of ''empire'' and ''imperial'', and applies them to the realm and crown of England, is only to assert that our king is equally sovereign and independent within these his dominions, as any emperor is in his empire; and owes no kind of subjection to any other potentate on earth."<ref>{{cite book |last=Kitson Clark |first=G. |author-link=George Kitson Clark |date=1967 |title=An Expanding Society |url={{Google books|ODo9AAAAIAAJ|page=63|plainurl=yes}} |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=63 |isbn=}}</ref>

When the [[Kingdom of England]] merged with those of [[kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]], the concept extended into the legal lexicons of the United Kingdom and its dependencies and overseas territories and, eventually, all of the independent Commonwealth realms.

==Functions==
===Executive government===
{{main|King-in-Council}}
The institution and powers of the Crown are formally vested in the king, but, [[constitutional convention (political custom)|conventionally]], its functions are exercised in the sovereign's name by [[ministers of the Crown]]{{efn|[[Executive (government)|Executives]] who are themselves servants of the Crown.<ref name="Turpin-Tomkins2007"/>}} drawn from and [[responsible government|responsible to]] the elected chamber of [[parliament]].<ref name="Turpin-Tomkins2007">{{cite book |last1=Turpin |first1=Colin |last2=Tomkins |first2=Adam |title=British Government and the Constitution: Text and Materials |date=28 June 2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46536-6 |page=366 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYuF6jmoem8C |access-date=3 March 2024 |language=en |archive-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140242/https://books.google.com/books?id=QYuF6jmoem8C |url-status=live }}</ref>

The king or queen is the employer of all government officials and staff (including the [[viceroy]]s, judges, members of the armed forces, police officers, and parliamentarians),{{efn|The [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]] found in the 1980 case ''[[Attorney General of Quebec v. Labrecque]]'' that [[civil servant]]s in Canada are not contracted by an abstraction called ''the state'', but, rather, they are employed by the monarch, who "enjoys a general capacity to contract in accordance with the rule of ordinary law."<ref>{{Citation| last=Smith| first=David E.| title=The Invisible Crown| publisher=University of Toronto Press| year=1995| location=Toronto| isbn=0-8020-7793-5| page=79}}</ref>}} the guardian of foster children ([[Crown ward]]s), as well as the owner of all [[Crown land]] (''public land'' or ''state land'' in other countries), buildings and equipment (Crown property),<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dgcb-dgras/pd/fs-se/gm-mg/2009/414-011759Z-eng.asp |last=Department of National Defence| title=DCBA 414 011759Z Apr 09 MFSI Annual Rates for the Fiscal Year 2009/2010| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=16 May 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828111747/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dgcb-dgras/pd/fs-se/gm-mg/2009/414-011759Z-eng.asp| archive-date=28 August 2009}}</ref> state-owned companies (Crown corporations or [[Crown entities]]),<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2004/0115/latest/DLM329631.html| title=Crown Entities Act 2004| work=New Zealand Legislation| publisher=Parliamentary Counsel Office| date=25 February 2024| access-date=24 February 2024| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905134201/https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2004/0115/latest/DLM329631.html| url-status=live}}</ref> and the copyright for government publications ([[Crown copyright]]).<ref>{{cite map| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| title=Canada| url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/national/can_political_e/map.pdf| format=PDF| year=2006| access-date=16 May 2009| archive-date=26 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326043231/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/national/can_political_e/map.pdf}}</ref> This is all in his or her position as sovereign, not as an individual; all such property is held by the Crown in perpetuity and cannot be sold by the sovereign without the proper [[advice and consent]] of his or her relevant ministers. Should the monarch [[abdicate]], all such property would remain with the Crown and come under the ownership of their successor.

===Legislative===
{{main|King-in-Parliament}}
[[File:Ceremonial Mace of the Queensland Parliament.jpg|thumb|The mace of the [[Parliament of Queensland]], symbolising the authority of parliament as derived from the Crown.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Assembly Chamber |url=https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Visit-and-learn/Visitors/Take-a-look-inside-Parliament-House/Legislative-Assembly-Chamber |access-date=18 November 2024 |website=[[Queensland Parliament]]}}</ref>]]
The concept of the Crown as a part of parliament is related to the idea of the [[fusion of power]]s, meaning that the [[executive branch]] and [[legislative branch]] of government are fused together. This is a key concept of the [[Westminster system]] of government, developed in England and used in countries in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and beyond. It is in contradistinction to the idea of the [[separation of powers]].

In Commonwealth realms that are [[federation]]s, the concept of the King in parliament applies within that specific parliament only, as each sub-national parliament is considered separate and distinct from each other and from the federal parliaments (such as [[States and territories of Australia|Australian states]] or the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian provinces]]).

===Justice===
{{more citations needed|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Royal coat of arms, Westminster Magistrates' Court - geograph.org.uk - 2844500.jpg|thumb|The [[Coat of arms of the United Kingdom|coat of arms of the sovereign of the United Kingdom]] on the [[Westminster Magistrates' Court]] building in [[London]], England]]

The King is the 'fountain of justice'. In [[criminal law|criminal proceedings]], the Crown is the prosecuting party (led by a [[Crown prosecutor]], or [[Crown attorney]] in parts of Canada); the case is usually designated (in [[case citation]]) as ''R v <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[defendant]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>'',<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/r-v-tarrant/R-v-Tarrant-20200713.pdf| title=The Queen v Brenton Harrison Tarrant| publisher=In the High Court of New Zealand Christchurch Registry| access-date=22 July 2022| archive-date=7 August 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807221204/https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/r-v-tarrant/R-v-Tarrant-20200713.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> where ''R'' can stand for either ''rex'' (if the current monarch is male) or ''regina'' (if the monarch is female), and the ''v'' stands for ''versus''. For example, a criminal case against Smith might be referred to as ''R v Smith'' and verbally read as "the Crown against Smith".

The Crown is, in general, [[Sovereign immunity|immune to prosecution and civil lawsuits]]. So, ''R'' is rarely (albeit sometimes{{efn|For exceptions in the United Kingdom, see [[Crown Proceedings Act 1947]]}}) seen on the right hand side of the 'v' in the first instance. To pursue a case against alleged unlawful activity by the government, a case in [[Judicial review in English law|judicial review]] is brought by the Crown against a [[minister of the Crown]] on the application of a [[claimant]]. The titles of these cases now follow the pattern of ''R (on the application of [X]) v [Y]'', notated as ''R ([X]) v [Y]'', for short. Thus, ''[[R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union]]'' is ''R (on the application of Miller and other) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'', where "Miller" is [[Gina Miller]], a citizen. Until the end of the 20th century, such case titles used the pattern ''R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, [[ex parte]] Miller''. Either form may be abbreviated ''R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union''.

In [[Scotland]], criminal prosecutions are undertaken by the [[lord advocate]] (or the relevant [[procurator fiscal]]) in the name of the Crown. Accordingly, the abbreviation ''HMA'' is used in the [[High Court of Justiciary]] for ''His/Her Majesty's Advocate'', in place of ''rex'' or ''regina''; as in, ''[[Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial|HMA v Al Megrahi and Fahima]]''.

Most jurisdictions in [[Australia]] use ''R'' or ''The King'' (or ''The Queen'') in criminal cases. If the Crown is the respondent to an appeal, the words ''The King'' will be spelled out, instead of using the abbreviation ''R'' (i.e. the case name at trial would be ''R v Smith''; if the defendant appeals against the Crown, the case name would be ''Smith v The King''). In [[Western Australia]] and [[Tasmania]], prosecutions will be brought in the name of the respective state instead of the Crown (e.g. ''The State of Western Australia v Smith''). [[Victoria (Australia)|Victorian]] trials in the original jurisdiction will be brought in the name of the [[Director of Public Prosecutions (Victoria)|director of public prosecutions]]. The [[Director of Public Prosecutions (Australia)|Commonwealth director of public prosecutions]] may choose which name to bring the proceeding in. Judges usually refer to the prosecuting party as simply "the prosecution" in the text of judgments. In civil cases where the Crown is a party, it is a customary to list the body politic (e.g. ''State of Queensland'' or ''Commonwealth of Australia'') or the appropriate government minister as the party, instead. When a case is announced in court, the clerk or bailiff may refer to the Crown orally as ''our sovereign lord the king'' (or ''our sovereign lady the queen'').<!-- Should these be capitalised? e.g. "our sovereign Lord the King" -->

In reporting on court proceedings in [[New Zealand]], news reports will refer to the prosecuting lawyer (often called a Crown prosecutor, as in Canada and the United Kingdom) as representing the Crown; usages such as, "for the Crown, Joe Bloggs argued", being common.

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. Such [[crown proceedings]] are often subject to specific rules and limitations, such as the enforcement of judgments against the Crown. {{lang|la|[[Qui tam]]}} lawsuits on behalf of the Crown were once common, but have been unusual since the [[Common Informers Act 1951]] ended the practice of allowing such suits by common informers.

{{anchor|Divisible}}<!-- [[Divisible Crown]] redirects here-->

==Divisibility of the Crown==
{{Further|Commonwealth realm#The Crown's role}}

Historically, the Crown was considered to be indivisible and the sovereign was advised only by their ministers in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal| title=The Concept of the Crown| last=Saunders| first=Cheryl| journal=Melbourne University Law Review |volume=38| page=883| year=2015}}</ref> However, as the self governing [[dominion]]s of the British Commonwealth gained control over the exercise of the royal prerogative in the 1930s, this concept has evolved such that 'the Crown [[wikt:in right of|in right of]]' each realm and territory acts independently of the other realms and territories.<ref name="Cox 2003">{{cite SSRN |ssrn=420026 |title=The Development of a Separate Crown in New Zealand |last=Cox |first=Noel |author-link=Noel Cox |date=18 August 2003 }}</ref>{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book| last1=Lauterpacht| first1=E.| last2=Greenwood| first2=C. J.| title=International Law Reports| publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=1992| location=Cambridge| pages=286, 713| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cyEP1rc4P3UC| volume=87| isbn=978-0-949009-99-9| access-date=29 October 2015| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140243/https://books.google.com/books?id=cyEP1rc4P3UC| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| author=Royal Institute of International Affairs| others=British Institute of International Affairs| title=The British Year Book of International Law| volume=53| publisher=[[H. Frowde]]| date=1983| location=Oxford| pages=253, 257, 258| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yFgzAAAAIAAJ&q=%22crown+in+right+of+the+united+kingdom%22| access-date=29 October 2015| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140244/https://books.google.com/books?id=yFgzAAAAIAAJ&q=%22crown+in+right+of+the+united+kingdom%22| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last=Bourne| first=C.B.| title=Canadian Yearbook of International Law| volume=23| publisher=UBC Press| year=1986| location=Vancouver| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KIoTqgSdDTwC| isbn=978-0-7748-0259-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| title=The Australian law journal| volume=52| publisher=Law Book Co. of Australasia Ltd.| year=1978| location=North Ryde| pages=58, 203, 207| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLYtAQAAIAAJ&q=%22crown+in+right+of+the+united+kingdom%22| id=3910867| access-date=29 October 2015| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905140840/https://books.google.com/books?id=KLYtAQAAIAAJ&q=%22crown+in+right+of+the+united+kingdom%22| url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]] recognised the dominions as 'autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.'<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=November 1926 |title=Report of the Inter-Imperial Relations Committee of the Imperial Conference 1926 |url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/cth11_doc_1926.pdf |website=Documenting a Democracy |publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy |access-date=16 July 2025}}</ref> The [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], enshrined in law in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia (though repealed in New Zealand under the [[Constitution Act 1986]]), recognised 'a common allegiance to the Crown' in its [[preamble]] and established a [[Convention (political norm)|constitutional convention]] that 'any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles' would require the assent of each of the dominion parliaments as well as the UK Parliament.<ref name="Cox 2003" /><ref>{{cite Hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |title=Preamble |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1936-12-11/debates/d6ce0331-7555-4f18-8d73-ffd03269c013/Preamble |house=House of Commons |date=11 December 1936 |column=2229 |speaker=[[Donald Somervell, Baron Somervell of Harrow|Donald Somervell]] |position=[[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] |quote=...the Preamble sets out as the established constitutional position that any alteration of the law affecting the succession to the Throne shall thereafter require the assent as well of the Parliaments of all the Dominions as of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a constitutional convention and is not a statutory provision...}}</ref>{{efn|The convention requiring parliamentary assent from each realm to a change in the royal style and titles was created when a uniform single title existed for the British monarch. However, with the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952, this was replaced by [[1952 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Economic Conference|an agreement]] that each realm would pass its own [[Royal Style and Titles Act]], allowing the monarch's title to vary in each realm but sharing a common format.<ref name="Cox 2003" />}} However, this unity of action was tested with the 1936 [[abdication of Edward VIII]] when the [[Irish Free State]] implemented the abdication a day later than the United Kingdom and the other dominions, creating a 24 hour divergence whereby Edward VIII was king in the Irish Free State and George VI was king elsewhere.<ref name="Cox 2003" />

The historian [[Vernon Bogdanor]] has stated that it remains constitutionally inappropriate for the succession to the Crown to diverge, even as the Commonwealth realms have attained complete independence from the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bogdanor |first=Vernon |date=1995 |title=The Monarchy and the Constitution |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |page=269 |isbn=9780198293347 }}</ref> The constitutional conventions established in the Statute of Westminster which require uniformity in the laws of succession, along with a common format for the royal styles and titles, distinguish the Crown of the Commonwealth realms from a [[personal union]], under which there is no alignment between multiple thrones and different laws of succession may exist.<ref name="Cox 2003" /> The convention was reaffirmed with the [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013|2013 changes to the law of succession]], when the Commonwealth realms co-operated to end [[male-preference primogeniture]] in unison in March 2015.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=26 March 2015 |title=New rules on royal succession come into force |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32073399 |work=BBC News |access-date=18 July 2025}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| total_width       = 700
| perrow            = 
| image1            = Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her Canadian Ministers at Rideau Hall 1 July 1967.jpg
| caption1          = [[Elizabeth II]], [[Queen of Canada]], with her [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] in [[Rideau Hall]], 1 July 1967
| image2            = New Zealand Cabinet, 1981.jpg
| caption2          = Elizabeth II, [[Queen of New Zealand]], with her [[Cabinet of New Zealand|Cabinet]], 1981
| image3            = Second Keating Cabinet 1994.jpg
| caption3          = [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]] [[Bill Hayden]], representing Elizabeth II, [[Queen of Australia]], with [[Cabinet of Australia|Cabinet]] outside [[Government House, Canberra|Government House]], 25 March 1994
| image4            = The Queen attending Cabinet to mark her Diamond Jubilee.jpg
| caption4          = Elizabeth II, [[Queen of the United Kingdom]], with her [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] at [[10 Downing Street]], 18 December 2012
| footer            = The monarch, and their governors or governors-general, may only act in relation to each realm or territory on the advice of that realm or territory's respective ministers
}}

===Canada===
{{See also|Monarchy in the Canadian provinces|Monarchy of Canada and the Indigenous peoples of Canada}}
The preamble to the [[British North America Act 1867]] expressed the desire of the Canadian provinces to be united into one dominion 'under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom'.<ref>{{Cite canlaw |short title=Constitution Act |abbr=S.C. |year=1867 |chapter=3 |wikilink=Constitution Act, 1867 |link=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html |linkloc=Justice Laws Website }}</ref> However, the judgement in ''[[Ex parte Indian Association of Alberta]]'' ([[EWCA]], 1982) ruled that the obligations of the Crown towards [[Canadian Indian|the indigenous peoples in Canada]] were held by the Crown in right of Canada and not the Crown in right of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=11 March 1982 |title=R v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, ex parte Indian Association of Alberta |url=https://vlex.co.uk/vid/r-v-secretary-of-803094397 |website=vLex |access-date=16 July 2025}}</ref>

In Canada, one Crown acts separately in each of Canada's eleven governments (one federal and ten provincial).<ref name=Romney274>{{Cite book| last=Romney| first=Paul| title=Getting it wrong: how Canadians forgot their past and imperilled Confederation| publisher=University of Toronto Press| location=Toronto| page=[https://archive.org/details/gettingitwrongho0000romn/page/274 274]| url=https://archive.org/details/gettingitwrongho0000romn| url-access=registration| year=1999| isbn=978-0-8020-8105-6}}</ref> For example, when Crown land is transferred between the federal government and a province, it is the responsibility to manage the land that is being transferred; the Crown does not transfer ownership to itself.<ref>{{Citation |author=Ministry of Natural Resources |title=Disposition of Public Land to Other Governments and Agencies |date=24 January 2006 |page=2, at 3.2.B |url=http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/crown-land/mnr_e000096.pdf |place=Toronto |publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario |quote=When public land is required by the federal government or one of its departments, or any provincial ministry, the land itself is not transferred. What is transferred is the responsibility to manage the lands on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen (HMQ). This is accomplished by an Order-in-Council or a Minister's Order that transfers management of land either from HMQ in right of Ontario to HMQ in right of Canada as represented by a department or to HMQ in right of Ontario as represented by another ministry. The Crown does not transfer ownership to itself. |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518074542/http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/crown-land/mnr_e000096.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite court |url=http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1944/1944canlii29/1944canlii29.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305064539/https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1944/1944canlii29/1944canlii29.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 March 2017 |litigants=Attorney-General of Canada v. Higbie |vol=1944 CanLII 29 (SCC) |pinpoint=p. 404 |court=Supreme Court of Canada |date=23 March 1944 }}</ref> As [[Eugene Forsey]] wrote in ''Crown and Cabinet'', "the provinces are not themselves 'monarchies.' They are a part of a constitutional monarchy, Canada. The Queen is Queen of Canada, not Queen of Ontario, Queen of Quebec, Queen of British Columbia, etc. She is, of course, queen ''in'' all these provinces. But she is 'Queen of Canada,' and it is as such that she is queen ''in'' each of the provinces."<ref>{{Citation| last=Forsey| first=Eugene| author-link=Eugene Forsey| date=31 December 1974 |editor-last=Forsey| editor-first=Eugene| editor-link=Eugene Forsey| title=Freedom and Order: Collected Essays - Crown and Cabinet| location=Toronto| publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd.| isbn=978-0-7710-9773-7}}.</ref>

===Australia===
It is a matter of debate whether separate Crowns exist for each [[Australian state]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Twomey |first=Anne |author-link=Anne Twomey (academic) |title=The Australia Acts 1986: Australia's Statutes of Independence |date=2010 |publisher=Federation Press |isbn=978-1-86287-807-5 |editor-link=Anne Twomey (academic) |location=Annandale, NSW |pages=456–479}}</ref> When referring to the Crown in multiple jurisdictions, wording is typically akin to "the Crown in right of [place], and all its other capacities".<ref name="clayton-utz-retail-leases">{{cite web |author1=Clayton Utz |author1-link=Clayton Utz |title=Retail Leases Comparative Analysis – The Act Binds the Crown |url=https://www.claytonutz.com/document/retail-leases-comparative-analysis/what-s-covered-by-the-act-/the-act-binds-the-crown |website=Clayton Utz |access-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714175739/https://www.claytonutz.com/document/retail-leases-comparative-analysis/what-s-covered-by-the-act-/the-act-binds-the-crown |archive-date=14 July 2022 }}</ref>

===New Zealand===
In New Zealand, the term ''the Crown'' is used to mostly mean the authority of government; its meaning changes in different contexts.<ref>{{Cite journal| last1=Shore| first1=Cris| last2=Kawharu| first2=Margaret| date=17 June 2014| title=The Crown in New Zealand: Anthropological Perspectives on an Imagined Sovereign| url=https://sites.otago.ac.nz/Sites/article/view/267| journal=Sites: A Journal of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies| language=en| volume=11| issue=1| pages=17–38| doi=10.11157/sites-vol11iss1id267| issn=1179-0237| doi-access=free| access-date=12 May 2021| archive-date=14 June 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614153551/https://sites.otago.ac.nz/Sites/article/view/267| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| date=15 November 2019| title=Definition of 'the Crown' a difficult matter| url=https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/lawtalk/issue-819/definition-of-the-crown-a-difficult-matter/| access-date=12 May 2021| publisher=New Zealand Law Society {{!}} Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa| language=en| archive-date=12 May 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512220035/https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/news/lawtalk/issue-819/definition-of-the-crown-a-difficult-matter/| url-status=dead}}</ref> In the context of people considering the [[Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements|claims and settlements related to the Treaty of Waitangi]], professor of history [[Alan Ward (historian)|Alan Ward]] defines the Crown as "the people of New Zealand—including [[Māori people|Māori]] themselves—acted through elected parliament and government."<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Waitangi Tribunal–Te Roopu Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi |date=2004 |publisher=Bridget Williams Books |isbn=1-877242-32-2 |editor-last1=Hayward |editor-first1=Janine |editor-link=Janine Hayward |location=Wellington, N.Z. |oclc=60361482 |editor-last2=Wheen |editor-first2=Nicola R. |editor-link2=Nicola Wheen}}</ref>

===Crown Dependencies===
[[File:Flag of Jersey.svg|thumb|The [[flag of Jersey]], displaying the [[Coat of arms of Jersey|badge of Jersey]] surmounted by a [[Plantagenet]] [[crown (heraldry)|crown]]]]
In the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]], legislation refers to ''the Crown in Right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey''<ref>{{cite web| title=Review of the Roles of the Jersey Crown officers| url=http://www.guernsey-press.com/pdf/JsyCrownOfficers.pdf| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=22 November 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122163301/http://www.guernsey-press.com/pdf/JsyCrownOfficers.pdf}}</ref> or ''the Crown in Right of the Bailiwick''<ref>{{cite web| title=The Unregistered Design Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2005| url=http://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/ccm/legal-resources/ordinances/intellectual-property/unregistered-design-rights-bailiwick-of-guernsey-ordinance-2005.en| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=21 July 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721031210/http://www.guernseylegalresources.gg/ccm/legal-resources/ordinances/intellectual-property/unregistered-design-rights-bailiwick-of-guernsey-ordinance-2005.en}}</ref> and the law officers of the Crown of Guernsey submitted that, "the Crown in this context ordinarily means the Crown in right of the ''république'' of the Bailiwick of Guernsey"<ref>{{cite web| title=Review of the Roles of the Jersey Crown officers| url=http://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20Guernsey%20LOs%20Submission%2020100330%20HR%20v1.pdf| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=10 October 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010220559/https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20Guernsey%20LOs%20Submission%2020100330%20HR%20v1.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref> and that this comprises "the collective governmental and civic institutions, established by and under the authority of the monarch, for the governance of these islands, including the states of Guernsey and legislatures in the other islands, the royal court and other courts, the lieutenant governor, parish authorities, and the Crown acting in and through the Privy Council".<ref>{{cite news| title=It's a power thing… |url=http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/06/21/its-a-power-thing/| date=21 June 2010 |work=Guernsey Press| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=10 June 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610140928/http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2010/06/21/its-a-power-thing/}}</ref>

In the [[Bailiwick of Jersey]], statements by the [[law officers of the Crown]] define the Crown's operation in that jurisdiction as ''the Crown in Right of Jersey'',<ref>{{cite web| title=Review of the Roles of the Crown Officers| url=http://www5.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20Attorney%20General%20Transcript%2020100702%20WM.pdf| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=12 August 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812153038/http://www5.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20Attorney%20General%20Transcript%2020100702%20WM.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref> with all Crown land in the Bailiwick of Jersey belonging to the Crown in Right of Jersey and not to the [[Crown Estate]] of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web| title=Written Question to H.M. Attorney General| url=http://www.statesassembly.gov.je/documents/questions/23532-33785-2262010.htm| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=27 September 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927015030/http://www.statesassembly.gov.je/documents/questions/23532-33785-2262010.htm}}</ref> The Succession to the Crown (Jersey) Law 2013 defined the Crown, for the purposes of implementing the [[Perth Agreement]] in Jersey law, as the ''[[Sovereign in right of the Bailiwick of Jersey|Crown in Right of the Bailiwick of Jersey]]''.<ref>{{cite web| title=Succession to the Crown (Jersey) Law 2013| url=https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/current/Pages/15.730.aspx| publisher=States of Jersey| access-date=6 October 2021| archive-date=5 September 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905134027/https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/current/Pages/15.730.aspx| url-status=live}}</ref>

Legislation in the [[Isle of Man]] also defines the Crown in Right of the Isle of Man as being separate from the Crown in Right of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=3&parentActiveTextDocId=3312343&ActiveTextDocId=3312364&filesize=13636| title=The Air Navigation (Isle of Man) Order 2007 (No. 1115)| access-date=7 November 2011| archive-date=28 March 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328050859/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1115/article/3/made| url-status=dead}}</ref>

===British Overseas Territories===
Following the decision of the [[Lords of Appeal in Ordinary]] in ''[[Ex parte Quark]]'', 2005, it is held that the King, in exercising his authority over [[British Overseas Territories]], does not act on the advice of the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom]], but, in his role as king of each territory, with the exception of fulfilling the UK's international responsibilities for its territories. To comply with the court's decision, the territorial governors now act on the advice of each territory's executive and the UK government can no longer disallow legislation passed by territorial legislatures.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=HhsZSMEH5DoC&pg=PA49 ''Overseas Territories: Seventh Report of Session 2007–08, Vol. 2: Oral and Written Evidence''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123072439/https://books.google.com/books?id=HhsZSMEH5DoC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA49 |date=23 November 2022 }}. London, UK: The Stationery Office, 6 July 2008, pp. 49, 296–297</ref> The Lords of Appeal wrote, "the Queen is as much the Queen of New South Wales and Mauritius and other territories acknowledging her as head of state as she is of England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or the United Kingdom."<ref>Lords of Appeal, [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldjudgmt/jd051013/quark-1.htm ''Ex parte Quark'', 2005] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224160034/https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldjudgmt/jd051013/quark-1.htm |date=24 February 2017 }}</ref>

==Symbolism==
The Crown is represented by the image of a crown in [[heraldry]] and other imagery such as [[cap badge]]s, uniforms, government logos and elsewhere. The heraldic crown is chosen by the reigning monarch. From 1661 to the reign of [[Queen Victoria]], an image of [[St Edward's Crown]] was used.<ref name="Boutell 1983">{{cite book |last=Boutell |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Boutell |editor-last1=Brooke-Little |editor-first1=J. P. |editor-link1=John Brooke-Little |date=1983 |edition=Revised |title=Boutell's Heraldry |url=https://archive.org/details/boutellsheraldry0000bout_y2m5/page/184/mode/2up |location=London and New York |publisher=Frederick Warne |pages=184–185 |isbn=0723230935}}</ref> The early part of Victoria's reign depicted the Imperial State Crown [[Coronation of Queen Victoria#Crown jewels and coronation robes|created for her coronation]], while a [[Tudor Crown]] began to be used from the 1860s.<ref name="Boutell 1983" /> In 1901, the Tudor Crown design was standardised and continued in use until the reign of [[Elizabeth II]] in 1952 when a heraldic St Edward's Crown was restored.<ref name="Boutell 1983" /><ref name="Fox-Davies">{{cite wikisource |title=A Complete Guide to Heraldry |chapter=Chapter 22 |last=Fox-Davies |first=Arthur Charles |author-link=Arthur Charles Fox-Davies |date=1909 |publisher=T. C. & E. C. Jack |location=London |pages=358–359 }}</ref> In 2022, [[Charles III]] opted for a modified Tudor Crown design.<ref name="Royal Cypher">{{cite web |date=27 September 2022 |title=Royal Cypher |url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/news/item/205-royal-cypher |website=[[College of Arms]] |access-date=11 July 2024 |archive-date=27 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927145228/https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/news-grants/news/item/205-royal-cypher |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Symbols of State Guidance 2023">{{cite web |url=https://publicsafetyfoundation.uk/uploads/ciiir_state_symbols_guidance_july_2023.pdf |title=Symbols of State Guidance |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=July 2023 |website=The Public Safety Foundation (UK) |publisher= |access-date=19 July 2024 |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011071240/https://publicsafetyfoundation.uk/uploads/ciiir_state_symbols_guidance_july_2023.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| total_width       = 500
| image1            = Crown of Saint Edward (Heraldry).svg
| caption1          = St Edward's Crown
| image2            = 1901 pattern Tudor Crown (2D).svg
| caption2          = 1901 pattern Tudor Crown
| image3            = 2022 pattern Tudor Crown (2D) Sodacan style.svg
| caption3          = 2022 pattern Tudor Crown
}}

[[Crown copyright]] applies [[Copyright law of the United Kingdom#Perpetual rights|in perpetuity]] to depictions of the [[Royal Arms]] and any of its constituent parts under the [[royal prerogative]], and [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] restricts rights to reproduce them.<ref name="National Archives FAQs">{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/crown-copyright/copyright-assignments/frequently-asked-questions/ |title=Frequently asked questions |website=The National Archives |access-date=3 August 2024 |quote=The Royal Arms and its constituent parts are protected by perpetual Crown copyright, and may only be re-used by His Majesty the King, members of the Royal Family, government departments and official holders of the Royal Warrant. |archive-date=16 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716002914/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/crown-copyright/copyright-assignments/frequently-asked-questions/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="National Archives Royal Arms guidance">{{cite web |url=https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/use-of-the-royal-arms.pdf |title=Reproduction of the Royal Arms |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=The National Archives |access-date=25 July 2024 |archive-date=15 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615091004/https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/use-of-the-royal-arms.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Although Crown Copyright usually expires 50 years after publication, Section 171(b) of the [[Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988]] made an exception for 'any right or privilege of the Crown' not written in an act of parliament, thus preserving the rights of the Crown under the unwritten royal prerogative.<ref>{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1988 |chapter=48 |act=Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 |section=171 |accessdate=3 August 2024 }}</ref>

In addition, use of images of the crowns for commercial purposes is specifically restricted in the UK (and in countries which are party to the [[Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property|Paris Convention]]) under sections 4 and 99 of the [[Trade Marks Act 1994]], and their use is governed by the [[Lord Chamberlain's Office]].<ref name="Trade Marks Act 1994 s.4">{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1994 |chapter=26 |act=Trade Marks Act 1994 |section=4 |accessdate=25 July 2024 }}</ref><ref name="Trade Marks Act 1994 s.99">{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1994 |chapter=26 |act=Trade Marks Act 1994 |section=99 |accessdate=25 July 2024 }}</ref><ref name="Royal Arms restrictions">{{cite web |url=https://www.royal.uk/use-of-royal-arms |title=Use of Royal Arms, Names and Images |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=[[British royal family|The Royal Family]] |publisher=[[Royal Households of the United Kingdom|The Royal Household]] |access-date=19 July 2024 |archive-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905142231/https://www.royal.uk/use-of-royal-arms |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also an offence under Section 12 of the [[Trade Descriptions Act 1968]] to give a false indication that any goods or services are supplied to the monarch or any member of the royal family.<ref name="Trade Descriptions Act 1968">{{Cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1968 |chapter=29 |act=Trade Descriptions Act 1968 |section=12 |accessdate=25 July 2024 }}</ref><ref name="Royal Arms restrictions" />

== Crown forces <span class="anchor" id="Crown forces"></span><!-- [[Crown forces]] redirects here-->==	
The term "Crown forces"<!--see later references!!--> has been used by [[Irish republicans]] and [[Irish nationalism|nationalists]], including members of [[paramilitary]] groups, to refer to British [[security forces]] which operate in [[Ireland]]. The term was used by various iterations of the [[Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) during conflicts such as [[Irish War of Independence]] and [[the Troubles]]. As noted by Irish republican [[Danny Morrison (Irish republican)|Danny Morrison]], "[t]he term 'security forces' suggests [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimacy]], which is why republicans prefer terms like 'the Brits' or 'the Crown Forces', which undermines their authority."{{Efn|In [[Danny Morrison (author)|Danny Morrison]]'s words, "[t]he term 'security forces' suggests [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimacy]], which is why republicans prefer terms like 'the Brits' or 'the Crown Forces', which undermines their authority."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irlandinit-hd.de/sub_misc/bsands.htm#Analysis:%20Words%20of%20Freedom |title=Saving 'Bobby Sands Street' > Words of Freedom |last=Morrison |first=Danny |date=24–26 January 2004 |work=Irish History |publisher=Irlandinitiative Heidelberg |access-date=25 August 2015 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928130357/http://www.irlandinit-hd.de/sub_misc/bsands.htm#Analysis:%20Words%20of%20Freedom |url-status=dead }}</ref>|name=Morrison}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Hawes-Bilger |first=Cordula |title = War Zone Language: Linguistic Aspects of the Conflict in Northern Ireland |year=2007 |publisher=Francke |isbn=978-3-7720-8200-9 |page=148}}; {{cite journal |last=O'Neill |first=Conor |year=2004 |title=Terrorism, insurgency and the military response from South Armagh to Falluja |journal=The RUSI Journal |volume=149 |issue=5 |pages=22–25 |issn=0307-1847 |doi = 10.1080/03071840408523120 |s2cid=152582870}}; {{cite journal |last=Tomaney |first=John |year=2000 |title=End of the Empire State? New Labour and Devolution in the United Kingdom |journal=International Journal of Urban and Regional Research |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=675–688 |issn=0309-1317 |doi = 10.1111/1468-2427.00271}}</ref> Due to the Irish War of Independence, "the phrase 'Crown Forces' came to represent something abhorrent in the Republican narrative".<ref>{{cite book |last=Ferriter |first=Diarmaid |title=Ambiguous Republic: Ireland in the 1970s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qN-jf5dN7QAC&pg=PT247 |access-date=21 August 2015 |date=1 November 2012 |publisher=Profile Books |quote=Because of the events of the War of Independence, the phrase 'Crown Forces' came to represent something abhorrent in the Republican narrative. |isbn=978-1-84765-856-2 |page=247 |archive-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905141228/https://books.google.com/books?id=qN-jf5dN7QAC&pg=PT247#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Monarchy}}
* {{annotated link|Crown Court}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|last1=|first=|last2=|first2=|title=The Nature of the Crown: A Legal and Political Analysis|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-19-826273-2|editor-last=Sunkin|editor-first=Maurice|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198262732.001.0001|editor-last2=Payne|editor-first2=Sebastian}}

{{Commonwealth realms}}
{{Monarchies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crown, The}}
[[Category:British Overseas Territories]]
[[Category:Commonwealth of Nations]]
[[Category:Commonwealth realms]]
[[Category:Common law]]
[[Category:Monarchy]]
[[Category:Legal fictions]]