Regency Acts

With the passage of the Act of Settlement 1701 establishing the Protestant Succession and making Sophia of Hanover the heir presumptive to the throne, it became likely that upon Queen Anne's death the country would be without a monarch in residence.The Regency Act 1705 was passed "to put it [the succession] in such a method as was not to be resisted but by open force of arms and a public declaration for the Pretender".[2] The Act required privy counsellors and other officers in the event of Anne's death, to proclaim as her successor the next Protestant in the line of succession to the throne, and it was made high treason to fail to do so.If the next Protestant successor was abroad at the death of Anne, seven great Officers of State named in the Act and others whom the heir apparent thought fit to appoint, called "Lords Justices", would form a regency.The heir would name these others through a secret instrument that would be sent to England in three copies and delivered to the Hanoverian Resident, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor.Two years later, after the union of Scotland and England, the new Parliament of Great Britain passed the Succession to the Crown Act 1707 to reaffirm the above procedure and modify it slightly.It specified that Queen Caroline would act as regent in the absence of her husband, King George II rather than their son Frederick, Prince of Wales, whom he despised.In 1760, King George III ascended the throne, with his brother Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, as heir presumptive.With no legislation already in place, there was no legal basis for providing a regent, and the King was in no fit state to give royal assent to the Act.The King's continuing mental problems throughout the rest of his life confirmed the need for a suitable Regency Act to be in place.However, because the King was already incapacitated de facto, resolutions by both Houses of Parliament approved the action and directed the Lord Chancellor to prepare the letters patent and to affix the Great Seal to them even without the signature of the monarch.The next in the line of succession was her uncle, the 66-year-old Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who succeeded King William IV in the Kingdom of Hanover.c. 72, long title: An Act to provide for the Appointment of Lords Justices in the Case of the next Successor to the Crown being out of the Realm at the Time of the Demise of Her Majesty).The Act did not require a Regency Council to operate alongside Prince Albert, which potentially gave him more power than earlier proposed regents.It also repealed the Lords Justices Act 1837, and established in statute the office of counsellor of state, to be appointed during the monarch's absence abroad, or temporary illness not amounting to complete incapacity.However, although a regency was already provided for, Parliament made a new law creating a provision specific to the scenario of the succession to the throne of a son or daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, while still under the age of 18 years.Furthermore, if a regency was necessary during Elizabeth II's reign, the Duke of Edinburgh would act as regent if the Queen had no eligible children or grandchildren.When a declaration of incapacity is made in accordance with the procedure set out in the Regency Act 1937 a regency is established and the royal functions are transferred from the sovereign to a regent, who discharges them in the name and on behalf of the monarch until a declaration is made in accordance with the said Act to the effect that the monarch's incapacity has ceased.The oaths required to be taken by a new Regent upon his assumption of office are as follows:[citation needed] I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to [here insert the name of the Sovereign] his heirs and successors according to law.I swear that I will truly and faithfully execute the office of Regent, and that I will govern according to law, and will, in all things, to the utmost of my power and ability, consult and maintain the safety, honour, and dignity of [here insert the name of the Sovereign] and the welfare of his people.[citation needed] Unlike the situations of minor infirmity or of travel abroad that allow for the possible delegation of the royal functions by the monarch to counsellors of state (as authorised by section 6 of the Regency Act 1937), the establishment of a regency carries with it the notion that the sovereign is not fit and able to administer the affairs of his own person, so that he needs a legal guardian.Instead of the legal guardian of the sovereign being appointed by a court based on the recommendations of the social services, the guardianship of the monarch is provided for directly by Regency Act 1937, presently in force.[11] As of 2025[update], under the provisions of the Regency Acts in force, William, Prince of Wales, would become regent in the event of the incapacity of his father, King Charles III.If the prince were to succeed to the throne before his 18th birthday on 22 July 2031, his uncle, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (the King's younger son), would serve as regent (if domiciled in the United Kingdom, as required by the 1937 Act), as George's younger siblings Charlotte and Louis (currently third and fourth in line, respectively) would also be minors.If the King were to be declared incapable of discharging the royal functions, the legal guardianship of the incapacitated monarch would be vested in his consort, Queen Camilla.Prince George of Wales, should he ascend to the throne prior to his 18th birthday on 22 July 2031, would be the first person in the present line of succession who would require a regency and legal guardianship until he turned 18.According to the Regency Acts as currently in force, should this occur, his legal guardianship would be vested in his mother, Catherine, Princess of Wales.