Monarchy of Australia

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The Queen's Personal Australian Flag.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy and a Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as its reigning monarch, since February 6, 1952. Typically, as such she would be considered the de jure head of state, though she does hold several powers that are hers alone, while the Governor-General would be seen as the de facto head of state. However, there is currently debate in Australia as to which is the actual head of state; some arguing that the Governor-General is head of state while the Queen is Sovereign of Australia, whereas others maintain the Queen is head of state. (See: Constitution of Australia - Head of State) The heir apparent is Elizabeth II's eldest son, Prince Charles.

In Australia, the Queen's official title is: ''Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. In common practice, Queen Elizabeth II is referred to simply as "The Queen" or "The Queen of Australia" when in Australia, or when abroad and acting on the advice of her Australian ministers.

Constitutional monarchy in Australia

The most notable features of the Australian constitutional monarchy are:

  • Although Queen Elizabeth II is also monarch of the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries, each nation – including Australia – is sovereign and independent of the others. The identity of the sovereign is determined by the conditions set out in the Act of Settlement. As a result of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 the dominions acquired the right to be considered equal to Britain rather than subordinate; an agreement that had the result of, in theory, a shared Crown that operates independently in each realm rather than a unitary British Crown under which all the dominions were subordinate. The Monarchy thus ceased to be an exclusively British institution, although it has often been called British since this time (in both legal and common language) for historical reasons and for convenience. The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act, 1927 was the first indication of this shift in law, further elaborated in the Statute of Westminster, 1931. Under the Statute of Westminster, 1931, Australia has a common monarchy with Britain and the other Commonwealth Realms and cannot change the rules of succession without the unanimous consent of the other Realms, unless Australia explicitly leaves the shared monarchy relationship by means of a constitutional amendment.
  • On all matters of state to do with Australia, the monarch is advised solely by the Australian federal and state first ministers. Effective with the Australia Act, 1986 no British government can advise the Monarch on any matters pertinent to Australia.
  • All powers of state are constitutionally reposed in the Queen, who is represented at the federal level by the Governor-General of Australia and at the state level by Governors. The Governor-General is appointed by the Queen upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Australia. The six Governors are also appointed by the Queen upon the advice of the state premiers.
  • The Australian Royal Salute is the Royal Anthem, God Save the Queen, followed by the National Anthem, Advance Australia Fair. The Vice-Regal Salute is the first four and last four bars of Advance Australia Fair. The Vice-Regal Salute is played only for the governor-general and each governor, because they represent the Crown.
  • Royal Assent and proclamation are required for all acts of Parliament and of the state legislatures. Territorial legislatures are subject to the oversight of the Government of Australia. States and their legislatures, as sovereign entities, are not.
  • The oath of allegiance to Australia, sworn by soldiers, judges and parliamentarians, is an oath of allegiance to the monarch as Sovereign of Australia, and to his/her heirs and successors according to law. Since 1994 new Australian citizens have taken a pledge of allegiance to Australia and its values only. (See: Australian Nationality Law)
  • The legal personality of the monarch in Australia is referred to as "Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Australia", and likewise for the states and territories (i.e., "in Right of South Australia," etc.). For example, if a lawsuit is filed against the federal government, the respondent is formally described as Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Australia. (Naturally, the Queen herself takes no more role in such an affair than in any other business of government. Indeed, in cases in which, for example, a state sues the federal government, it would formally be Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Victoria v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Australia.)
  • As in the UK, the Queen's role is almost entirely symbolic and cultural, and the powers that are constitutionally hers are exercised wholly upon the advice of the elected government. In exceptional circumstances, however, the Queen or Governor-General may act against such advice based upon her reserve powers – as when Governor-General Kerr dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam due to a stalemate over government funding between the House of Representatives and the Senate. (see Australian constitutional crisis of 1975). For the most part, however, the Monarch functions as a rubber stamp and a symbol of the legal authority under which all governments operate. It has been correctly said since the death of Queen Anne (1714), the last monarch to head the British cabinet (when almost all of Australia was still occupied only by Indigenous Australians), that the monarch "reigns" but does not "rule". For more explanation of the Queen's role, see Governor General of Australia.
  • Queen Elizabeth II, as is common for all her other non-UK realms, is generally regarded as "Queen of Australia" only when she is actually present in Australia or when she otherwise performs ceremonies relevant to Australia, such as conferring Australian honours in the UK or participating in the Australian World War II memorial ceremonies in France. Except for a few duties which must be performed by the Queen (e.g., signing the appointment papers of governors-general and governors, which no governor-general can do), or which require assent by the Queen as well as the governor-general , all of the Queen's federal duties are performed by the governor-general and all of her state duties are performed by the pertinent governor.
File:Ac.queenofaustralia.jpg
Australian stamps showing Queen Elizabeth II at the time of her accession to the throne in 1952, and as Queen of Australia on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
  • The Queen is a regular visitor to Australia. The cultural importance that Australians attached to the monarchy as a British institution, however, visibly declined in the decades following World War II as Australia began to emerge and blossom into a mature nation in her own right. For example, though the God Save the Queen remains the royal anthem, Advance Australia Fair has been adopted as the national anthem. The federal and state governments now recognise and promote the Queen's role as monarch of Australia as separate to her position as Queen of the United Kingdom. The Queen's image remains on Australian coins, some currency and postage stamps. Her portrait is still found in some government buildings, military installations, schools, and Australian embassies abroad. Crowns are also visible on police forces badges, military badges, and some state coats of arms.
  • The Queen is ceremonial head of the Australian honours system. As such, only she can approve the creation of an honour, which she does as requested by government of Australia. The Governor-General administers all responsibilities relating to Australian honours on the Queen's behalf.

History

Since the establishment of the colony of Sydney Cove, Australia has been the territory of a monarchy or a monarchy in its own right. Kings and queens reigning over Australia have included the those of the UK (from George III of the United Kingdom in 1788 to King George VI in 1952), to Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia today.

Following federation in 1901, the gradual "Australianization" of the Crown began.

The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 initiated the gradual replacement of the concept of a singular crown throughout the British Empire with that of a shared crown making each dominion (as well as the United Kingdom) a separate Realm with the Crown worn by the common monarch. This idea was further enhanced by the Statute of Westminster 1931, which granted the dominions of the Commonwealth autonomy from the British parliament and equality with the United Kingdom. When a new Royal Style and Titles Act was passed at the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign, it explicitly identified the Queen's role in the United Kingdom and her role in Australia separately, with her role as Queen of the United Kingdom listed before her role as Queen of Australia. This format was consistent with the form of the Queen's titles in the other Realms, as had been agreed upon by all the Realm governments in 1953.

Her title in 1953 was:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Australia and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

When the Parliament of Australia passed the Royal Style and Titles Act (1973), this act repealed sections of the Royal Style and Titles Act (1953), and her Australian style and titles became:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.

("The Commonwealth" in this context is not the Commonwealth of Australia, but the Commonwealth of Nations, of which Australia is a member and the Queen is the Head.)

(see also List of Titles and Honours of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom).

It will be noted that the title "Defender of the Faith" was deleted by this Act from the Queen's Australian style and titles. In the United Kingdom the Church of England is a state church, and the Queen is its "Supreme Governor." Australia has no state church, and neither the Queen nor the Governor-General have any official connection with the Anglican Church of Australia.

Australia gained full independence as an autonomous constitutional monarchy when the constitution was patriated under Prime Minister Hawke in 1986, making it Australian law rather than an act of the British parliament that required amendment in both jurisdictions. (See Australia Act 1986)

Any change to the constitution, including the position of the monarch or the monarch's representatives in Australia, has always required an absolute majority in both houses of the federal parliament, and the approval in a referendum of the proposed amendment by a majority of electors nationwide, and a majority in a majority of the states, and the approval of a majority of electors in each state specifically impacted by the amendment.

The great majority of the Queen's Australian duties are performed by her representatives in Australia except those that explicitly or implicitly require the Queen to perform them. It is also possible that if the Governor General decided to go against the Prime Minister's or the government's advice, the Prime Minister could appeal directly to the Queen or even recommend that the Queen dismiss the Governor General.

Monarchs of Australia

A list of monarchs of Australia:

Hanover/Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Windsor line
George III of the United Kingdom 1788-1820: Established colony of Sydney Cove
George IV of the United Kingdom 1820-1830
William IV of the United Kingdom 1830-1837
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom 1837-1901: Signed Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900
Edward VII of the United Kingdom 1901-1910
File:GeorgeV.jpg
George V of the United Kingdom 1910-1936: Signed Statute of Westminster, 1931
File:Edward-viii-sm.jpg
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom 1936
File:Georgius VI.jpg
George VI of the United Kingdom 1936-1952
File:Ac.thequeen.jpg
Elizabeth II of Australia 1952-present: First to be titled separately as Queen of Australia.

Royal Visits

Since 1867 there have been over fifty visits by a member of the Royal Family to Australia, though only six of those came before 1954.

The first was a visit by Prince Alfred, son of Queen Victoria, in 1867, during his round the world voyage. He toured Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. He was shot, by Henry James O'Farrell, in an assasination attempt while picnicking on the beach in the Sydney suburb of Clontarf, on March 12, 1868. He recovered fully and continued on to New Zealand seven months later.

Prince George came to Australia with his older brother Prince Albert, in 1880, as midshipmen on the HMS Bacchante.

In 1901 Prince Edward and his wife, Alexandra, were planning an Empire tour. However, the death of Queen Victoria on January 22, 1901, meant the couple had to prepare for a coronation in 1902. Consequently, Edward's son Prince George, and his wife, Mary, were consigned to undertake the voyage instead. After arriving at the Domain, Sydney (where some 100,000 people were in attendance), one of the Prince's main tasks in Australia was to open the newly formed federal parliament, stating at the conclusion of his speech: "Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, it affords me much pleasure to convey to you this message from His Majesty. I now, in his name and on his behalf, declare Parliament open."

Prince Edward arrived in Victoria on April 2, 1920, representing his father, King George V (previously Prince George), to thank Australians for their participation in the First World War. During his tour his railway carraige overturned, however the Prince remained unharmed, and later made light of the situation, an act which endeared him to Australians, and causing them to give him the nickname the "Digger Prince."

In 1927 Prince Albert, and wife Elizabeth, sailed into Sydney harbour, attracting Australia's first gathering of more than one million people. The principal duty of the Prince on this visit was to open the provisional Parliament House in Canberra, on May 9, 1927. They spent twelve days in New South Wales, seven in Queensland, four in Tasmania, eleven in Victoria, six in South Australia, six in Western Australia, and three in the ACT, with the remaining ten for traveling and recreation. According to a report by the Director-General of the royal visit, Cyril Brudenell White, "the Royal Visitors had expressed the wish that when travelling through the States they might have opportunities of seeing and of being seen by, the greatest number of the general public. They especially desired to meet Returned Soldiers, New Settlers and School Children." On May 9, Prince Albert reviewed over 2000 Australian troops with various air squadrons flying overhead. One plane, that of Flying Officer Charles Ewan, crashed, Ewan dying that evening in hospital. [1]

Queen Elizabeth II reads a speech in Sydney, 1954

Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil, coming ashore at Lane Cove, Sydney, on February 3, 1954. She had two years earlier been on route to Australia when her father died while she was in the Treetops Hotel, in Kenya, forcing her to return to the UK. Once finally in Australia, with her husband Prince Philip, she undertook a journey through the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, including greeting 70,000 ex-servicemen and women at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and opening the Australian Parliament in Canberra. In all, the Queen traveled 10,000 miles by air, making approximately 33 flights, 2000 miles by road (130 hours in cars in 207 trips), visiting all capitals except Darwin, and 70 country towns. This extensive travel allowed some 75% of the Australian population to see the Queen at least once during the tour.

At the conclusion of the tour, Prime Minister Robert Menzies stated in an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald:

"It is a basic truth that for our Queen we have within us, sometimes unrealised until the moment of expression, the most profound and passionate feelings of loyalty and devotion. It does not require much imagination to realise that when eight million people spontaneously pour out this feeling they are engaging in a great act of common allegiance and common joy which brings them closer together and is one of the most powerful elements converting them from a mass of individuals to a great cohesive nation. In brief, the common devotion to the Throne is a part of the very cement of the whole social structure." [2]

In 1956 Prince Philip opened the Olympic Games in Melbourne, and opened the Empire Games in Perth in 1962, while on a tour through Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. In 1965 he opened the Royal Australian Mint, and in 1968 went to Australia to open the Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference.

File:POW-1.jpg
Prince Charles working a ranch near Canberra, 1974

Planned as a less formal tour than the one in 1954, the Queen returned in 1963, touring all the states and territories, with the primary purpose being to lead the Canberra jubilee celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the naming of the capital. During this trip she also toured the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia base in Alice Springs. In preparation for this tour, Sir Roy Dowling, the Queen's Australian Secretary for the visit, was warned about Northern Territory mosquitoes. Dowling was warned, "You could be placed in an extremely embarrassing situation if the Queen's skin was marked and if the press published pictures and stories about those marks." [3]

The Queen returned to Australia again in 1973 to open the Sydney Opera House.

Prince Charles attended the Geelong Grammar School for one year in 1966. This was not an official trip as the Prince was there primarily for schooling. A January 10, 1966, press release made this clear, stating that he should be left alone by journalists: "The Prince of Wales will be engaged in full time study in Australia and will not undertake any official engagements. The Queen and the Commonwealth Government have requested that the Prince’s visit should be treated as a private one and that he should be allowed the same freedom from public attention as any other school boy." [4]

He returned in 1967 as the Queen's representative at the memorial service for Prime Minister Harold Holt, and again in 1974. On March 20, 1983, Prince Charles, this time with his then wife Diana, and their son Prince William, landed in Alice Springs. [5] [6]

The Crown and the Australian Defence Force

The Crown retains a prominent place within the Australian Defence Force, which consists of the Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal Australian Navy. Section 68 of the Austrlian Constitution says: "The command in chief of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth is vested in the Governor-General as the Queen's representative." As this Act was passed 9th July, 1900, no mention of the air force is made, as aircraft were not then invented. Subsidiary and subsequent legislation handles these matters.

The Sovereign's position and role in the military is reflected by Australian naval vessels bearing the prefix Her Majesty's Australian Ship (HMAS) (subsequently His Majesty's Australian Ship during the reign of a king), and all members of the armed forces must swear allegiance to the Queen and her heirs and successors.

Members of the Royal Family have presided over many military ceremonies, including Trooping of the Colours, inspections of the troops, and anniversaries of key battles. Whenever Her Majesty is in Canberra she lays a wreath at the Australian War Memorial. As well, two other examples of Elizabeth II acting as Queen of Australia abroad were associated with the Australian military; one in 2003 when she dedicated the Australian War Memorial in Hyde Park, London, [7] and the other in 2004 when she attended the 60th anniversary of D-Day ceremonies in Normandy, France. [8]

Members of the Royal Family are Colonel-in-Chief of many Canadian regiments, including: the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery ;Royal Australian Army Medical Corps; the Royal Australian Armoured Corps; the Wellington Regiment; and the Royal Australian Corps of Signal, amongst many others.

Act of Settlement

Some Australians feel this Act is in conflict with Australian law preventing discrimination on grounds of religion, but this issue has never been tested. However, the principle has been tested elsewhere. In Toronto, Canada, Toronto city councillor Tony O'Donohue launched a court action in 2002 arguing that the Act of Settlement violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, an example of opposition against Monarchy in Canada.)

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ National Archives of Australia: King George VI (1936–52)
  2. ^ National Archives of Australia: Royal Visit 1954
  3. ^ National Archives of Australia: Royal Visit 1963
  4. ^ National Archives of Australia: Prince Charles
  5. ^ Australian Government: Royal Visits to Australia
  6. ^ National Archives of Australia: Royalty and Australian Society
  7. ^ Queen, Howard honour war dead
  8. ^ World leaders hail D-Day veterans
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