Regulations for the British armed forces
The
King's Regulations
(first published in 1731 and known as the
Queen's Regulations
when the
monarch
is female) is a collection of orders and regulations in force in the
Royal Navy
,
British Army
,
Royal Air Force
, and
Commonwealth Realm
Forces (where the same person as on the British throne is also their separate
head of state
), forming guidance for officers of these armed services in all matters of discipline and personal conduct. Originally, a single set of regulations were published in one volume. By the mid 19th century, there were separate editions of the
Queen's Regulations
for the Navy and the Army, and there is now one for each of the United Kingdom's armed forces.
History
[
edit
]
The first issue of what became the
Queen's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions
was issued in 1731 as the
Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea
. Numerous further editions have appeared since then, and from the 19th century the title was altered to the
Queen's [or King's] Regulations and Admiralty Instructions
. Naval editions with this title were published by
H.M. Stationery Office
as recently as 1959
[1]
and 1964.
[2]
In 1868,
Chambers's Encyclopaedia
noted that the Queen's Regulations for the Navy "in a great degree regulate matters of finance; whereas, in the army, financial matters are left to the War Office regulations".
[3]
The historian of the
British Empire
Edward Jenks
wrote in 1918 that:
The King cannot, by
Articles of War
, alter the provisions of an
Act of Parliament
. The "King's Regulations", therefore, are concerned mainly with the minor affairs of military life, such as the soldier's
uniform
and equipment, the
etiquette
of the
barracks
and the mess-room, the formalities required in communicating with the authorities, and so on.
[4]
In a legal work of 1907,
Sir Frederick Pollock
defined the "King's Regulations and Orders for the Army and Navy" thus:
The Crown
issues regulations and orders for the government, discipline, and general economy of the military and naval forces?regular, reserve, and volunteer?under the sign manual of the Sovereign.
[5]
Under "King's Regulations and Orders for the Army", Herbert Mason states
The orders of the Sovereign affecting any fundamental matter of agreement between the Sovereign and a soldier are communicated by
Royal warrants
, which are signed by the
Under-Secretary of State
for
War
and reproduced in detail in Army Circulars. These circulars supplement and are incorporated in the Revised Army Regulations... They carry out and supplement the statutory provisions already existing".
[6]
Prohibition of political discussions
[
edit
]
It has been a matter of discipline since at least the 1844 edition of
Wellington
that,
[7]
Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and Soldiers are forbidden to institute, countenance, or attend
Orange-Lodges
, or any other Meetings whatever, for Party or Political Purposes, in Barracks, Quarters, Camp, or wheresoever held.
In 1889,
Sir Garnet Wolseley
amended the prohibition to read,
[8]
Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and private soldiers are forbidden to institute, or take part in any meetings, demonstrations, or processions for party or political purposes, in barracks, quarters or camps, or their vicinity; and under no circumstances whatever will they do so in uniform.
Current editions
[
edit
]
- The Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy
(1997)
- The Queen's Regulations for the Army
(1975)
[9]
- The Queen's Regulations for the Royal Air Force
(1999)
Frequent updates are issued.
Selected past editions
[
edit
]
- Army
- General Orders and Regulations
(
Calvert
ed. - Temple Bar, London: C. Roworth, 1804)
- The Queen's regulations and orders for the Army
(Wellington ed. - London: Parker, Furnivall, and Parker, 3rd ed., 1844)
- The Queen's regulations and orders for the Army - Part I
(Wolseley ed. - War Office, London: HMSO 1889)
- The King's Regulations and Orders for the Army
(London: HM Stationery Office, 1901)
- The King's Regulations and Orders for the Army
(London: HM Stationery Office, 1908)
- The King's Regulations and Orders for the Army
(London: HM Stationery Office, 1912)
- Navy
- Regulations and Instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea
. (London, 1731; 1st ed)
- Regulations and Instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea
. (London, 1734; 2nd ed)
- Regulations and Instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea
. (London, 1757; 9th ed)
- Regulations and Instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea
. (London, 1790; 13th ed)
- Regulations and Instructions relating to His Majesty's service at sea
. (London, 1806)
- The Queen's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of Her Majesty's Naval Service
(London: HMSO, 1862)
- The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of His Majesty's Naval Service
, 2 volumes (London: HM Stationery Office, 1906).
Vol I
- The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of His Majesty's Naval Service
, 2 volumes (London: HM Stationery Office, 1913).
Vol I
- The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of His Majesty's Naval Service
, 2 volumes (London: HM Stationery Office, 1914)
- The King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for the Government of His Majesty's Naval Service
, 2 volumes (London: HM Stationery Office, 1939)
- RAF
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Queen's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions, 1959
- ^
Queen's Regulations and Admiralty instructions, 1964
- ^
Chambers's Encyclopaedia
(1868) vol. 8,
p. 62
online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 30 October 2010
- ^
Jenks, Edward
(1918).
The Government of the British Empire
. John Murray. p. 194
. Retrieved
16 April
2022
– via archive.org.
- ^
Sir Alexander Wood Renton, Maxwell Anderson Robertson,
Sir Frederick Pollock
,
Encyclopædia of the laws of England with forms and precedents
(1907), p. 614
- ^
Herbert B. Mason,
Encyclopaedia of ships and shipping
(1908), p. 329
- ^
Wellington, 1844: p.382
- ^
Wolseley, 1889: p.12, VI.9
- ^
The Queen's regulations for the army 1975 (amendment number 37)
.