Head of state of the Isle of Man
The
Lord of Mann
(
Manx
:
Chiarn Vannin
) is the
lord proprietor
[1]
[2]
and
head of state
of the
Isle of Man
, currently
King Charles III
. Before 1504 the title was
King of Mann
.
Relationship with the Crown
[
edit
]
Since 1399, the
kings
and lords of Mann were
vassals
of the
kings of England
who were the ultimate
sovereigns
of the island. This right of 'lord proprietor' was
revested
into
the Crown
by the
Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765
for £70,000 and a £2,000 annuity, at which point it became a self-governing British
Crown Dependency
.
King George III
became the first British monarch to reign over the Isle of Man as Lord of Mann in 1765.
[3]
For reasons of culture and tradition, the title Lord of Mann continues to be used. For these reasons, the correct formal usage, as used in the Isle of Man for the
loyal toast
, is
The King, Lord of Mann
. The term "the King, Lord of Mann" was also used when
Charles III
was proclaimed king on the Isle of Man.
[4]
The title "lord" was used by
Queen Elizabeth II
.
Queen Victoria
was styled as lady of Mann.
[5]
The formal
Latin
style is
Dominus Manniae
.
List
[
edit
]
Before 1504
[
edit
]
Before 1504, the ruler of the Isle of Man was generally
styled
king of Mann
.
[6]
16th century
[
edit
]
Succession dispute (1594?1607)
[
edit
]
In 1598, a succession dispute between the daughters of
Ferdinando
and their uncle,
William, Earl of Derby
, was heard by the
Privy Council
. They decided that the right to the Isle of Man belonged solely to
Queen Elizabeth I
, and the
letters patent
of 1405 which conferred the lordship of the Isle of Man on the Stanley family were declared null and void as the previous ruler,
Henry, Earl of Northumberland
, had not been subject to legal
attainder
, despite his treason, and the 1405 and 1406 letters patent had therefore not taken effect.
[7]
[8]
The Queen, in consideration of the "many eminent services performed to herself and to her royal predecessors by the honourable and noble House of Stanley", withdrew her right and referred the contending claimants to the decision of the Privy Council as to the best claim of inheritance.
The Privy Council decided "the grant being by letters patent under the Great Seal of England, such right would descend according to the Common Law of England to the heirs general, and not to the heirs male", and the island was therefore awarded to Ferdinando's daughters; whereupon William agreed to purchase their several shares and interests.
[9]
Interim (1607?1609)
[
edit
]
Following the resolution of the succession dispute, it was ruled that the daughters of Ferdinando Stanley were the rightful heirs. As the oldest of them would not reach the
age of majority
until 1609, two temporary Lords of Mann were appointed by
James I
by letters patent,
[10]
so that the daughters could benefit from the Island's revenues.
United Kingdom legislation
The original letters patent having been declared void, the
Parliament of England
in 1609 under
James I
passed a private
Act of Parliament
entitled "An Act for assuring and establishing the Isle of Man in the name and blood of William, Earl of Derby" (1609) (
7 Jas. 1
. c.
4
)
[11]
which established the title in law as
Lord of Mann
. The lordship was conferred by letters patent dated 7 July 1609 upon
William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby
.
[12]
Subsequent succession was under the terms of this grant.
[13]
17th and 18th centuries
[
edit
]
- William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby
, 1609?1612
- Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby
, 1612?1627
- James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
, 1627?1651 (known as
the Great Stanley
)
- Thomas, Lord Fairfax of Cameron
, 1651?1660 (appointed by
Oliver Cromwell
during the
English Interregnum
)
- Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby
, 1660?1672 (restored by
King Charles II
)
- William Richard George Stanley, 9th Earl of Derby
, 1672?1702
- James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby
, 1702?1736
- James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl
, 1736?1764
- Charlotte, Duchess of Atholl
and
John, Duke of Atholl
, 1764?1765
In 1736, on the death of
James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby
, the Duke of Atholl, a maternal grandson of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, succeeded to the sovereignty of the Isle of Man, while a more distant cousin succeeded as
Earl of Derby
.
Revestment
[
edit
]
In 1765,
Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl, 8th Baroness Strange
, sold the
suzerainty
of the island to the
British
government for £70,000 and an annuity of £2,000 (£5,235,000 and £150,000 respectively in modern terms). By the passage of the
Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765
the title of Lord of Mann was
revested
into the
British Crown
. It has therefore since been used in the Isle of Man to refer to the reigning
British monarch
.
- George III
, 1765?1820
- George IV
, 1820?1830
- William IV
, 1830?1837
- Victoria
, 1837?1901
- Edward VII
, 1901?1910
- George V
, 1910?1936
- Edward VIII
, 1936
- George VI
, 1936?1952
- Elizabeth II
, 1952?2022
- Charles III
, since 2022
In 1828, all remaining property interests and rights of the
dukes of Atholl
on the island were sold to
HM Treasury
, a department of the British government, for the sum of £417,144, equivalent to £45,127,903 in 2023.
[14]
[15]
This was accomplished by a
further Act of Parliament
"An Act to empower the Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury to purchase a certain Annuity in respect of Duties and Customs levied in the Isle of Man, and any reserved sovereign rights in the said Island belonging to John Duke of Atholl"
(
6 Geo. 4
. c. 34).
Queen Elizabeth II on a Manx crown coin of 1970. A
Manx cat
is shown on the reverse.
Lieutenant governor
[
edit
]
The Lord of Mann is now represented by the
Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Tynwald of Today"
.
Tynwald
. Archived from
the original
on 3 December 2008.
- ^
"A new electorate for the Isle of Man"
.
BBC News
. 19 November 2006
. Retrieved
11 May
2010
.
- ^
"Isle of Man"
.
The official website of The British Monarchy
. Archived from
the original
on 29 October 2013
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
.
- ^
"Proclamation of King Charles III, Lord of Mann"
.
Youtube
. Gef the Mongoose
. Retrieved
14 October
2022
.
- ^
Callow, Edward (1899).
"Preface"
.
From King Orry to Queen Victoria: A Short and Concise History of the Isle of Man
. London, UK: Elliot Stock
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
– via Isle-of-man.com.
- ^
"Kings & Lords of Mann"
.
Manx National Heritage
. Archived from
the original
on 30 May 2007.
- ^
Callow, Edward (2007).
From King Orry to Queen Victoria: A Short and Concise History of the Isle of Man
. Gardners Books.
ISBN
978-1-4326-8295-8
.
- ^
Parr, John (1867).
"Reign of Queen Elizabeth"
. In
Gell, James
(ed.).
An Abstract of the Laws, Customs, and Ordinances of the Isle of Man
. Douglas: The Manx Society
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
– via Isle-of-man.com.
- ^
"William, Sixth Earl of Derby, 1610-1627"
.
Isle-of-man.com
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
.
- ^
Oliver, J.R., ed. (1861).
"Grant of the Isle of Man to the Earl of Northampton and the Earl of Salesbury"
.
Monumenta de Insula Manniae
. Vol. III. Douglas: Manx Society. p. 88
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
– via Isle-of-man.com.
- ^
Mills, M.A. (1821).
"An Acte for the Assuringe and Establishing of the Isle of Manne"
.
Ancient Ordinances and Statute Laws of the Isle of Man
. Douglas. pp. 522?527 – via Isle-of-man.com.
- ^
Mills, M.A. (1821).
"Grant by James I of Island to Earl of Salisbury"
.
Ancient Ordinances and Statute Laws of the Isle of Man
. Douglas. pp. 514?522 – via Isle-of-man.com.
- ^
Howe, David (30 November 2007).
"Letter from The King of Mann"
.
Manx Independent
. Archived from
the original
on 14 December 2007
. Retrieved
22 December
2007
.
- ^
"Currency converter"
.
The National Archives
. Retrieved
6 July
2012
.
- ^
"Act of Revestment 1765"
.
Isle-of-man.com
. Retrieved
27 October
2013
.