Function of the Canadian monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador
By the arrangements of the
Canadian federation
, the
Canadian monarchy
operates in
Newfoundland and Labrador
as the core of the province's
Westminster-style
parliamentary
democracy
.
[1]
As such,
the Crown
within Newfoundland and Labrador's jurisdiction is referred to as
the Crown in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador
,
[2]
His Majesty in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador
,
[3]
or
the King in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador
.
[4]
The
Constitution Act, 1867
, however, leaves many royal duties in the province specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, the
lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador
,
[1]
whose direct participation in governance is limited by the
conventional
stipulations of
constitutional monarchy
.
[5]
Constitutional role
[
edit
]
The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions in
Newfoundland and Labrador
in the same way
it does in all of Canada's other provinces
, being the centre of a constitutional construct in which the institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority share the power of the whole.
[6]
It is thus the foundation of the
executive
,
legislative
, and
judicial
branches of the
province's government
.
[7]
The
Canadian monarch
?since 8 September 2022, King
Charles III
?is represented and his duties carried out by the
lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador
, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the
conventional
stipulations of
constitutional monarchy
, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected parliamentarians, the
ministers of the Crown
generally drawn from among them, and the
judges
and
justices of the peace
.
[5]
The Crown today primarily functions as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and a
nonpartisan
safeguard against the
abuse of power
.
[5]
[8]
[9]
This arrangement began with the granting in 1949 of
royal assent
to the
Newfoundland Act
[10]
and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the late 15th century. However, though it has a separate government headed by the King, as a province, Newfoundland and Labrador is not itself a kingdom.
[11]
Government House
in
St. John's
is owned by the sovereign in his capacity as King in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador and is used as an
official residence
by the lieutenant governor, and the sovereign when in Newfoundland and Labrador.
[
citation needed
]
Royal associations
[
edit
]
Those in the royal family
perform ceremonial duties
when on a tour of the province; the royal persons do not receive any personal income for their service, only the costs associated with the exercise of these obligations are funded by both the Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador Crowns
in their respective councils
.
[12]
Monuments around Newfoundland and Labrador
mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event. Further, Newfoundland and Labrador's monarchical status is illustrated by
royal names applied regions, communities, schools, and buildings
, many of which may also have a specific history with a member or members of the royal family. Associations also exist between the Crown and many private organizations within the province; these may have been founded by a
royal charter
,
received a
royal
prefix
, and/or been honoured with
the patronage of a member of the royal family
. Examples include the
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
, which received its
royal
prefix from Queen
Elizabeth II
in 1979, and the
Royal St. John's Regatta
, which had the Queen as its patron and received its
royal
prefix from her in 1993.
The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority.
[13]
A
royal cypher
or crown may also illustrate the monarchy as the locus of authority, without referring to any specific monarch. Further, though the monarch does not form a part of the constitutions of
Newfoundland and Labrador's honours
, they do stem from the Crown as the
fount of honour
and, so, bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign.
History
[
edit
]
Establishment of the Crown in Newfoundland
[
edit
]
By commission under the
royal prerogative
of
Queen Elizabeth I
, Sir
Humphrey Gilbert
claimed the island of
Newfoundland
on 5 August 1583. By the mid-1660s, however, the
French Crown
had also laid claim to nearly half of the same area. Disputes over the island were ended as the French kings ceded
Terre Neuve
to the British Crown via the
Treaty of Utrecht
in 1713 and later the
Treaty of Paris
in 1763, in-between which, in 1729, the
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
was established.
In 1615,
Richard Whitbourne
was sent to Newfoundland to oversee the fisheries and wrote
A Discourse and Discovery of Newfoundland
to induce Englishmen to settle the island. King
James VI and I
approved of the book so highly that he ordered copies sent to every parish in England.
[14]
David Kirke
, an
adventurer
,
privateer
, and friend of
King Charles I
, was installed by the King as
proprietary governor
in 1638, also granting Kirke a coat of arms, which, in a twist of fate, are today the
arms of King Charles III in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador
.
[15]
The year prior, Kirke and his partners had also been given, by way of a
royal charter
from Charles, co-proprietorship of the entire island.
[15]
When the
English Civil War
between the King and parliament in England ended in 1651 with
Charles I's execution
, Kirke lost the protection of the Crown and Newfoundland was taken by the
Commonwealth of England
, headed by
Oliver Cromwell
. Kirke died in prison in 1654, awaiting trial over his title to the lands around
Ferryland
.
[16]
John Treworgie
thereafter served as governor of Newfoundland until the
restoration of the English monarchy
in 1660.
[17]
The Lord Baltimore
was granted the
Avalon Peninsula
by
royal patent
from
King Charles II
, but never took up residence. Lady Kirke, the wife of David's brother, Sir Lewis Kirke, petitioned the King to make David's son, George Kirke, the governor of Newfoundland; an arrangement that had been suggested by Newfoundlanders. But, Charles demurred from appointing a resident governor.
[16]
Royalty in the colony
[
edit
]
As an officer in the
Royal Navy
, in command of
HMS
Pegasus
, Prince William Henry (later King
William IV
) was the first member of the royal family to visit the
Newfoundland Colony
, arriving on 10 April 1786.
[18]
His first impressions of the land were not positive: he stated of
St John's
, "truly deplorable [...] a most dreadful, inhospitable, and barren country"; though, he later changed his opinion after meeting the local women, commenting on the region's "inexhaustible supply of women of the most obliging kind."
[19]
While in Newfoundland, William found himself involved in civil affairs, in addition to naval ones, as there were no permanent civil authorities on the island and the Prince was the senior naval officer in the colony.
[20]
As such, the Prince broke up a riot in
Placentia
, presided over a court, and commissioned the construction of St. Luke's Anglican Church in
Newtown
,
[21]
toward which he contributed his own money, as well as a silver communion set, consisting of a
chalice
,
paten
,
plate
, and
flagon
, all of which are still in the church's possession.
[20]
On 21 August 1786, he celebrated his 21st birthday on his ship in the waters off Newfoundland.
[22]
William wrote to his father, King
George III
,
"During the last fortnight of our stay at Placentia, I read divine service in the courthouse for an example to the magistrates to perform that duty every Sunday 'til the arrival of the missionary from England. I twice led prayers and my congregation consisted of all the Protestants and many of the Catholicks [
sic
]."
[20]
Thirty-five years after the colony's status was elevated to that of a province of the Crown,
Queen Victoria
's eldest son and the grand-nephew of King William IV, Prince Albert Edward (the future King
Edward VII
) arrived at Newfoundland on 24 July 1860, aboard
HMS
Hero
,
[23]
receiving the standard welcome from
Governor
Alexander Bannerman
, in the form of an official address,
[23]
followed by a reply from the Prince. In the evening, there was a formal ball held in Albert Edward's honour.
[23]
While on the island, the Prince took in the
St. John's Regatta
, offering £100 to the winner,
[24]
and was gifted a
Newfoundland dog
, on behalf of Newfoundlanders.
[23]
[25]
The early 20th century
[
edit
]
Prince George (later King
George V
) and Princess Mary (later
Queen Mary
), with Mary's brother,
Prince Alexander
(later a governor general of Canada), visited Newfoundland in 1901 (George's second visit to the island
[26]
), arriving at St. John's on 25 October, aboard
HMS
Ophir
, escorted by
HMS
Crescent
,
HMS
Niobe
,
HMS
Proserpine
, and
HMS Diadem
. The ships were greeted by a flotilla of thousands of decorated vessels; of the arrival, M. Harvey wrote, "from that moment until the departure of the
Ophir
, it was one continuous carnival." This was the royal party's last port on an eight month long tour of the
British Empire
and immediately followed a coast-to-coast-and-back-again tour of Canada.
[27]
Prince George (later King
George V
) and
Princess Mary
(later Queen Mary) ride by carriage from Government House to the courthouse, St. John's, 26 October 1901
The Prince and Princess' first event in Newfoundland was hosting a formal dinner for
Governor
Cavendish Boyle
and
his cabinet
on board
Ophir
. The following morning, the royal party landed and toured St. John's by carriage, stopping at Government House, to meet again with the Governor and his ministers; the
then-new courthouse
,
[28]
where the Duke laid the cornerstone;
[29]
and
the Prince's Rink
, to hear 6,000 schoolchildren sing a specially-composed anthem.
[30]
There, echoing the visit of George's father, King Edward VII, in 1860, the royal couple were given a nine-month old Newfoundland dog named Bouncer, to pass on to their then-seven year old son,
Prince Edward
(later King Edward VIII).
[31]
[32]
The Duke and Duchess then returned to Government House for a reception in the throne room.
[31]
Following the
Imperial Conference in 1907
, at which it was resolved to confer
dominion
status on all self-governing colonies in attendance,
[33]
King Edward VII, on the advice of his
imperial Privy Council
in
London
, made Newfoundland a
Dominion
of the
British Empire
. Seven years later, the country, with
the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany
, entered the
First World War
and, in recognition for its service with distinction in several battles, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment was granted the prefix
royal
from the King, becoming the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment
[34]
George and Mary's other son, Prince Albert (later King
George VI
), arrived in Newfoundland in 1913, while serving as a midshipman aboard the
Royal Navy
cruiser
HMS
Cumberland
,
[35]
spending some leisure time salmon fishing.
[36]
His uncle,
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
, visited the island the following year, while he was serving as
governor general of Canada
.
[37]
Prince Edward visited
Topsail
on 5 August 1919,
[38]
[39]
aboard
HMS
Renown
, which anchored in
Conception Bay
because the ship had been deemed too large to turn around in St. John's Harbour.
[40]
When he stepped ashore, the Prince received "not a second glance from the locals, who [had] no idea who he [was]".
[40]
After a few hours touring the town,
[39]
Edward travelled on to St John's for formal events
[40]
and took in a race at the Royal St. John's Regatta.
[41]
The Prince departed Newfoundland for Canada on
HMS
Dauntless
.
[40]
A Newfoundland 10-cent coin from 1941, showing the effigy of King
George VI
After the
Balfour Declaration of 1926
established that the Dominions were "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",
[42]
Newfoundland gave its assent to the enactment of
Statute of Westminster 1931
.
[43]
With that, the monarchy in Newfoundland ceased to be an exclusively British institution and became a Newfounlandian, or "domesticated", establishment, the sovereign's role as monarch of Newfoundland becoming distinct from his position as monarch of any other realm and only Newfoundlandian ministers of the Crown, thereafter, being able to advise the sovereign on any and all matters of the Newfoundland state. However, only three years later, the country suspended its legislature
[44]
and self-governing status and the
Commission of Government
took control,
[45]
putting Newfoundland under the authority of a governor who reported to the British Cabinet that adivised the monarch of the UK.
[44]
This left Newfoundland as a dominion in name only.
[45]
King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth
visited Newfoundland on 17 June 1939 and,
[46]
accompanied by
Governor
Sir
Humphrey Walwyn
, undertook an hour-long drive from Conception Bay to St. John's and attended a garden party and other official events.
[47]
The city's population of 50,000 doubled, as visitors came in to see the royal couple; though, a "lack of cheering and of visible enthusiasm” in the crowd was noted; the country remained downtrodden and demoralized after the loss of self-government and the
Great Depression
.
[48]
Still, to bid the King and Queen farewell, the residents of St John's built a large
bonfire
on
Signal Hill
, visible to the monarch and his consort as they sailed away on the
Canadian Pacific
liner
RMS
Empress of Britain
.
[49]
Confederation
[
edit
]
Following
two referenda in 1948
, the island joined
Canadian Confederation
the next year, making it the only province to do so by authority of the Canadian monarch.
Since Confederation, there have been a number of royal visits to the province. Some notable visits have included
Princess Mary, Princess Royal
, marking in 1964 the 50th anniversary of the departure of the first contingent of the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment
from St. John's to the battlefields of the
First World War
;
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
, along with his wife
Diana, Princess of Wales
, visiting Newfoundland in 1983 to mark the 400th anniversary of the island becoming an English, and later British, colony;
[50]
and, during her 1997 tour of Canada, Queen
Elizabeth II
, along with her husband,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, travelling to
Bonavista
to see the arrival of the
Matthew
, as part of the re-enactment of
John Cabot
's arrival on the island 500 years before.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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a
b
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External links
[
edit
]