From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A
Commonwealth realm
is a country in the
Commonwealth of Nations
which has
King Charles III
as
monarch
. They include his home country of the
United Kingdom
and many of its
former colonies or territories
. As of 2023, there are 15 commonwealth realms:
In each of the countries outside the UK, the King appoints a
Governor-General
to represent him, who, after consulting with the government of the realm, has all of the powers and duties of the Monarch. Usually the Governor-General signs all
acts of parliament
into law, but can wait and ask the King for advice or wait for him to sign the act himself. This happened in 1982 when Queen Elizabeth signed the important
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
during a visit to
Ottawa
, and the
Australia Act
1986 in
Canberra
.
Although King Charles III is monarch of many countries, the British government has no power in the other realms, just as the governments of the other realms have no power in the UK. This is why each realm decides on the Monarch's official title. Usually it is "Queen/King of (realm) and Her/His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth". But two countries mention the UK in their title for the Queen: Grenada uses "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Grenada and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth", while Canada uses the old-fashioned form, which reads "by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth,
Defender of the Faith
." Not all countries use the title
Defender of the Faith
.