Commonwealth realm
A Commonwealth realm is a country which shares Queen Elizabeth II as monarch.
- Queen of Antigua and Barbuda
- Queen of Australia
- Queen of The Bahamas
- Queen of Barbados
- Queen of Belize
- Queen of Canada
- Queen of Grenada
- Queen of Jamaica
- Queen of New Zealand
- Queen of Papua New Guinea
- Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Queen of Saint Lucia
- Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Queen of the Solomon Islands
- Queen of Tuvalu
- Queen of the United Kingdom
The queen appoints a Governor-General to represent her. The Governor-General is appointed after consulting with the government of the realm, and has all of the powers and duties of the queen. Usually the Governor-General signs all acts of parliament into law, but can wait and ask the queen for advice or wait for her to sign the act herself. This happened in 1982 when Queen Elizabeth signed the important Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms during a visit to Canada, and Australia Act 1986 in Canberra.
Although the Queen Elizabeth II is shared with many countries, the British government has no power in the other realms, just as much the Australian Government has no power in the UK, for example.
Each realm decides on the Queen's title.
Usually it is Queen of (realm) and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.
But Canada and Grenada mention the UK:
- 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
- Canada use the old fashioned form, 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.
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Other websites [change]
- The Commonwealth Secretariat official site
- The Commonwealth - UK government site
Commonwealth [change]
- United Commonwealth Main all-Commonwealth group
Australia [change]
- Australian Monarchist League (traditionalist constitutional monarchists)
- No Republic - Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (Moderate constitutional monarchists)
