Commonwealth realm

The Commonwealth realms, shown in blue. Countries that used to be commonwealth realms are in red.

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:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Belize
• Canada
• Grenada
• Jamaica
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Solomon Islands
• Tuvalu
• United Kingdom

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.

Other websites

• The Commonwealth Secretariat Official site
• The Commonwealth - UK Government site

Commonwealth

• United Commonwealth Archived 2006-10-10 at the Wayback Machine Main All-Commonwealth group

Australia

• Australian Monarchist League (traditionalist constitutional monarchists)
• No Republic - Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (Moderate constitutional monarchists)

Canada

• Canadian Monarchy - The Official Site Archived 2008-09-18 at the Wayback Machine
• Canadian Monarchist ONLINE
• Monarchist League of Canada

New Zealand

• Monarchist League of New Zealand Archived 2004-12-17 at the Wayback Machine