His Majesty King Edward the Eighth's Abdication Act, 1937 (Act No. 2 of 1937) was an act of the

Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital city, capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameralism, bicameral Parliamen ...

that ratified the

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

of King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

and the succession to the throne of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

. Although the South African cabinet had assented to the passage of

His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 ( 1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6. c. 3) is the act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that recognised and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and passed succession to his brother King George ...

by the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

at the time of the abdication in December 1936, the South African act was passed in February 1937 to resolve legal uncertainties. The

Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly increased the autonomy of the Dominions of the British Commonwealth. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of t ...

gave the

dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

s, including the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

, full legislative independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and provided that no act of the British Parliament would apply in a dominion unless the dominion requested and consented that it do so. The

preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

of the statute also stated that any changes to the

succession to the throne In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an wikt:indivisible, indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also ...

would require the assent of the parliaments of all of the dominions. After Edward signed the Instrument of Abdication on 10 December 1936, the British government communicated with the

Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

governments, who agreed to the passage of the Abdication Act by the British Parliament. Only the Canadian government formally "requested and consented", however, while the Australian, New Zealand and South African governments merely "assented" to the legislation. The legal position in South Africa was further complicated by the provisions of the Status of the Union Act, 1934. Section two of that act provided that no act of the British parliament would apply in South Africa without an act of the South African parliament making it applicable; this was a stricter requirement than the "request and consent" requirement of the Statute of Westminster. On the other hand, section five of the Status of the Union Act defined the succession to the throne by reference to the law of succession applicable in the United Kingdom. To resolve this confusion, the South African parliament enacted in February 1937 its own Abdication Act. It contained the same provisions as the British act, declaring the accession of George VI to the throne, excluding Edward VIII and his descendants from any right to the throne, and excluding them from the provisions of the Royal Marriages Act. However, the South African act declared the abdication and accession to have occurred on 10 December when Edward signed the Instrument of Abdication, rather than 11 December when the Abdication Act had come into force in the UK. It also declared that actions taken in the name of Edward VIII after the abdication but before the passage of the South African act were deemed to be valid. The act was repealed by the

South African Constitution of 1961 The Constitution of 1961 (formally the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961) was the fundamental law of South Africa for two decades. Under the terms of the constitution South Africa ceased to be a Commonwealth realm and became a re ...

when South Africa became a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

References

External links

* {{Abdication of Edward VIII Abdication of Edward VIII Repealed South African legislation 1937 in South African law Succession acts South Africa and the Commonwealth of Nations