Le Roy le veult
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' ("The King wills it", Modern French ''Le Roi le veut'') or ' ("The Queen wills it", Modern French ''La Reine le veut'') is a
Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
phrase used in the Parliament of the United Kingdom to signify that a public bill (including a
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
) has received royal assent from the
monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...
. It is a legacy of the time prior to 1488 when parliamentary and judicial business was conducted in French, the language of the educated classes dating to the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is one of a small number of Norman French phrases that continue to be used in the course of parliamentary procedure. Variations of the English and modern French translations of the phrase are also used in the royal assent ceremony used in the Canadian Parliament. Norman French is not used.


Usage

The phrase is used to signify that the monarch has granted his or her royal assent to a bill in order to make it become law. It is used by the Clerk of the Parliaments in the House of Lords. It is only used after the Lord Chancellor, accompanied by the
Lords Commissioners The Lords Commissioners are privy counsellors appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom to exercise, on his or her behalf, certain functions relating to Parliament which would otherwise require the monarch's attendance at the Palace of Wes ...
, has read out the
letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
for the bill. The
Clerk of the Crown A Clerk of the Crown is a clerk who usually works for a monarch or such royal head of state. The term is mostly used in the United Kingdom to refer to the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, though the office has undergone different title ...
then reads out the short title of the bill and the Clerk of the Parliaments responds by saying the phrase towards the House of Commons at the bar of the House for each bill. The phrase is also written on the paper of the bill to show that the monarch granted royal assent to the bill. Should royal assent be withheld, the expression ', "The King/Queen will advise him/her self" (i.e., will take the bill under advisement), a paraphrase of the Law Latin euphemism '/' ("The King/Queen will consider
he matter He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
), would be used, though no British monarch has used this veto power since Queen Anne on the Scottish Militia Bill in 1708. For a
supply bill In the Westminster system (and, colloquially, in the United States), a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending (also known as appropriation of money), as opposed to changes in public law. Conv ...
, an alternative phrase is used; ''/'' ("The King/Queen thanks her/his good subjects, accepts their bounty, and wills it so"). For a personal bill (e.g. Handel's Naturalisation Act 1727), the phrase ' ("Let it be done as it is desired") is used.


History

The practice of giving royal assent originated in the early days of Parliament to signify that the king intended for something to be made law.
Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
came to be used as the standard language of the educated classes and of the law, though Latin continued to be used alongside it. The work of the Parliament of England was conducted entirely in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
until the latter part of
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
's reign (1327–1377) and English was only rarely used before the reign of Henry VI (1422–1461, 1470–1471). Royal assent was occasionally given in English, though more usually in French. The practice of recording parliamentary statutes in French or Latin ceased by 1488 and statutes have been published in English ever since. The phrase ''Le Roy le veult'' was also used in the Parliament of Ireland (13th century – 1800). During the period of the Protectorate, when the
Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...
( Oliver Cromwell and later his son Richard Cromwell) governed the country, assent was given in English. The old practice of giving assent in Norman French was resumed following the English Restoration in 1660 and has continued ever since. There has only been one attempt to abolish it, when the House of Lords passed a bill in 1706 "for abolishing the use of the French tongue in all proceedings in Parliament and courts of justice". The bill failed to pass the House of Commons. Although the use of French in courts was abolished in 1731, Parliamentary practice was unaffected.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyne le veult, La French words and phrases French legal terminology Parliamentary procedure Parliament of the United Kingdom