Privy Seal of King Rama IX (Bhumibol Adulyadej)

A privy seal refers to the personal seal of a reigning

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

, used for the purpose of authenticating official documents of a much more personal nature. This is in contrast with that of a great seal, which is used for documents of greater importance.

Privy Seal of England

The Privy Seal of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

can be traced back to the reign of King John. It has been suggested that it was originally the

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

that accompanied the person of the Sovereign, while the Great Seal was required to remain in the Chancery. Eventually, it became a requirement that almost no non-judicial document could pass under the Great Seal without a warrant from the Privy Seal.JE Sayers The English Royal Chancery: Structure and Productions The Barons wrested control of the Privy Seal away from the King by 1312 and it was replaced by the signet as the King's personal seal. The Privy Seal became the heart of a second writing office and clearing house, with warrants being sent to the Chancery and Exchequer under orders made with the Signet. (By 1400 the Signet was in the custody of the

King's Secretary In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary. From the ...

, and as such it is the precursor to the seals of office held by today's Secretaries of State.) The

Great Seal Act 1884 Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

effectively ended the use of the Privy Seal by providing that it was no longer necessary for any instrument to be passed under the Privy Seal.

Keepers of the Privy Seal

The Privy Seal of England was originally overseen by the Clerks of the King's Chamber, but soon came to be kept by the

controller of the wardrobe The King's Wardrobe, together with the Chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the King's household. Originally the room where the king's clothes, armour, and treasure were stored, the term was expanded to descr ...

; by 1323, however, the distinct office of Keeper of the Privy Seal had emerged with the appointment of

Adam de Lymbergh Adam de Lymbergh (died 1339) was an English Crown official and judge of the early fourteenth century, who served two Kings with distinction. He was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, a Baron of the Exchequer and Keeper of the Privy Seal. He was born ...

(the first Keeper, who was not also Controller, having been appointed in 1307). The present-day title of this office,

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

, is first recorded in 1539.

Its loss in battle

Prior to its adoption as the Privy Seal of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

after the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

, its most notable appearance in Scottish history was its alleged capture by the Scots in the aftermath of the

Battle of Old Byland The Battle of Old Byland (also known as the Battle of Byland Abbey, the Battle of Byland Moor and the Battle of Scotch Corner) was a significant encounter between Scots and English troops in Yorkshire in October 1322, forming part of the War ...

in 1322, when the Scots led by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

almost captured

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

, who was forced to flee, leaving behind many personal possessions including the Privy Seal.

Privy Seal of Scotland

There is also a separate Privy Seal of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, which existed from at least the reign of Alexander III. Article XXIV of the

Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...

provided that The Seal was last used in 1898 to execute the commission appointing the Rev. James Cooper to a

Regius Chair A Regius Professor is a university professor who has, or originally had, royal patronage or appointment. They are a unique feature of academia in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The first Regius Professorship was in the field of medicine, and ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, but has never been abolished. The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal has not been filled since the death of the

Marquess of Breadalbane A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

in 1922.

Privy Seal of Ireland

The "signet or privy seal" of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

was a single seal, whereas in England and Scotland the signet was a separate seal kept by the

Clerk of the Signet The Clerks of the Signet were English officials who played an intermediate role in the passage of letters patent through the seals. For most of the history of the position, four clerks were in office simultaneously. Letters patent prepared by the ...

and

Keeper of the Signet The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenance and care of the public records of Scotland. Tod ...

respectively. Fiants were issued under the privy seal or signet seal by the Keeper of the Signet or Privy Seal to authorise the issue of

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 ...

by the

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

under the

Great Seal of Ireland The Great Seal of Ireland was the seal used until 1922 by the Dublin Castle administration to authenticate important state documents in Ireland, in the same manner as the Great Seal of the Realm in England. The Great Seal of Ireland was used fro ...

Privy Seal of Japan

The

Privy Seal of Japan The is one of the national seals and is the Emperor of Japan's official seal. Description The Privy Seal of Japan is square, and its inscription ("The Emperor's Imperial Seal") is written in . It has two lines of vertical writing, with the ...

is the official seal of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

. While it is printed on many state documents, it is separate from the State Seal of Japan. The Privy Seal was made from copper beginning in the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, a new seal was made from stone in 1868. The present seal was made from gold in 1874. The Seal has been kept by the

Chamberlain of Japan The is a department of the Imperial Household Agency of Japan. History According to Taihō Code around the 8th century, it was presupposed that a chamberlain belonged to the Ministry of the Center. When the was installed during the Heian era, ...

since 1945, when the office of Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal was abolished. The Lord Keeper was a personal adviser to the Emperor, a position adapted in 1885 from the earlier post of ''

Naidaijin The , literally meaning "Inner Minister", was an ancient office in the Japanese imperial court, Japanese Imperial Court. Its role, rank and authority varied throughout the pre-Meiji period, Meiji period of Japanese history, but in general remain ...

''.

References

{{Reflist Seals (insignia) Government of England English law Government of Scotland Scots law British monarchy Government of the United Kingdom Constitution of the United Kingdom