Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonw ...

s to describe a

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the reigning sovereign or

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

. The term indicates that the minister serves

at His Majesty's pleasure At His Majesty's pleasure (sometimes abbreviated to King's pleasure or, when the reigning monarch is female, at Her Majesty's pleasure or Queen's pleasure) is a legal term of art referring to the indeterminate or undetermined length of service of c ...

, and advises the sovereign or viceroy on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives relating to the minister's department or ministry.

Ministries

In Commonwealth realms, the sovereign or viceroy is formally advised by a larger body known as a

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee A co ...

or executive council, though, in practice, they are advised by a subset of such councils: the collective body of ministers of the Crown called the ministry. The ministry should not be confused with the cabinet, as ministers of the Crown may be outside a cabinet. In the UK, ministers are the MPs and members of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

who are in the government.

History

Ministers of the Crown in Commonwealth realms have their roots in early modern England, where monarchs sometimes employed " cabinet councils" consisting of Ministers to advise the monarch and implemented his decisions. The term ''Minister'' came into being as the sovereign's advisors "ministered to", or served, the king. Over time, former ministers and other distinguished persons were retained as peripheral advisers with designated ministers having the direct ear of the king. This led to the creation of the larger Privy Council, with the Cabinet becoming a committee within that body, made up of currently serving Ministers, who also were heads of departments. During a period between the accession of King

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambigua ...

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 t ...

to the throne of England in 1603 and the unification of Scotland and England in 1707, the two entities were separate "countries" in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlin ...

through the one monarch who was advised by a separate set of Ministers of the Crown for each country. As the

English overseas possessions The English overseas possessions, also known as the English colonial empire, comprised a variety of overseas territories that were colonised, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England during the centuries before the Ac ...

and later

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts ...

expanded, the colonial governments remained subordinate to the imperial government at Westminster, and thus the Crown was still ministered to only by the Imperial Privy Council, made up of British Ministers of the Crown. When Canada became a

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 I ...

in 1867, however, a separate Canadian Privy Council was established to advise the Canadian Governor General on the exercise of the Crown prerogative in Canada, although constitutionally the viceroy remained an agent of the British government at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

. After that date, other colonies of the empire attained Dominion status and similar arrangements were made. Following the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, however, the dominions became effectively autonomous kingdoms under one sovereign, thus returning the monarch to a position similar to that which existed pre-1707, where he or she was ministered to by a separate ministry for each realm. Thus, today, no Minister of the Crown in any

can advise the monarch to exercise any powers pertaining to any of the other dominions.

Uses in other countries

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, during the " Restauración" period (1874–1931) the term Minister of the Crown ''(

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: Ministro de la Corona)'' was used for a person who was in charge of a ministerial department of His Majesty's Government. For example, during the reign of

King Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

, when Carlos María Cortezo y Prieto de Orche was appointed as "Ministro de Instrucción Pública y Bellas Artes" (minister of education), in the royal decree it was noted that he was a minister of the Crown.

References

{{Reflist Commonwealth realms Government in Canada Government of the United Kingdom

Ministries

History

Uses in other countries

See also

References