The King's Printer (known as the Queen's Printer during the reign of a female monarch) is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the
King-in-Council
The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
,
Ministers of the Crown, or other departments. The position is defined by
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 ...
under the
royal prerogative in various
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 Commonwealt ...
s.
Canada
Federal
The King's Printer for
Canada, so titled as to distinguish it from the equivalent position in each of
the Canadian provinces, is the individual in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
responsible for the
publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
and
printing requirements of the
King-in-
federal-Council. The
Minister of Public Works and Government Services is empowered by the
Department of Public Works and Government Services Act
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; french: Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada)''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works ...
to appoint the King's Printer for Canada on behalf of the sovereign.
Provincial and territorial
Alberta
The
Alberta King's Printer is the position, created in 1906, that oversees the administration of
Crown copyright in the province, as well as publishing and distributing copies of legislation, regulations, and related material, including the ''
Alberta Gazette
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...
'', in both
hard copy and electronic forms. Such print and digital media is also distributed by the King's Printer to libraries around Alberta, as well as being sold at a dedicated bookstore in
Edmonton and via the
Internet. The King's Printer themself is appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor of Alberta-in-
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
.
British Columbia

In
British Columbia, the office of the King's Printer and Comptroller of Stationery for British Columbia is a branch of the province's Procurement and Supply Services department, and not only supplies paper and electronic copies of all legislation, regulations, and related materials, including the ''
British Columbia Gazette'', but also operates a book and gift store called Crown Publications, and provides to the public printing, copying, and binding services. Once legislation has been granted
Royal Assent, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly must provide to the King's Printer a certified copy of the new law, as well as the journals of all sessions of the legislature.
New Brunswick
A King's Printer for New Brunswick is appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick on the advice of their
Executive Council Executive Council may refer to:
Government
* Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor
* Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern
* Ex ...
, and thereafter publishes the regulations, acts of the provincial parliament, and ''
The Royal Gazette'', and supplies them to libraries across the province and for sale to the public.
Manitoba
King's Printer for Manitoba was established in 1870 at the founding of Manitoba. The current King's Printer is the Deputy Minister of Finance, however the function is delegated to the Communications and Engagement Division of
Manitoba Finance. Under the Queen's Printer Act of Manitoba, the King's Printer has three roles:
* it is the official source of Government of Manitoba statutory publications including acts and regulations, the Manitoba Gazette, and the CCSM (Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba);
* it is responsible for arranging or entering into contracts on behalf of the government with respect to publishing, advertising and communication services; and
* it holds all Crown copyright in the province, including provincial logos and marks, with most material available for use under open use license
In these roles, the King's Printer of Manitoba, represented by the Communications and Engagement Division, continues a 150-year tradition of communicating the work of the Manitoba government to the public.
Ontario
The King's Printer for Ontario holds Crown copyright in that province, and all material hence bears the mark ''© King's Printer for Ontario''. The department must, by law, print the ''
Ontario Gazette''.
Prince Edward Island
The
Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island
The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island () is the viceregal representative in Prince Edward Island of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the ...
appoints a King's Printer for the province, who is an officer of the Department of the Provincial Treasury and is overseen by the minister of the Crown for that department. The King's Printer is required by law to publish the ''Royal Gazette'', as well as copies of all legislation, journals of the legislature, and other material printed as the cost of the
King in Right of Prince Edward Island.
Saskatchewan
The Office of the King's Printer in
Saskatchewan is based in
Regina and has the duty of publishing and distributing official copies of all legislation, regulations, and related material, including the ''
Saskatchewan Gazette'', and any other publications ordered by the
Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan-in-
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
. The King's Printer also holds Crown copyright on behalf of the
King in Right of Saskatchewan, and has the ability to release, in exceptional circumstances, such copyright on a one-time basis. The Queen's Printer themself is appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan-in-
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
. Once legislation in has been granted Royal Assent, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly must provide to the King's Printer a certified copy of the new law, as well as the journals of all sessions of the legislature.
Yukon
In Yukon, the King's Printer has been in existence since 1976. It performs its basic function as a legislative printer, comptroller of stationery, printer for the departments, publisher of The Yukon Gazette, and printer of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly.
United Kingdom
The holder of the letters patent has the nearly exclusive right of printing, publishing and importing the
Authorized Version of the Bible
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
and
Book of Common Prayer within the United Kingdom's jurisdiction. There are three exceptions which apply to this right. One is that the office of King's Printer only extends to
England,
Wales and
Northern Ireland. Within
Scotland the rights to the King James Bible are administered for the Crown by the
Bible Board
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, which holds the office of His Majesty's sole and only Master Printers and which licenses the printing of the Bible, New Testament and Book of Psalms. The other two exceptions are that separate sets of letters patent grant the
Oxford University Press and
Cambridge University Press the right to print and distribute the Authorized Version of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer regardless of who holds the office of King's Printer.
In 1767 Charles Eyre received a patent as the King's Printer and from 1787
Andrew Strahan operated with Eyre in the same role. Following Strahan's retirement in 1819 his nephews
Andrew and Robert Spottiswoode continued to work as the King's Printer and were later to run the firms Spottiswoode and Co. and
Eyre & Spottiswoode. From 1875 George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode were "printers to the Queen's most excellent majesty for Her Majesty's Stationery Office". In 1901 after the accession of King Edward VII the firm of Eyre & Spottiswoode was "re-appointed King's Printer".
The current holder of the office of King's Printer is Cambridge University Press.
The
Controller of HMSO is appointed by Letters Patent to the office of King's Printer of Acts of Parliament.
Section 92 of the
Scotland Act 1998 establishes the office of King's Printer for Scotland, and provides for it to be held by the King's Printer of Acts of Parliament. The King's Printer for Scotland is responsible for administering Crown copyright in
Acts of the Scottish Parliament
An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the successfu ...
, Scottish subordinate legislation and works made by the Scottish Administration.
See also
*
Office of Public Sector Information
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the Un ...
*
United States Government Printing Office
References
{{Canadian monarchy
State publishers
Printers
Monarchy in Canada
Law of the United Kingdom