Le Roy le veult (/ləˈrɔɪləˌvʌlt/, "The King wills it") orLa Reyne le veult (/læˈreɪnləˌvʌlt/, "The Queen wills it") is aNorman French phrase used in theParliament of the United Kingdom to signify that apublic bill, including aprivate member's bill, has receivedroyal assent from themonarch.[1] During theAnglo-Norman rule of England, the kings were titledRoy,Roi,Rey,Rei and theLatinRex, all meaning "King".[2] Usage of this phrase is a legacy of the time prior to 1488 when parliamentary and judicial business was conducted in Norman, the language of the educated classes dating to theNorman Conquest of 1066. It is one of a small number of Norman phrases that continue to be used in the course of parliamentary procedure.
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 theClerk of the Parliaments in theHouse of Lords. It is only used after theLords Commissioners, has read out theletters patent for the bill. TheClerk of the Crown then reads out the short title of the bill and the Clerk of the Parliaments responds by saying the phrase towards theHouse of Commons at the bar of the House for each bill.[3][4] The phrase is also written on the paper of the bill to show that the monarch granted royal assent to the bill.[5]
Should royal assent be withheld, the expressionLe Roy/La Reyne s'avisera, "The King/Queen will advise him/her self" (i.e., will take the bill under advisement), a paraphrase of theLaw Latin euphemismRex/Regina consideret ("The King/Queen will consider [the matter]"), would be used, though no British monarch has used thisveto power sinceQueen Anne on theScottish Militia Bill in 1708.[6]
For asupply bill, an alternative phrase is used;Le Roy/La Reyne remercie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et ainsi le veult ("The King/Queen thanks his/her good subjects, accepts their bounty, and wills it so").[7] For apersonal bill (e.g.Handel's Naturalisation Act 1727), the phraseSoit fait comme il est désiré ("Let it be done as it is desired") is used.[8]
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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.[9]Norman French came to be used as the standard language of the educated classes and of the law, thoughLatin continued to be used alongside it.[10] The work of theParliament of England was conducted entirely inFrench until the latter part of Edward III's reign (1327–1377) andEnglish was only rarely used before the reign ofHenry VI (1422–1461, 1470–1471). Royal assent was occasionally given in English, though more usually in the traditional Norman French fashion.[11] The practice of recording parliamentary statutes in French or Latin ceased by 1488, and statutes have been published in English ever since.[10]
The phraseLe Roy le veult was also used in theParliament of Ireland (13th century – 1800).[12]
During the period ofthe Protectorate, when theLord Protector (Oliver Cromwell and later his sonRichard Cromwell) governed the country, assent was given in English. The old practice of giving assent in Norman French was resumed following theEnglish Restoration in 1660 and has continued ever since. There has only been one attempt to abolish it, when theHouse 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 theHouse of Commons. Although the use of French in courts was abolished in 1731, Parliamentary practice was unaffected.[11]
He did so using the formulas le roy le veult to signify assent and le roy s'avisera to withhold it. Until the latter part of the reign of Edward III (1327‑77), all parliamentary proceedings were conducted in Norman French. The use of English was extremely rare until the reign of Henry IV (1399‑1413). Beginning with the reign of Henry VII (1485‑1509), English was used for all proceedings, with the exception of the Royal Assent, which was always expressed in French
The series of images of English kings from Edward the Confessor to Edward I in London, British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius A. XIII/1 is widely familiar from television, textbooks, websites, and exhibitions. In spite of this, the origins and context of this set of four leaves are mysterious. The limited attention given to them has focused on the images rather than the Anglo-Norman captions attached to them, which form a genealogy of the kings, derived from earlier sources. "Sir Lowys fiz le Roy Phylippe de Fraunce en Engletere. Le Roy Jon regna .xvii. aunz e demy..." "Sir Louis, the son of Philip king of France, came into England.... King John reigned for seventeen and a half years..."
le Roy Le veult ireland.