| King in Right ofNewfoundland and Labrador | |
|---|---|
Provincial | |
 | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Charles III King of Canada since 8 September 2022 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| First monarch | George VI |
| Formation | 31 March 1949 |
By the arrangements of theCanadian federation, theCanadian monarchy operates inNewfoundland and Labrador as the core of the province'sWestminster-styleparliamentarydemocracy.[1] As such,the Crown within Newfoundland and Labrador's jurisdiction is referred to asthe Crown in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador,[2]His Majesty in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador,[3] orthe King in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador.[4] TheConstitution Act, 1867, however, leaves many royal duties in the province specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, thelieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador,[1] whose direct participation in governance is limited by theconventional stipulations ofconstitutional monarchy.[5]
The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions inNewfoundland and Labrador in the same wayit does in all of Canada's other provinces, being the centre of a constitutional construct in which the institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority share the power of the whole.[6] It is thus the foundation of theexecutive,legislative, andjudicial branches of theprovince's government.[7] TheCanadian monarch—since 8 September 2022, King Charles III—is represented and his duties carried out by thelieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, whose direct participation in governance is limited by theconventional stipulations ofconstitutional monarchy, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected parliamentarians, theministers of the Crown generally drawn from among them, and thejudges andjustices of the peace.[5] The Crown today primarily functions as a guarantor of continuous and stable governance and anonpartisan safeguard against theabuse of power.[5][8][9]
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This arrangement began with the granting in 1949 ofroyal assent to theNewfoundland Act[10] and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the late 15th century. However, though it has a separate government headed by the King, as a province, Newfoundland and Labrador is not itself a kingdom.[11]
Government House inSt. John's is owned by the sovereign in his capacity as King in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador and is used as anofficial residence by the lieutenant governor, and the sovereign when in Newfoundland and Labrador.[citation needed]
Those in the royal familyperform ceremonial duties when on a tour of the province; the royal persons do not receive any personal income for their service, only the costs associated with the exercise of these obligations are funded by both the Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador Crownsin their respective councils.[12]Monuments around Newfoundland and Labrador mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event. Further, Newfoundland and Labrador's monarchical status is illustrated byroyal names applied regions, communities, schools, and buildings, many of which may also have a specific history with a member or members of the royal family. Associations also exist between the Crown and many private organizations within the province; these may have been founded by aroyal charter,received aroyal prefix, and/or been honoured withthe patronage of a member of the royal family. Examples include theRoyal Newfoundland Constabulary, which received itsroyal prefix from QueenElizabeth II in 1979, and theRoyal St. John's Regatta, which had the Queen as its patron and received itsroyal prefix from her in 1993.
The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority.[13] Aroyal cypher or crown may also illustrate the monarchy as the locus of authority, without referring to any specific monarch. Further, though the monarch does not form a part of the constitutions ofNewfoundland and Labrador's honours, they do stem from the Crown as thefount of honour and, so, bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign.
By commission under theroyal prerogative ofQueen Elizabeth I, SirHumphrey Gilbert claimed the island ofNewfoundland on 5 August 1583. By the mid-1660s, however, theFrench Crown had also laid claim to nearly half of the same area. Disputes over the island were ended as the French kings cededTerre Neuve to the British Crown via theTreaty of Utrecht in 1713 and later theTreaty of Paris in 1763, in-between which, in 1729, theRoyal Newfoundland Constabulary was established.
In 1615,Richard Whitbourne was sent to Newfoundland to oversee the fisheries and wroteA Discourse and Discovery of Newfoundland to induce Englishmen to settle the island. KingJames VI and I approved of the book so highly that he ordered copies sent to every parish in England.[14]
David Kirke, anadventurer,privateer, and friend ofKing Charles I, was installed by the King asproprietary governor in 1638, also granting Kirke a coat of arms, which, in a twist of fate, are today thearms of King Charles III in Right of Newfoundland and Labrador.[15] The year prior, Kirke and his partners had also been given, by way of aroyal charter from Charles, co-proprietorship of the entire island.[15]
When theEnglish Civil War between the King and parliament in England ended in 1651 withCharles I's execution, Kirke lost the protection of the Crown and Newfoundland was taken by theCommonwealth of England, headed byOliver Cromwell. Kirke died in prison in 1654, awaiting trial over his title to the lands aroundFerryland.[16]John Treworgie thereafter served as governor of Newfoundland until therestoration of the English monarchy in 1660.[17]The Lord Baltimore was granted theAvalon Peninsula byroyal patent fromKing Charles II, but never took up residence. Lady Kirke, the wife of David's brother, Sir Lewis Kirke, petitioned the King to make David's son, George Kirke, the governor of Newfoundland; an arrangement that had been suggested by Newfoundlanders. But, Charles demurred from appointing a resident governor.[16]
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As an officer in theRoyal Navy, in command ofHMS Pegasus, Prince William Henry (later KingWilliam IV) was the first member of the royal family to visit theNewfoundland Colony, arriving on 10 April 1786.[18] His first impressions of the land were not positive: he stated ofSt John's, "truly deplorable [...] a most dreadful, inhospitable, and barren country"; though, he later changed his opinion after meeting the local women, commenting on the region's "inexhaustible supply of women of the most obliging kind."[19]
While in Newfoundland, William found himself involved in civil affairs, in addition to naval ones, as there were no permanent civil authorities on the island and the Prince was the senior naval officer in the colony.[20] As such, the Prince broke up a riot inPlacentia, presided over a court, and commissioned the construction of St. Luke's Anglican Church inNewtown,[21] toward which he contributed his own money, as well as a silver communion set, consisting of achalice,paten,plate, andflagon, all of which are still in the church's possession.[20] On 21 August 1786, he celebrated his 21st birthday on his ship in the waters off Newfoundland.[22] William wrote to his father, KingGeorge III,
"During the last fortnight of our stay at Placentia, I read divine service in the courthouse for an example to the magistrates to perform that duty every Sunday 'til the arrival of the missionary from England. I twice led prayers and my congregation consisted of all the Protestants and many of the Catholicks [sic]."[20]
Thirty-five years after the colony's status was elevated to that of a province of the Crown,Queen Victoria's eldest son and the grand-nephew of King William IV, Prince Albert Edward (the future KingEdward VII) arrived at Newfoundland on 24 July 1860, aboardHMSHero,[23] receiving the standard welcome fromGovernorAlexander Bannerman, in the form of an official address,[23] followed by a reply from the Prince. In the evening, there was a formal ball held in Albert Edward's honour.[23] While on the island, the Prince took in theSt. John's Regatta, offering £100 to the winner,[24] and was gifted aNewfoundland dog, on behalf of Newfoundlanders.[23][25]
Prince George (later KingGeorge V) and Princess Mary (laterQueen Mary), with Mary's brother,Prince Alexander (later a governor general of Canada), visited Newfoundland in 1901 (George's second visit to the island[26]), arriving at St. John's on 25 October, aboardHMSOphir, escorted byHMSCrescent,HMSNiobe,HMSProserpine, andHMS Diadem. The ships were greeted by a flotilla of thousands of decorated vessels; of the arrival, M. Harvey wrote, "from that moment until the departure of theOphir, it was one continuous carnival." This was the royal party's last port on an eight month long tour of theBritish Empire and immediately followed a coast-to-coast-and-back-again tour of Canada.[27]
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The Prince and Princess' first event in Newfoundland was hosting a formal dinner forGovernorCavendish Boyle andhis cabinet on boardOphir. The following morning, the royal party landed and toured St. John's by carriage, stopping at Government House, to meet again with the Governor and his ministers; thethen-new courthouse,[28] where the Duke laid the cornerstone;[29] andthe Prince's Rink, to hear 6,000 schoolchildren sing a specially-composed anthem.[30] There, echoing the visit of George's father, King Edward VII, in 1860, the royal couple were given a nine-month old Newfoundland dog named Bouncer, to pass on to their then-seven year old son,Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII).[31][32] The Duke and Duchess then returned to Government House for a reception in the throne room.[31]
Following theImperial Conference in 1907, at which it was resolved to conferdominion status on all self-governing colonies in attendance,[33] King Edward VII, on the advice of hisimperial Privy Council inLondon, made Newfoundland aDominion of theBritish Empire. Seven years later, the country, withthe United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany, entered theFirst World War and, in recognition for its service with distinction in several battles, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment was granted the prefixroyal from the King, becoming theRoyal Newfoundland Regiment[34]
George and Mary's other son, Prince Albert (later KingGeorge VI), arrived in Newfoundland in 1913, while serving as a midshipman aboard theRoyal Navy cruiserHMS Cumberland,[35] spending some leisure time salmon fishing.[36] His uncle,Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, visited the island the following year, while he was serving asgovernor general of Canada.[37]
Prince Edward visitedTopsail on 5 August 1919,[38][39] aboardHMS Renown, which anchored inConception Bay because the ship had been deemed too large to turn around in St. John's Harbour.[40] When he stepped ashore, the Prince received "not a second glance from the locals, who [had] no idea who he [was]".[40] After a few hours touring the town,[39] Edward travelled on to St John's for formal events[40] and took in a race at the Royal St. John's Regatta.[41] The Prince departed Newfoundland for Canada onHMSDauntless.[40]
After theBalfour Declaration of 1926 established that the Dominions were "autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs",[42] Newfoundland gave its assent to the enactment ofStatute of Westminster 1931.[43] With that, the monarchy in Newfoundland ceased to be an exclusively British institution and became a Newfounlandian, or "domesticated", establishment, the sovereign's role as monarch of Newfoundland becoming distinct from his position as monarch of any other realm and only Newfoundlandian ministers of the Crown, thereafter, being able to advise the sovereign on any and all matters of the Newfoundland state. However, only three years later, the country suspended its legislature[44] and self-governing status and theCommission of Government took control,[45] putting Newfoundland under the authority of a governor who reported to the British Cabinet that adivised the monarch of the UK.[44] This left Newfoundland as a dominion in name only.[45]
King George VI andQueen Elizabeth visited Newfoundland on 17 June 1939 and,[46] accompanied byGovernor SirHumphrey Walwyn, undertook an hour-long drive from Conception Bay to St. John's and attended a garden party and other official events.[47] The city's population of 50,000 doubled, as visitors came in to see the royal couple; though, a "lack of cheering and of visible enthusiasm” in the crowd was noted; the country remained downtrodden and demoralized after the loss of self-government and theGreat Depression.[48] Still, to bid the King and Queen farewell, the residents of St John's built a largebonfire onSignal Hill, visible to the monarch and his consort as they sailed away on theCanadian Pacific linerRMSEmpress of Britain.[49]
Followingtwo referendums in 1948, the island joinedCanadian Confederation the next year, making it the only province to do so by authority of the Canadian monarch.
Since Confederation, there have been a number of royal visits to the province. Some notable visits have includedPrincess Mary, Princess Royal, marking in 1964 the 50th anniversary of the departure of the first contingent of theRoyal Newfoundland Regiment from St. John's to the battlefields of theFirst World War;Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, along with his wifeDiana, Princess of Wales, visiting Newfoundland in 1983 to mark the 400th anniversary of the island becoming an English, and later British, colony;[50] and, during her 1997 tour of Canada, QueenElizabeth II, along with her husband,Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, travelling toBonavista to see the arrival of theMatthew, as part of the re-enactment ofJohn Cabot's arrival on the island 500 years before.
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