The phraseHis Majesty's Government (orHer Majesty's Government during the reign of a female monarch) is a formal term referring to the government of aCommonwealth realm or one of its constituent provinces, states or territories. In use since at least the height of the British Empire, the phrase has been inherited and integrated into the countries that emerged from that polity and which remain Commonwealth realms.
WhereCommonwealth countries have transitioned away from monarchical government (e.g.Malta) the term is entirely redundant, excepting historical usage.
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In theBritish Empire, the termHis (or Her) Majesty's Government was originally only used in reference to theImperial government inLondon. As the Empire developed, andresponsible government was granted to more provinces and entities within the Empire, some disambiguation of the term became necessary. In particular, the rise ofDominion status for various Imperial entities demanded phrasing that would reflect differences inThe Crown’s operation in different domains. It came to be described as "the Crown in right of Canada", for example.
Alongside this evolving constitutional picture, the practical interests of the various different entities within the Empire were sometimes out of alignment, and it became necessary to particularise the actions of specific entities through their executives. For instance, at the time of the1893 Bering Sea dispute between Canada and the United States, the interests of Canada and the United Kingdom were opposed but the United Kingdom government handled Canadian foreign relations. The need became obvious with theStatute of Westminster 1931, which effectively made the Dominions equal constituent countries with the United Kingdom in the imperial project, and unavoidable with the transition of the Empire into theCommonwealth of Nations.
Accordingly the formHis Majesty's Government in… began to be used by the United Kingdom and Dominion governments, from the 1920s and 1930s onward, to differentiate between independent entities, such asHis Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State.[1] Colonial, state, and provincial governments, on the other hand, continued to use the lesser titleGovernment of [region/territory], and eventually the phrase used in the former Dominions altered to mirror that of the UK, becoming, for example,His Majesty's Australian Government.
The term is employed in order to signify that the government of a Commonwealth realm or,[2] less commonly, a division thereof (for instance the Canadian Province ofAlberta), belongs to the reigning sovereign, and not to thecabinet orprime minister.[3][4]
Notwithstanding that it is (in at least a technical sense) constitutionally incorrect, across the Commonwealth realms individual governments are frequently referred to informally by the person serving as the relevant Prime Minister, rather than in reference to the Monarch. For example, duringMargaret Thatcher's time in office from 1979 to 1990, the Government of the United Kingdom was frequently known as the Thatcher Government. This style of referring to the government after its most important member is frequent across the Commonwealth, for example theHarper Government in Canada from 2006 to 2015 whenStephen Harper served as Prime Minister, or theManley Government inJamaica. It is, however, more constitutionally accurate to refer to such premierships as 'Ministries', for instance theCameron Ministries whereDavid Cameron was British Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016.
This convention of naming the Government after its most prominent members is comparatively modern. This is because until at least the reign ofGeorge III of the United Kingdom it was a Royal Prerogative that the Monarch held absolute discretion to choose their own ministers, such that the government was not really the Prime Minister's (or otherwise) at all. Indeed, during the reign of Queen Anne (just before the development of the office of Prime Minister) her fondness for compromise and consensus frequently led to governments composed by persons who disliked each other and did not integrate.[5][6] In such period there was no question that the Government was anything other than that of the Monarch.
The evolution of the British constitution and reduction in the powers of the Crown gradually reduced the centrality of the monarch in de facto government.Queen Victoria was the last monarch truly to attempt to choose the personnel of her government; for instance her hatred ofWilliam Gladstone helpedLord Salisbury to retain office. Even at the time her actions were considered to be somewhat constitutionally improper.[7] Although individual ministers (in Britain at least) below the rank of Prime Minister are still formally appointed by the Monarch, from the early twentieth century the head of state has in practice had no discretion to choose individual members of the government, except (occasionally) the Prime Minister. In the latter case this was only due to hungparliamentary arrangements, and (until the monarch's role was abolished in the 1960s) an unclear choice for leader of theConservative Party. Indeed, where the monarch has had discretion to choose a Prime Minister in such circumstances it has resulted in some controversy: for instance,George V's role in facilitating the formation of theNational Government of the United Kingdom in 1931 becauseRamsay MacDonald operated a minority government was not without controversy, whilst in AustraliaSir John Kerr's (actingin loco regis asGovernor-General) discretion in dismissing ministers led to aconstitutional crisis.
Thus, as the importance of the monarch in governance has declined, the term His/Her Majesty's Government has increased in formality and reduced in daily usage.[citation needed] As a corollary, the rise inpower of the office of Prime Minister away from its historical position asprimus inter pares (first amongst equals) of cabinet ministers in His/Her Majesty's Government into the driving force of a modern administration has led to governments named after them, and the two naming conventions serve different functions. For example, the reduction in the visibility of the monarch in government has made it an unhelpful description politically.[citation needed] If one were to critique the rail privatisation policy of the British Government during 1996 (for instance) it might not be considered helpful to use the phrase "Her Majesty's Government", since then-QueenElizabeth II had no role in formulating the policy; instead the term "Major Government" is arguably[by whom?] more helpful, since the policy was driven by Prime MinisterJohn Major.[citation needed]