| King in Right ofAlberta | |
|---|---|
Provincial | |
 | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Charles III King of Canada since 8 September 2022 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| First monarch | Edward VII |
| Formation | 1 September 1905 |
By the arrangements of theCanadian federation,Canada's monarchy operates inAlberta as the core of the province'sWestminster-styleparliamentarydemocracy.[1] As such,the Crown within Alberta's jurisdiction is referred to asthe Crown in Right of Alberta,[2]His Majesty in Right of Alberta,[3] orThe King in Right of Alberta.[4] TheConstitution Act, 1867, however, leaves many royal duties in Alberta specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, theLieutenant Governor of Alberta,[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 inAlberta 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, KingCharles III—is represented and his duties carried out by theLieutenant Governor of Alberta, 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 amongst 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 the abuse of power.[5][8][9] This arrangement began with the granting ofroyal assent to the 1905Alberta Act and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the late 18th century.[10] However, though Alberta has a separate government headed by the King, as a province, Alberta is not itself a kingdom.[11]
TheAlberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act gives the lieutenant governor the unique ability to, following a resolution passed by the legislature, and on ministerial advice, amend any piece of legislation ("Henry VIII powers"),[12] as well as to direct "provincial entities" to disobey any federal law for up to four years.[13] The constitutionality of these powers remains untested.
Government House inEdmonton is owned by the sovereign only in his capacity as King in Right of Alberta and is used both as an office and official event location by the lieutenant governor, the sovereign, and other members of theCanadian royal family. The viceroy resides in a separate home provided by the provincial Crown and the King and his relations reside at a hotel when in Alberta. A member of the royal family have owned Alberta property in a private capacity; KingEdward VIII (later the Duke of Windsor) owned theE.P. Ranch (formerly the Bedingfield Ranch), nearHigh River, for more than 40 years.
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 Alberta Crownsin their respective councils.[14]Monuments around Alberta mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event. Further, Alberta'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 the Royal United Services Institute of Alberta, which is under the patronage ofPrince Andrew, Duke of York, and theRoyal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, which received itsroyal prefix from Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.[15] At the various levels of education within Alberta there also exist a number of scholarships and academic awards either established by or named for members of the Royal Family.[16]
The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority.[17] Aroyal cypher or crown may also illustrate the monarchy as the locus of authority, without referring to any specific monarch. Additionally, though the monarch does not form a part of the constitutions ofAlberta's honours, they do stem from the Crown as thefount of honour, and so bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign. The Queen or others in her family may bestow these honours in person: the Queen, when in the province in 2002, appointed Alberta citizens to theRoyal Victorian Order and presented in Alberta, on herofficial Canadian birthday in 2005, the insignia of theVenerable Order of Saint John to new inductees.[18]
Prince Edward (the future KingEdward VIII) first toured Alberta in 1919, when he was hosted at the Bar-U Ranch byGeorge Lane.[19] The Prince enjoyed the province's rural life so much he purchased a 400-acre (1.6 km2) property nearby—outsidePekisko,High River—and named itE.P. Ranch (the initials a reversal ofPrince Edward).[19] There, he raised cattle, sheep, and horses imported from theDuchy of Cornwall.[20] Though his father, KingGeorge V, did not approve of his son holding property in Canada—believing it would lead the other Dominions to expect the Prince to purchase land there, too[20]—Edward held this ranch and stayed at it numerous times. One such occasion was in 1923, during which time Edward participated in typical ranch chores and dining with the hired hands on basic meals.[21] Edward sold the ranch in 1962, a decade before his death.[22]
A request was made by PremierRalph Klein for theQueen of Canada to give royal assent to a bill in theLegislative Assembly of Alberta in May 2005. This request was turned down by theOffice of the Governor General "for two reasons: such an unprecedented ceremony would hinder [the office's] ability to 'Canadianize' the Crown and the constitution specifically assigns to the Lieutenant-Governor the function of giving royal assent to provincial bills."[23] That assertion, however, was contested by Professor and Senior Director ofInterdisciplinary Programs at the University of Alberta, Kenneth Munro.[24]
Though QueenElizabeth II did not tour any part of the province duringher Golden Jubileeroyal tour in 2002, the legislative assembly and government introduceda number of events and initiatives to mark the anniversary.[25] More than 4,000 Albertans attended the Lieutenant Governor's JubileeLevée on 23 June, whereLois Hole stated: "what we want to realize is how important the monarchy is to Canada and certainly to Alberta."[16] Three years later, the Queen was in Alberta to mark the province's 100th anniversary of entry into Confederation, where she attended, along with an audience of 25,000, a kick-off concert atCommonwealth Stadium and addressed the legislative assembly, becoming the first reigning monarch to do so.[26] At the same time, theMinistry of Learning encouraged teachers to focus education on the monarchy and to organize field trips for their students to see the Queen and her consort, or to watch the events on television.[27]
PrincessAnne, Princess Royal, visited Edmonton from 5 to 8 November 2018 to attend the 28thRoyal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth conference, which was held atEdmonton Expo Centre in conjunction with Farmfair and brought 150 attendees from 23 countries in theCommonwealth of Nations.[28] Anne, who is the society's president, took part in some of the sessions and toured the barns atNorthlands. She noted that Alberta and Canada face the same challenges as other Commonwealth member-states do; namely, an aging farming population, difficulty attracting new entrants, land access, changing dietary trends, and environmental concerns.[29] At Government House, the Princess also launched the Edmonton Commonwealth Walkway, which was proposed by Lieutenant GovernorLois Hole, funded by private donors, and built "as a way to honour the long-standing service of Her Majesty the Queen and celebrate the shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law that unite Commonwealth nations."[30]
In 2022, Alberta instituted aprovincial Platinum Jubilee medal to mark Elizabeth II'sseventy years on the Canadian throne; the first time in Canada's history that a royal occasion was commemorated onprovincial medals.[31]
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