| King in Right ofPrince Edward Island | |
|---|---|
Provincial | |
 | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Charles III King of Canada since 8 September 2022 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Majesty |
| First monarch | Victoria |
| Formation | 1 July 1873 |
By the arrangements of theCanadian federation, theCanadian monarchy operates inPrince Edward Island as the core of the province'sWestminster-styleparliamentarydemocracy.[1] As such,the Crown within Prince Edward Island's jurisdiction is referred to asthe Crown in Right of Prince Edward Island,[2]His Majesty in Right of Prince Edward Island,[3] orthe King in Right of Prince Edward Island.[4] TheConstitution Act, 1867, however, leaves many royal duties in Prince Edward Island specifically assigned to the sovereign's viceroy, thelieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island,[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 inPrince Edward Island 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 Prince Edward Island, 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 the abuse of power.[5][8][9] This arrangement began with an 1873order-in-council byQueen Victoria and continued an unbroken line of monarchical government extending back to the early 16th century.[10] However, though Prince Edward Island has a separate government headed by the King, as a province, Prince Edward Island is not itself a kingdom.[11]
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Government House inCharlottetown is owned by the sovereign in his capacity as King in Right of Prince Edward Island and is used as anofficial residence by the lieutenant governor, and the monarch when in Prince Edward Island.[citation needed] It is also where the Executive Council is sworn-in and honours are given to Prince Edward Islanders.
According to the Legislative Assembly'sMembers' Handbook, members are not permitted to speak "disrespectfully of the Queen, the royal family, the governor general, thelieutenant governor, or the administrator of the province", as, "by their rank and position, they are entitled to respect from members." What constitutes unacceptable language "depends largely on circumstances". However, insults, obscene language, or questioning a royal or viceregal person's integrity, honesty, or character is disallowed.[12]
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 Prince Edward Island Crownsin their respective councils.[13]
Monuments around Prince Edward Island mark some of those visits, while others honour a royal personage or event. Further, Prince Edward Island'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; Prince Edward Island is itself named in honour ofPrince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. 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 theCentral Agricultural Society, which was under the patronage of PrinceAlbert, Prince Consort, after 1843.[14]
The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign himself, his image (in portrait or effigy) thus being used to signify government authority.[15] 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 ofPrince Edward Island's honours, they do stem from the Crown as thefount of honour and so bear on the insignia symbols of the sovereign.
What is today Prince Edward Island was discovered and claimed byJohn Cabot forKing Henry VII; though, it was in 1523 also claimed byGiovanni da Verrazzano forKing Francis I, puttingÎle Saint-Jean, as Verrazzno called it, under the sovereignty of the French Crown. As a consequence of theAcadians' refusal to swear allegiance to KingGeorge III and theirsubsequent expulsion from British-controlledNova Scotia, between 1755 and 1764, Île Saint-Jean's population rose to approximately 5,000.[16]
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However, these new arrivals found themselves once again under the British Crown following the signing of the 1762Treaty of Fontainbleau, which transferred sovereignty over the island fromKing Louis XV to King George III,[17] who merged it with Nova Scotia. The following year,the Earl of Egmont presented an elaborate memorial to the King, asking that the Island of Saint John be granted to him and divided intobaronies. After initially denying Egmont's request,[18] George, swayed by Egmont's second petition in 1767, approved. On 19 July 1769, Saint John Island was separated from the jurisdiction of Nova Scotia and became its own colony of the British Crown.[19]
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, which took place between 1775 and 1783,Charlottetown was raided by a pair of US-employed privateers[20] who imprisoned the colonial administrator,Phillips Callbeck,[21] standing-in during the absence ofLieutenant GovernorWalter Patterson. Both as the conflict proceeded and after it ended, some 46,000 American settlers loyal to the Crown, known as theUnited Empire Loyalists, fled north to theMaritimes and other colonies in the Canadas. The King-in-Council granted each family 0.81 square kilometres (200 acres) of land.[22] Though the majority settled on the mainland, the government of St. John's Island had some success with its effort to attract the exiles,[23] about 2,000 of them immigrating to the colony.[24]
One of George III's sons,Prince Edward, arrived inHalifax, Nova Scotia, in 1794. Though Edward never visited the island (a planned royal tour in 1800 was cancelled after the Prince was injured in a riding accident[25]), he, asCommander-in-Chief of the British forces inNorth America, ordered that new barracks be built inCharlottetown and defences constructed to protect the harbour;[26] completed in 1805, this was named the Prince Edward Battery.[25] (The cannons there today bear theroyal cyphers of both Edward's father, King George III, and Edward's daughter,Queen Victoria.[25]) Recognising the Prince's interest in the island, its legislature passed a bill that receivedroyal assent on 2 February 1799, with effect on 6 June of the same year,[25] changing the colony's name in honour of Edward.[27] The goldlionpassant on themodern arms of the King in right of the province refers toPrince Edward's coat of arms.[25] Kent College, named for Prince Edward'sDukedom of Kent, was established in 1804 byLieutenant GovernorEdmund Fanning and his Legislative Council. The college would eventually become theUniversity of Prince Edward Island.[25]
By 1843, construction ofProvince House was begun and the laying of the cornerstone was followed by aroyal salute and three cheers for Queen Victoria.[28] Not four years after, theLegislative Assembly adopted an address to the Queen, asking for the establishment ofresponsible government in the colony, as had been done in a number of other jurisdictions in the Canadas, and the request was soon thereafter granted.[29]
The Liberal Reform Party won the plurality of seats in the Legislative Assembly in 1850 and made responsible government a key goal. They faced opposition from Lieutenant GovernorAmbrose Lane, but, would not relent and the legislature "virtually went 'on strike'" the following year, votingnon-confidence in theExecutive Council and refusing to passsupply bills. The impasse was finally overcome when the Lieutenant Governor invitedGeorge Coles to form a PEI's first responsible government.[30]
Prince Albert Edward (the future KingEdward VII), the eldest son of, and heir to,Queen Victoria, landed at Charlottetown, on 10 August 1860, where he was welcomed byGeorge Dundas, the colony'sLieutenant Governor, and proceeded toGovernment House. There, the Prince held audience with theExecutive Council and, later, attended a formal ball and levee. Albert Edward toured the countryside and visitedProvince House, where he received an addresses from the Executive Council. Upon his departure, the Prince left£150 with the Governor for charitable use.[31]
Prince Albert (later KingGeorge VI) arrived on Prince Edward Island in 1913, while serving as a midshipman aboard theRoyal Navy cruiserHMS Cumberland,[32] spending some leisure time coaching a cricket match.[33]
Queen Elizabeth II attended the 100th anniversary of Prince Edward Island's entry into Confederation. Her son, Prince Charles (now KingCharles III), toured the island in 2014, following his son,Prince William, and William's wife,Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who travelled through PEI in 2011. While he was in Charlottetown, William gave a speech at Province House, standing where his ancestor, Prince Edward, had stood 151 years before, and said, "it is quite a moment for Catherine and me to be standing here in the Atlantic Canada, in front of Province House, where Canadian federation was forged [...] Here, in the crucible of Canadian nationhood, we look forward to meeting many of you."[34]
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In 2022, Prince Edward Island instituted aprovincial Platinum Jubilee medal to mark the Queen'sseventy years on the Canadian throne; the first time in Canada's history that a royal occasion was commemorated onprovincial medals.[35]
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