Regency Acts
The Regency Acts are Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed at various times, to provide a regent in the event of the reigning monarch being incapacitated or a minor (under the age of 18). Prior to 1937, Regency Acts were passed only when necessary to deal with a specific situation. In 1937, the Regency Act 1937 made general provision for a regent, and established the office of Counsellor of State, a number of whom would act on the monarch's behalf when the monarch was temporarily absent from the realm or experiencing an illness that did not amount to legal incapacity. This Act, as modified by the Regency Acts of 1943 and 1953, forms the main law relating to regency in the United Kingdom today.
An example of a pre-1937 Regency Act was the Act of 1811 which allowed Prince George (later King George IV) to act as regent while his father, King George III, was incapacitated.
Regency During the King's Absence Act 1728
An Act to enable her Majesty to be Regent of this Kingdom, during his Majesty's Absence, without taking the Oaths.
2 Geo. 2. c. 27
14 May 1729
An Act to provide for the Administration of the Government, in case the Crown should descend to any of the Children of his late Royal Highness Frederick Prince of Wales, being under the Age of eighteen Years; and for the Care and Guardianship of their Persons.
24 Geo. 2. c. 24
22 May 1751
17 January 1751
An Act to provide for the Administration of the Government, in case the Crown should descend to any of the children of his Majesty, being under the Age of eighteen Years; and for the care and guardianship of their Persons.
5 Geo. 3. c. 27
An Act to provide for the Administration of the Royal Authority, and for the Care of His Majesty's Royal Person, during the Continuance of His Majesty's Illness; and for the Resumption of the Exercise of the Royal Authority by His Majesty.
51 Geo. 3. c. 1
5 February 1811
An Act to provide for the Appointment of Lords Justices in the Case of the next Successor to the Crown being out of the Realm at the Time of the Demise of Her Majesty.
7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 72
15 July 1837
19 March 1937
Regency Act 1937
An Act to provide for the Administration of the Government in case the Crown should descend Issue of Her Majesty whilst such Issue shall be under the Age of Eighteen Years, and for the Care and Guardianship of such Issue.
3 & 4 Vict. c. 52
4 August 1840
An Act to provide for the Administration of the Government in case the Crown should descend to any issue of His Majesty while such issue shall be under the age of eighteen years, and for the care and guardianship of such issue.
10 Edw. 7. & 1 Geo. 5. c. 26
3 August 1910
![Prince George (future George II)[1] 1716–1717](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/King_George_II_of_England.png/95px-King_George_II_of_England.png)
![Queen Caroline[1] May–September 1729 June–September 1732 May–October 1735 1736–1737](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Caroline_of_Ansbach2.jpg/73px-Caroline_of_Ansbach2.jpg)
![Prince George (future George IV)[1] 1811–1820](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/George_IV_by_Sir_Thomas_Lawrence.jpg/94px-George_IV_by_Sir_Thomas_Lawrence.jpg)
Long title
An Act to make provision for a Regency in the event of the Sovereign being on His Accession under the age of eighteen years, and in the event of the incapacity of the Sovereign through illness, and for the performance of certain of the royal functions in the name and on behalf of the Sovereign in certain other events; to repeal the Lords Justices Act 1837; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6. c. 16
Stanley Baldwin[10] (Commons)
19 March 1937
19 March 1937
- Regency Act 1943
- Regency Act 1953
- Succession to the Crown Act 2013
An Act to amend the law as to the delegation of royal functions to Counsellors of State.
6 & 7 Geo. 6. c. 42
Viscount Simon[12] (Lords)
11 November 1943
11 November 1943
An Act to provide that, in the event of a Regency becoming necessary under the Regency Act 1937, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh shall in certain circumstances be the Regent, to provide that the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the Throne shall be deemed for the purposes of that Act to be of full age if he or she has attained the age of eighteen years, to add Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to the persons to whom royal functions may be delegated as Counsellors of State, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
2 & 3 Eliz. 2. c. 1
Winston Churchill[13] (Commons)
19 November 1953
19 November 1953
An Act to add His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex and Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to the persons to whom royal functions may be delegated as Counsellors of State.
2022 c. 47
6 December 2022
7 December 2022
Guardianship of the sovereign during a regency[edit]
Unlike the situations of minor infirmity or of travel abroad that allow for the possible delegation of the royal functions by the monarch to counsellors of state (as authorised by section 6 of the Regency Act 1937), the establishment of a regency carries with it the notion that the sovereign is not fit and able to administer the affairs of his own person, so that he needs a legal guardian. The guardianship of the monarch, however, is not governed by the same ordinary body of laws that regulate the appointment of legal guardians to people in general. Instead of the legal guardian of the sovereign being appointed by a court based on the recommendations of the social services, the guardianship of the monarch is provided for directly by Regency Act 1937, presently in force.
Because the sovereign in his or her private capacity is not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, the institution of a regency remains the sole method of placing the person of the sovereign under legal guardianship. And, according to the provisions of the Regency Acts in force, the creation of a regency to discharge the royal functions and the legal guardianship of the monarch go hand in hand: the monarch is only subject to legal guardianship when there is a regency, and always when there is a regency the monarch is placed under legal guardianship.
The legal guardianship of the person of the monarch (with the corresponding power to administer the private property of the sovereign) does not necessarily rest with the regent. However, if the none of the prospective guardians provided for in the statute exist, then, also according to the statute, the regent becomes the guardian of the sovereign. Accordingly, during a regency, the regent is the person invested with the royal authority, that discharges the royal functions on behalf of the monarch. The guardian, on the other hand, has the legal custody of the sovereign (who is either a minor or an incapacitated person) and the duty to care for the monarch's personal well-being. The two roles may or may not be combined.
According to section 5 of the Regency Act 1937,[19] if the monarch is under the age of eighteen years and unmarried, then his or her mother, if living, shall have the guardianship of the monarch's person. On the other hand, if the sovereign is married, but is still under the age of eighteen years, or if the sovereign is a married adult, but has been declared incapable for the time being of performing the royal functions, then the wife or husband of the sovereign, if of full age, shall have the guardianship of the person of the monarch. In all other cases except the two situations described above (that is, if the sovereign is unmarried and under the age of eighteen years, but his mother is no longer living; or if the sovereign is married, but the wife or husband is not of full age; or if the sovereign has been declared incapable of performing the royal functions, but does not have a wife or husband), then the regent shall be the legal guardian of the monarch and shall have custody of his or her person, and the property of the sovereign, except any private property which in accordance with the terms of any trust affecting it is to be administered by some other person, shall be administered by the regent.[11]