Royal sign-manual








The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses his or her pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an appointment to an office), or an authority for affixing the Great Seal of the pertinent realm. The sign-manual is also used to give power to make and ratify treaties.[1]Sign manual, with or without hyphen, is an old term for a hand-written signature in general. It is also referred to as sign manual and signet.




Contents






  • 1 Commonwealth realms


    • 1.1 Composition


    • 1.2 Uses




  • 2 Kingdom of the Netherlands


  • 3 See also


  • 4 References


  • 5 External links





Commonwealth realms




The Australia Act 1986 bearing the royal sign-manual of Elizabeth II




The royal sign-manual of Queen Elizabeth I




The royal sign-manual of King George III




The signature of King Edward VIII as King-Emperor



Composition


The royal sign-manual usually consists of the sovereign's regnal name (without number, if otherwise used), followed by the letter R for Rex (king) or Regina (queen). Thus, the signs-manual of both Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II read Elizabeth R. When the British monarch was also Emperor or Empress of India, the sign manual ended with R I, for Rex Imperator or Regina Imperatrix (king-emperor/queen-empress).


When the future George IV, then the Prince of Wales, became regent on behalf of his incapacitated father, George III, the Regency Act 1811 expressly directed that the prince should sign "George P R", the initials standing for Princeps Regens meaning prince ruling.



Uses


Some letters patent are not signed by the monarch in person. Instead, the monarch signs a warrant authorizing the preparation of the letters patent (traditionally written in ceremonial calligraphy on vellum) and approving the draft text of the letters patent. Then, once the letters patent are prepared, they are sealed with the Great Seal without the need for the signature of the monarch, because royal authority for issuing the letters patent had already been given by means of the warrant. Those letters patent finish with the words "By warrant under the King/Queen's Sign Manual," to signify that they do not bear the sign-manual themselves, having already been approved by warrant signed by the sovereign.


Other letters patent, due to the nature of their contents (such as those that authorise the expenditure of money, or those that signify Royal Assent to Acts of Parliament), require the royal sign-manual to be affixed directly to them. Such letters patent contain, at the bottom, the words: "By the King/Queen Him/Herself, Signed with His/Her own hand." The royal sign-manual is usually placed by the sovereign at the top of the document. These papers usually must be countersigned by a principal secretary of state or other responsible minister.[1]


In some cases, the use of the sign-manual has been dispensed with and a stamp affixed in lieu thereof, as in the case of George IV, whose bodily infirmity made the act of signing difficult and painful during the last weeks of his life. The Royal Signature by Commission Act 1830 (11 Geo. IV & 1 Will. IV c. 23) was passed providing that a stamp might be affixed in lieu of the sign-manual, but the sovereign had to express his consent to each separate use of the stamp, the stamped document being attested by a confidential servant and several officers of State.[1][2]



Kingdom of the Netherlands




The signature of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands


According to article 47[3] of the constitution of the Netherlands, all Acts of Parliament and Royal Decrees have to be signed by the King and by one or more Ministers or State Secretaries (called a countersign). No-one else can sign on behalf of the King. When he is abroad, he can sign using a tablet computer, but will still sign the paper original upon his return.[4]



See also



  • Royal assent

  • Signum manus

  • Royal cypher

  • Royal charter

  • Royal warrant (disambiguation)

  • Letters patent

  • Calligraphy

  • Autograph letter



References





  1. ^ abc  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sign-Manual, Royal" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 81..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ Anson, William Reynell (1907), Law and Custom of the Constitution, II (i ed.), General Books, p. 59, ISBN 978-0-217-08715-5


  3. ^ https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0001840/2017-11-17#Hoofdstuk2_Paragraaf2_Artikel47


  4. ^ https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/onderwerpen/rol-van-het-staatshoofd/vraag-en-antwoord/hoe-ondertekent-de-koning-wetten-en-koninklijke-besluiten-als-hij-in-het-buitenland-is




External links



  • United Kingdom House of Commons debates on the Royal Signature by Commission Act, 24 May 1830

  • United Kingdom House of Commons debates on the Royal Signature by Commission Act, 27 May 1830

  • United Kingdom House of Commons debates on the Royal Signature by Commission Act, 28 May 1830

  • House of Lords debates on the Royal Signature by Commission Act, 24 May 1830

  • House of Lords debates on the Royal Signature by Commission Act, 25 May 1830

  • House of Lords debates on the Royal Signature by Commission Act, 27 May 1830




-

Popular posts from this blog

Shashamane

Image
city in Oromia, Ethiopia Shashamane ሻሸመኔ (in Amharic) , Shashemane (in Oromo) Shashe city Main Street Shashamane Shashamane Location within Ethiopia Coordinates: 7°12′N 38°36′E  /  7.200°N 38.600°E  / 7.200; 38.600 Country Ethiopia Region Oromia Zone Mirab Arsi Population (2012)  • Total 122,046 Time zone UTC+3 (EAT) Climate Cwb Shashamane (or Shashemene , Oromo) is a town and a separate woreda in West Arsi Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The town lies on the Trans-African Highway 4 Cairo-Cape Town, about 150 miles (240 km) from the capital of Addis Ababa. It has a latitude of 7° 12' north and a longitude of 38° 36' east. The 2007 national census reported a total population for this town of 100,454, of whom 50,654 were men and 49,800 were women. A plurality of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 43.44% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 31.15% of the population said
Read more

Carrot

Image
Root vegetable, usually orange in color This article is about the cultivated vegetable. For other uses, see Carrot (disambiguation). Carrot Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade : Angiosperms Clade : Eudicots Clade : Asterids Order: Apiales Family: Apiaceae Genus: Daucus Species: D. carota Subspecies: D. c. subsp. sativus Trinomial name Daucus carota subsp. sativus (Hoffm.) Schübl. & G. Martens The carrot ( Daucus carota subsp. sativus ) is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist. [1] Carrots are a domesticated form of the wild carrot, Daucus carota , native to Europe and southwestern Asia. The plant probably originated in Persia and was originally cultivated for its leaves and seeds. The most commonly eaten part of the plant is the taproot, although the stems and leaves are eaten as well. The domestic carrot ha
Read more

Deprivation index

Image
Deprivation indices are a measure of the level of deprivation in an area. Examples include: Indices of deprivation 2004 (ID2004) Indices of deprivation 2007 (ID2007) Underprivileged area score Carstairs index Department of Environment Index v t e Indices of Deprivation National (general deprivation) Carstairs index Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 (IMD2000) Indices of deprivation 2004 (ID2004) Indices of deprivation 2007 (ID2007) Indices of deprivation 2010 (ID2010) National (subject specific deprivation) Underprivileged area score Department of Environment Index This economics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e This sociology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here
Read more