The Crown

This article is about the term referring to the state in some nations. For the television series, see The Crown (TV series). For other uses, see Crown (disambiguation).

A symbolic representation of the Crown, present on the symbols of many institutions in Commonwealth realms

The Crown broadly represents the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states).[1] The term can be used to refer to the office of the monarch or the monarchy as institutions; to the rule of law; or to the functions of executive (the Crown-in-council), legislative (the Crown-in-parliament), and judicial (the Crown on the bench) governance and the civil service.[2]

The concept of the Crown as a corporation sole developed first in the Kingdom of England as a separation of the physical crown and property of the kingdom from the person and personal property of the monarch. It spread through English and later British colonisation and is now rooted in the legal lexicon of all 15 Commonwealth realms, their various dependencies, and states in free association with them. It is not to be confused with any physical crown, such as those of the British regalia.[3]

The term is also found in various expressions such as Crown land, which some countries refer to as public land or state land; as well as in some offices, such as minister of the Crown, Crown attorney, and Crown prosecutor.

  1. ^ Jackson, Michael D. (2013), The Crown and Canadian Federalism, Dundurn, ISBN 978-1-4597-0989-8, archived from the original on 5 September 2024, retrieved 20 May 2018
  2. ^ Carroll, Alex (2003). Constitutional and Administrative Law. Pearson/Longman. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-582-47343-0. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  3. ^ CharlotteDunn (4 June 2018). "Crown Dependencies". The Royal Family. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.