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{{Short description|Formal term referring to the government of a Commonwealth realm}}
{{For|governments referred to as His Majesty's Government|Australian Government|Government of Belize|Government of Canada|Government of Gibraltar|Government of the United Kingdom|New Zealand Government}}

The phrase '''His Majesty's Government''' (or '''Her Majesty's Government''' during the reign of a female monarch) is a formal term referring to the [[government]] of a [[Commonwealth realm]] or one of its constituent provinces, states or territories. In use since at least the height of the [[British Empire]], the phrase has been inherited and integrated into the countries that emerged from that polity and which remain Commonwealth realms.

Where Commonwealth countries have transitioned away from [[monarchy|monarchical government]] (e.g. [[Malta]]) the term is entirely redundant, excepting historical usage.

==Geographical history==
{{Refimprovesection|date=February 2019}}

In the [[British Empire]], the term ''His (or Her) Majesty's Government'' was originally only used in reference to the [[Government of the United Kingdom|Imperial government]] in [[London]]. As the Empire developed, and [[responsible government]] was granted to more provinces and entities within the Empire, some disambiguation of the term became necessary. In particular, the rise of [[Dominion]] status for various Imperial entities demanded phrasing that would reflect differences in [[The Crown]]’s operation in different domains. It came to be described as "the Crown in right of Canada", for example.

Alongside this evolving constitutional picture, the practical interests of the various different entities within the Empire were sometimes out of alignment, and it became necessary to particularise the actions of specific entities through their executives. For instance, at the time of the [[Bering Sea Arbitration|1893 Bering Sea dispute]] between Canada and the United States, the interests of Canada and the United Kingdom were opposed but the United Kingdom government handled Canadian foreign relations. The need became obvious with the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], which effectively made the Dominions equal constituent countries with the United Kingdom in the imperial project, and unavoidable with the transition of the Empire into the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].

Accordingly the form ''His Majesty's Government in…'' began to be used by the United Kingdom and Dominion governments, from the 1920s and 1930s onward, to differentiate between independent entities, such as [[Executive Council of the Irish Free State|His Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State]].<ref name=Walshe>{{Citation| last=Walshe| first=Joseph P.| author-link=Joe Walshe| title=Documents on Irish Foreign Policy > Despatch from Joseph P. Walshe (for Patrick McGilligan) to L.S. Amery (London) (D.5507) (Confidential) (Copy)| publisher=Royal Irish Academy| date=29 August 1927| url=http://www.difp.ie/docs/Volume3/1927/831.htm| accessdate=24 October 2009}}</ref> Colonial, state, and provincial governments, on the other hand, continued to use the lesser title ''Government of [region/territory]'', and eventually the phrase used in the former Dominions altered to mirror that of the UK, becoming, for example, ''His Majesty's Australian Government''.

==Constitutional history and comparative terms==
The term is employed in order to signify that the government of a Commonwealth realm or,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.speech.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1367 |last=Government of Canada |authorlink=Government of Canada |title=Speech From the Throne > Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |accessdate=4 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309072021/http://www.speech.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=1367 |archivedate=9 March 2010 }}</ref> less commonly, a division thereof (for instance the Canadian Province of [[Alberta]]), belongs to the reigning sovereign, and not to the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] or [[prime minister]].<ref>{{cite journal| last=Cox| first=Noel| title=Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence| journal=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law| volume=9| issue=3| page=12| publisher=Murdoch University| location=Perth| date=September 2002| url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html| accessdate=17 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Neitsch |first=Alfred Thomas |title=A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta |journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review |volume=30 |issue=4 |page=23 |publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association |location=Ottawa |date=2008 |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/30/4/30n4_07e_Neitsch.pdf |accessdate=22 May 2009 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Notwithstanding that it is (in at least a technical sense) constitutionally incorrect, across the Commonwealth realms individual governments are frequently referred to informally by the person serving as the relevant Prime Minister, rather than in reference to the Monarch. For example, during [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s time in office from 1979 to 1990, the Government of the United Kingdom was frequently known as the Thatcher Government. This style of referring to the government after its most important member is frequent across the Commonwealth, for example the [[Harper Government]] in Canada from 2006 to 2015 when [[Stephen Harper]] served as Prime Minister, or the [[Michael Manley|Manley]] Government in [[Jamaica]]. It is, however, more constitutionally accurate to refer to such premierships as 'Ministries', for instance the [[Cameron ministry (disambiguation)|Cameron Ministries]] where [[David Cameron]] was British Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016.

This convention of naming the Government after its most prominent members is comparatively modern. This is because until at least the reign of [[George III of the United Kingdom]] it was a Royal Prerogative that the Monarch held absolute discretion to choose their own ministers, such that the government wasn't really the Prime Minister's (or otherwise) at all. Indeed, during the reign of Queen Anne (just before the development of the office of Prime Minister) her fondness for compromise and consensus frequently led to governments composed by persons who disliked each other and did not integrate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Somerset |first1=Anne |title=Queen Anne |date=2012 |publisher=Harper Press |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hague |first1=William |title=William Pitt the Younger |date=2004 |publisher=BCA |location=London}}</ref> In such period there was no question that the Government was anything other than that of the Monarch.

[[File:Dronning victoria.jpg|thumb|left|Victoria was the last monarch who routinely shaped the composition of her government]]

The evolution of the British constitution and reduction in the powers of the Crown gradually reduced the centrality of the monarch in de facto government. [[Queen Victoria]] was the last monarch truly to attempt to choose the personnel of her government; for instance her hatred of [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]] helped [[Lord Salisbury]] to retain office. Even at the time her actions were considered to be somewhat constitutionally improper.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Andrew |title=Salisbury: Victorian Titan |date=1999 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location=London}}</ref> Although individual ministers (in Britain at least) below the rank of Prime Minister are still formally appointed by the Monarch, from the early twentieth century the head of state has in practice had no discretion to choose individual members of the government, except (occasionally) the Prime Minister. In the latter case this was only due to hung [[hung parliament|parliamentary]] arrangements, and (until the monarch's role was abolished in the 1960s) an unclear choice for leader of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. Indeed, where the monarch has had discretion to choose a Prime Minister in such circumstances it has resulted in some controversy: for instance, [[George V]]'s role in facilitating the formation of the [[National Government (United Kingdom)|National Government]] of the United Kingdom in 1931 because [[Ramsay MacDonald]] operated a minority government was not without controversy, whilst in Australia [[Sir John Kerr]]'s (acting in loco regis as [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]]) discretion in dismissing ministers led to a [[1975 Australian constitutional crisis|constitutional crisis]].

Thus, as the importance of the monarch in governance has declined, the term His/Her Majesty's Government has increased in formality and reduced in daily usage.{{cn|date=February 2019}} As a corollary, the rise in [[Powers of the prime minister of the United Kingdom|power of the office of Prime Minister]] away from its historical position as [[primus inter pares]] (first amongst equals) of cabinet ministers in His/Her Majesty's Government into the driving force of a modern administration has led to governments named after them, and the two naming conventions serve different functions. For example, the reduction in the visibility of the monarch in government has made it an unhelpful description politically.{{cn|date=February 2019}} If one were to critique the rail privatisation policy of the British Government during 1996 (for instance) it might not be considered helpful to use the phrase "Her Majesty's Government", since then-Queen [[Elizabeth II]] had no role in formulating the policy; instead the term "Major Government" is arguably{{bywho|date=February 2019}} more helpful, since the policy was driven by Prime Minister [[John Major]].{{cn|date=February 2019}}

==Head of government in political science==
{{Unrefsection|date=February 2019}}

In [[political science]] the term "His/Her Majesty's Government" is also deliberately avoided as being unhelpful: academic theorists deliberately use the term [[head of government]] to describe the relevant prime minister in those countries which use the [[Westminster system]] of government, where a distinction is made with the role of [[head of state]] (which is the monarch in the Commonwealth realms), as the two roles are split in such systems, in contrast to where they are unified, e.g. in the office of [[President of the United States of America]]. Ironically, therefore, in the United Kingdom, precisely because it has a constitutional monarchy, the prime minister is referred to as the head of government, even though they do not, in fact, occupy such that exact role because of the position of the monarch. However, it is useful as a shorthand for the Government of the UK, since it is the only government which uses this term.

==Particularisation==
{{Unrefsection|date=February 2019}}

As with territories (for example the Canadian/Alberta example above), the monarchical possessive can also be devolved to individual departments and officers. For instance, [[His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate]] regulates British train safety, whilst during his tenure in office [[John Howard]] was Her Majesty's Prime Minister for the [[Commonwealth of Australia]]. This particularised monarchical possessive can be further delineated by combining it with a territorial adjective to illustrate which right of [[the Crown]] has the possession, i.e. in what context is the Monarch acting, for instance as the King of Australia, King of New Zealand etc. This combination can be exampled by the passports issued to British citizens and others by the Crown in right of the United Kingdom, which begin on their first page with the phrase that "''His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of His Majesty...''". That is to say, it is the British [[Home Secretary]] making the request, not the British Government as a whole, and his request is only in the name of the British King, not as King of any other realm.

==See also==
* [[Loyal opposition]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Styles (forms of address)]]
[[Category:Monarchy in Canada]]
[[Category: Commonwealth realms]]
[[Category:British Empire]]
[[Category:Constitutional law]]

His Majesty's Government (term) - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article