A royal charter is a charter (a type of legal instrument) granted by a Sovereign to create institutions or other forms of incorporated bodies (such as a city, company, or university). In the British legal tradition a royal charter is in the form of letters patent. Historically, royal charters were granted as an exercise of the royal prerogative, and were generally used to confer rights that would today be created by or under statute.

In medieval Europe, royal charters were used to create cities (ie, localities with recognised legal rights and privileges). The date that such a charter was granted is considered to be when a city was "founded", regardless of when the locality originally began to be settled.

At one time a royal charter was the only way in which an incorporated body could be formed, but other means (such as the registration process for limited companies) are generally now used instead.

Among the past and present bodies formed by royal charter are the British East India Company, the Hudson's Bay Company, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), the British South Africa Company, and some of the former British colonies on the North American mainland.

Contents

Australia

Universities and colleges

Professional organisations

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Belgium

The royal decree is the equivalent in Belgium of a Royal Charter. In the period before 1958, 32 higher education institutes had been by royal charter: these were typically engineering or technical institutions rather than universities.[2]

However, several non-technical higher education institutions have been founded, or refounded, under royal decree:

* Irish International University, 1999[5]

Canada

The Hudson's Bay Company, building in Montreal.

A Royal Charter is granted by Order-in-Council, either creating an incorporated body, or giving an existent one special status.[6] This is an exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and, in Canada, there are hundreds of organizations under Royal Charters. Such organizations include charities, businesses, colleges, universities, and cities. Today, it is mostly charities and professional institutions who receive Royal Charters.

Application for a charter is a petition to the Queen-in-Council. To receive a Royal Charter, the organization must have corporate members who have at least first degree level in a relevant field, consist of 5,000 members or more, be financially sound, and it must be in the public interest to regulate the institution under a charter. However, meeting these benchmarks does not guarantee the issue of a Royal Charter.[7]

Companies and societies

Companies, corporations, and societies in Canada founded under or augmented by a Royal Charter include:

Territories and communities

Cities under Royal Charter are not subject to municipal Acts of parliament applied generally to other municipalities, and instead are governed by legislation applicable to each city individually. The Royal Charter codifies the laws applied to the particular city, and lays out the powers and responsibilities not given to other municipalities in the province concerned.

Universities and colleges

A number of Canadian universities and colleges were founded under Royal Charter.

Hong Kong

The Emblem of Royal Observatory Hong Kong

Between 1842-1997, a number of organizations had received Royal Charter:

Ireland

A number of Irish institutions[which?] still have a "Royal" prefix, even though the country has been a republic since 1949.

South Africa

The University of South Africa received a Royal Charter in 1877.

United Kingdom

Main article: List of organisations in the United Kingdom with a royal charter

Among the 750 or so organisations with Royal Charters are cities; the Bank of England; the BBC; theatres such as the Royal Opera House and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; Livery Companies; Britain's older universities; professional institutions and charities.[27]

A Royal Charter is the manner in which a British town is raised to the rank of city. Most recently Inverness, Brighton & Hove and Wolverhampton were given their charters to celebrate the millennium, and Preston, Stirling, Newport, Lisburn and Newry to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002.

Some of the older British universities operate under Royal Charters, which give them the power to grant degrees. The most recent generation of UK universities were granted the power to grant degrees by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 instead of by Royal Charter, while some other universities operate under Acts of Parliament.

University of Buckingham is the only private education institution that received its royal charter. They were granted the royal charter in 1983.

The BBC operates under a Royal Charter which lasts for a limited period of ten years, after which it is renewed.

Most Royal Charters are now granted to professional institutions and to charities. For example, the six accountancy institutes which make up the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies each have a Royal Charter which allows their members to call themselves Chartered Accountants. A Charter is not necessary for them to operate, but one is often sought as a recognition of "pre-eminence, stability and permanence".

A Royal Charter changes a body from a collection of individuals into a single legal entity. Once incorporated by Royal Charter, amendments to the Charter and by-laws require government approval.[27]

United States

Although several American universities which predate the American Revolution purport to hold royal charters, in a number of cases they were in fact created by a grant from a local authority such as a colonial legislature.

Colleges created by royal charter from King William III and Queen Mary II of England:

Colleges created by King George II of Great Britain:

American colleges popularly believed to have been established by Royal Charter, but actually by some other type of grant:

External links

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://fmweb01.ucc.usyd.edu.au/FMPro?-db=POL_Main.fp5&-lay=www&-format=/pol/pol_summary.html&DocID=404&-find
  2. ^ Non-University Higher Technical Education in Belgium Gilbert Van Vaek and Henk Van Daele
  3. ^ Gilbert Van Vaek and Henk Van Daele
  4. ^ Belgium Royal Historical Commission
  5. ^ The Irish International University
  6. ^ Privy Council Office: Royal Charter
  7. ^ Privy Council: Royal Charter
  8. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson%27s_Bay_Company#Rent_obligation_under_Charter
  9. ^ The Royal Commonwealth Society: Values of the Royal Commonwealth Society
  10. ^ New Brunswick; reprint of: Kurley, Daniel; Times Globe: Elusive Oak; June 11, 1998
  11. ^ Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: Going Royal: A History of Public Service
  12. ^ ScoutDocs: Scouts Canada Act: Royal Charter of The Boy Scouts Association
  13. ^ Royal Academy of Dance Canada: About us
  14. ^ Royal Conservatory of Music: The RCM: History of The Royal Conservatory of Music
  15. ^ Canada Council for the Arts: Royal Winnipeg Ballet
  16. ^ The Royal Life Saving Society of Canada Saskatchewan Branch, Inc.; Constitution
  17. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia: Royal Hamilton College of Music
  18. ^ Royal Western Nova Scotia Yacht Club: Annapolis Basin
  19. ^ Saint John: History Public Records and Archives
  20. ^ Canada's Cities: Unleash our Potential
  21. ^ Canada4Life; Nova Scotia
  22. ^ McGill University: Admin and governance: Secretariat: University Charter and Statutes: The Royal Charter of McGill University
  23. ^ Trinity College: About Trinity: History
  24. ^ Queen's University: Queen's University Royal Charter
  25. ^ Le Bas Canada 1763-1867
  26. ^ Canada Post: Canada Post confers stamp on Bishop's University; 20 January 2003
  27. ^ a b Privy Council Office - Chartered Bodies

Categories: British monarchy | Monarchy in Canada | Monarchy in Australia | Monarchy in New Zealand | Political charters

 

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