12-01-2006, 02:32 PM
THE ROYAL ASSENT
Okay, here we go...
Now, apparently, in Great Britain there are sixteen ways 'til Tuesday in which the Royal Assent may be granted. In Ascalon, three methods are commonly employed, one of them being an appointment of Lords Commissioners to grant the Assent in the sovereign's name in Parliament. I've eliminated that option as it's too cumbersome for Hanover's capabilities and I've narrowed it down to two suggested methods:
1. Letters Patent, alone
The Sovereign may, quite simply, publish Letters Patent indicating the Royal Assent, but not before notice of the Royal Assent is announced to Parliament by the Speaker (in a bicameral parliament, the announcement must be made to each house by it's speaker or presiding officer):
"My Lords and Gentlemen, the KING was this day graciously pleased to declare His Royal Assent to the following Acts:"
The short title of each act is then read. After that, the Chancery may gazette the letters patent. You might use the form I emailed to you a few days ago which was "Hanoverized" or there's this behemoth:
[Royal Arms Here]
[Monarch's signature here]
Alexander by the Grace of God of Hanover King, Supreme Governor of the Church of Hanover, Defender of the Faith To Our right trusty and right well beloved The Lords Spiritual and Temporal and to Our trusty and well beloved The Knights Citizens and Burgesses in this present Parliament assembled Greeting:
Whereas in Our said Parliament an Act the short title whereof is Commonwealth of Corumburg Constitution Act, 2006, hath been agreed and accorded on by you Our loving Subjects the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this Our present Parliament assembled and endorsed by you as hath been accustomed And albeit the said Act by you Our said Subjects the Lords and Commons in this Our present Parliament assembled is fully agreed and consented unto yet nevertheless the same is not of force and effect in the law without Our Royal Assent given and put to the said Act And forasmuch as for divers causes and considerations We cannot conveniently at this time be present in Our Royal Person in the House of Lords and Commons Together Assembled of Our said Parliament being the accustomed place for giving Our Royal Assent to such Acts as have been agreed upon by you Our said subjects the Lords and Commons We have therefore caused these Our Letters Patent to be made and have signed the same and by the same Do give and put Our Royal Assent to the said Act and to all articles clauses and provisions therein contained and have fully agreed and assented to the said Act Willing that the said Act and every article clause sentence and provision therein contained from henceforth shall be of the same strength force and effect as if We had been personally present in the said House of Lords and Commons Together Assembled and had openly and publicly in the presence of you all assented to the same And We do by these presents declare and notify the same Our Royal Assent as well to you the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons aforesaid as to all others whom it may concern of you the said Lords and Commons of Our Parliament there to be assembled for that purpose and the Clerk of Our Parliament to endorse the said Act with such terms and words in Our name as is requisite for the same and also to enroll these Our Letters Patent and the said Act in manner accustomed and these Our Letters Patent shall be a sufficient Warrant in that behalf And finally We do declare and will that after this Our Royal Assent given and passed by these presents and declared and notified as is aforesaid then and immediately the said Act shall be taken accepted and admitted a good sufficient and perfect Act of Parliament and Law to all intents constructions and purposes and to be put in due execution accordingly the continuance or dissolution of this Our Parliament or any other use custom thing or things to the contrary thereof notwithstanding In witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made patent Witness Ourself at Huntington the first day of December 2006 in the third year of Our reign.
By the King Himself
Signed with His own Hand
[Clerk's Signature Here]
Dated 1 December 2006
Royal Assent
of
His Majesty the King
to
Commonwealth of Corumburg Constitution Act 2006
2. Royal Assent Ceremony in Parliament
The King may also personally appear in Parliament to grant his assent. However, it is normally the case that Parliament should have a number of passed Bills to be assented to at once. The ceremony posted on the discussion board would go like this:
LORD CHANCELLOR posts: "My Lords and Gentlemen, the KING!"
LORD SPEAKER posts: "May it please Your Majesty: Your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, have agreed upon divers Acts, to which, in the name of the said Lords and Commons, I must respectfully ask Your Majesty's Assent."
The traditional response is simply for the sovereign to nod his head, so the King may simply post the word "nod".
THE KING posts: Nod
OR...
Should that seem a bit silly to some and if it is thought to be unacceptable, the following formula is used by Emperor Jason in lieu of the nod:
THE KING posts: "My Lord Speaker, I do most readily give my assent to said Acts and I command the Clerks to pass them in the usual form and words."
I, personally prefer the traditional "nod", but it's not for me to say. At any rate, moving right along...
Once the King has given this general authorization, the Assent is formally signified by having the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery read out the short title of each bill in turn, to which the Clerk of Parliament responds by pronouncing the appropriate Norman French formula.
So, for example:
CLERK OF THE CROWN posts: (the short titles of all bills to be assented to).
CLERK OF PARLIAMENT posts: "Le Roy le veult!" (spelled just that way, as per the Norman French spelling)
With that, the ceremony is over. and the following notice is entered in the Gazette:
The KING was this day graciously pleased to declare His Imperial Assent to the following Acts in the presence of the Lords and Commons:
The acts are listed.
The letters patent are signed and published as well, as usual. But don't use the example I included above, as that form only applies when the sovereign has not been personally present to give the assent. Use the other form which I sent earlier, instead.
So, there it is. I hope this is helpful to you. Mind you, the ceremony and described above has been fully customized for Hanover's use, but it is entirely faithful to the spirit of the British ceremony.
Have a great weekend!
James
Okay, here we go...
Now, apparently, in Great Britain there are sixteen ways 'til Tuesday in which the Royal Assent may be granted. In Ascalon, three methods are commonly employed, one of them being an appointment of Lords Commissioners to grant the Assent in the sovereign's name in Parliament. I've eliminated that option as it's too cumbersome for Hanover's capabilities and I've narrowed it down to two suggested methods:
1. Letters Patent, alone
The Sovereign may, quite simply, publish Letters Patent indicating the Royal Assent, but not before notice of the Royal Assent is announced to Parliament by the Speaker (in a bicameral parliament, the announcement must be made to each house by it's speaker or presiding officer):
"My Lords and Gentlemen, the KING was this day graciously pleased to declare His Royal Assent to the following Acts:"
The short title of each act is then read. After that, the Chancery may gazette the letters patent. You might use the form I emailed to you a few days ago which was "Hanoverized" or there's this behemoth:
[Royal Arms Here]
[Monarch's signature here]
Alexander by the Grace of God of Hanover King, Supreme Governor of the Church of Hanover, Defender of the Faith To Our right trusty and right well beloved The Lords Spiritual and Temporal and to Our trusty and well beloved The Knights Citizens and Burgesses in this present Parliament assembled Greeting:
Whereas in Our said Parliament an Act the short title whereof is Commonwealth of Corumburg Constitution Act, 2006, hath been agreed and accorded on by you Our loving Subjects the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this Our present Parliament assembled and endorsed by you as hath been accustomed And albeit the said Act by you Our said Subjects the Lords and Commons in this Our present Parliament assembled is fully agreed and consented unto yet nevertheless the same is not of force and effect in the law without Our Royal Assent given and put to the said Act And forasmuch as for divers causes and considerations We cannot conveniently at this time be present in Our Royal Person in the House of Lords and Commons Together Assembled of Our said Parliament being the accustomed place for giving Our Royal Assent to such Acts as have been agreed upon by you Our said subjects the Lords and Commons We have therefore caused these Our Letters Patent to be made and have signed the same and by the same Do give and put Our Royal Assent to the said Act and to all articles clauses and provisions therein contained and have fully agreed and assented to the said Act Willing that the said Act and every article clause sentence and provision therein contained from henceforth shall be of the same strength force and effect as if We had been personally present in the said House of Lords and Commons Together Assembled and had openly and publicly in the presence of you all assented to the same And We do by these presents declare and notify the same Our Royal Assent as well to you the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons aforesaid as to all others whom it may concern of you the said Lords and Commons of Our Parliament there to be assembled for that purpose and the Clerk of Our Parliament to endorse the said Act with such terms and words in Our name as is requisite for the same and also to enroll these Our Letters Patent and the said Act in manner accustomed and these Our Letters Patent shall be a sufficient Warrant in that behalf And finally We do declare and will that after this Our Royal Assent given and passed by these presents and declared and notified as is aforesaid then and immediately the said Act shall be taken accepted and admitted a good sufficient and perfect Act of Parliament and Law to all intents constructions and purposes and to be put in due execution accordingly the continuance or dissolution of this Our Parliament or any other use custom thing or things to the contrary thereof notwithstanding In witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made patent Witness Ourself at Huntington the first day of December 2006 in the third year of Our reign.
By the King Himself
Signed with His own Hand
[Clerk's Signature Here]
Dated 1 December 2006
Royal Assent
of
His Majesty the King
to
Commonwealth of Corumburg Constitution Act 2006
2. Royal Assent Ceremony in Parliament
The King may also personally appear in Parliament to grant his assent. However, it is normally the case that Parliament should have a number of passed Bills to be assented to at once. The ceremony posted on the discussion board would go like this:
LORD CHANCELLOR posts: "My Lords and Gentlemen, the KING!"
LORD SPEAKER posts: "May it please Your Majesty: Your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects the Lords and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, have agreed upon divers Acts, to which, in the name of the said Lords and Commons, I must respectfully ask Your Majesty's Assent."
The traditional response is simply for the sovereign to nod his head, so the King may simply post the word "nod".
THE KING posts: Nod
OR...
Should that seem a bit silly to some and if it is thought to be unacceptable, the following formula is used by Emperor Jason in lieu of the nod:
THE KING posts: "My Lord Speaker, I do most readily give my assent to said Acts and I command the Clerks to pass them in the usual form and words."
I, personally prefer the traditional "nod", but it's not for me to say. At any rate, moving right along...
Once the King has given this general authorization, the Assent is formally signified by having the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery read out the short title of each bill in turn, to which the Clerk of Parliament responds by pronouncing the appropriate Norman French formula.
So, for example:
CLERK OF THE CROWN posts: (the short titles of all bills to be assented to).
CLERK OF PARLIAMENT posts: "Le Roy le veult!" (spelled just that way, as per the Norman French spelling)
With that, the ceremony is over. and the following notice is entered in the Gazette:
The KING was this day graciously pleased to declare His Imperial Assent to the following Acts in the presence of the Lords and Commons:
The acts are listed.
The letters patent are signed and published as well, as usual. But don't use the example I included above, as that form only applies when the sovereign has not been personally present to give the assent. Use the other form which I sent earlier, instead.
So, there it is. I hope this is helpful to you. Mind you, the ceremony and described above has been fully customized for Hanover's use, but it is entirely faithful to the spirit of the British ceremony.
Have a great weekend!
James