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The United Kingdom is a monarchical state, formed originally in the ninth century by the unification of all England under a Saxon king, and later expanded by the conquest of Wales and Ireland by kings of England and by the dynastic union of the English and Scottish thrones in the person of James I of England and VI of Scotland. The United Kingdom is also a member nation of the Commonwealth, of which the Queen is the head. The form of the Royal title is varied for the member countries of the Commonwealth to suit the particular circumstances of each. India, as a republic, owes no allegiance to the Crown, but accepts the Queen as the symbol of the free association of the member nations and, as such, as the head of the Commonwealth.

Agreement was reached at a meeting of Commonwealth representatives in December 1952 on the form of the Queen's title in the various parts of the Commonwealth, and legislation was passed by the Parliaments concerned to enable the necessary changes to be made. The Royal Title in the United Kingdom is: 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith'.

The seat of the monarchy is in the United Kingdom. In the other member nations of the Commonwealth which owe allegiance to the Crown, the Queen is represented by a Governor-General appointed by the Crown on the advice of the ministers of the country concerned. The sole function of the Governor-General is to act in relation to the administration of public affairs according to the constitutional practice obtaining in his country in regard to the exercise of the powers of the Crown. As the Queen's representative he has no official dealings with the United Kingdom Government; nor has he any official existence even in the country to which he is appointed, except in the absence of the Queen. In the Dependencies—the Colonies, the Protectorates and the Trust Territories—the Queen is represented by Governors, High Commissioners or Residents, who are appointed by the Crown and perform the constitutional functions of the Crown, but who have in addition varying executive and legislative powers, and are responsible to the United Kingdom Government for the good government of the countries concerned.

Each of the member nations of the Commonwealth has its own separate constitution, governed by different laws and customs, and subject to different powers of change. The scope of this chapter will be confined to a description of one of those nations—namely the United Kingdom—and the machinery and processes through which its constitution works.

The monarchy is the most ancient secular institution in the United Kingdom. Its continuity has been broken only once in over a thousand years; and in spite of interruptions in the direct line of succession, the hereditary principle upon which it was founded has never been abandoned. Queen Elizabeth II is a descendant of the Saxon king Egbert, who united all England in 829.