A Government House is any residence used by governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the British Empire. Government Houses serve as the venue for governors' official business, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by the occupant. Sometimes, the term Government House is used as a metonym for the governor or his office.
While a Government House is the official residence of a viceroy or governor who represents the monarch, many Commonwealth nations now operate without the British monarch as head of state. To avoid confusion, several of these nations refer to their presidential palaces as a State House or President's House .
When King Charles III or a member of the royal family visits a Commonwealth nation, they will often stay at the Government House, which is reported in the Court Circular. This privilege is sometimes extended to other dignitaries, but usually arrangements are made for important non-royal visitors to be accommodated at hotels, or in accommodations provided by their own country's embassy or consulate.
Other government residences
Pre-independence, the living arrangements of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland varied according to the social calendar:
After 1922, the Viceregal Lodge served as the official residence of the first two Governors-General of the Irish Free State. The Governor of Northern Ireland resided in Hillsborough Castle, which is, since 1973, the official residence of the Northern Ireland Secretary.
Ajmer-Merwara was a former province of British India in the historical Ajmer region. The territory was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on 25 June 1818. It was under the Bengal Presidency until 1861 when it became part of the North-Western Provinces. Finally on 1 April 1871, it became a separate province as Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri. It became a part of independent India on 15 August 1947 when the British left India.
Governor-general, or governor general, is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy to represent the monarch of a personal union in any sovereign state over which the monarch does not normally reign in person. Governors-general have also previously been appointed in respect of major colonial states or other territories held by either a monarchy or republic, such as Japan in Korea and Taiwan and France in Indochina.
Áras an Uachtaráin, formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Ireland.
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1800) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922). The office, under its various names, was often more generally known as the Viceroy, and his wife was known as the vicereine. The government of Ireland in practice was usually in the hands of the Lord Deputy up to the 17th century, and later of the Chief Secretary for Ireland.
A viceroy is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory.
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries.
The governor-general of India was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor/Empress of India and after Indian independence in 1947, the representative of the Monarch of India. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William. The officer had direct control only over his presidency but supervised other East India Company officials in India. Complete authority over all of British territory in the Indian subcontinent was granted in 1833, and the official came to be known as the "Governor-General of India".
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 806 districts and smaller administrative divisions.
An official residence is a residence designated by an authority and assigned to an official, and may be the same place where the office holder conducts their work functions or lives.
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule and later a province of India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and Southeast Asia. Bengal proper covered the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. Calcutta, the city which grew around Fort William, was the capital of the Bengal Presidency. For many years, the governor of Bengal was concurrently the governor-general of India and Calcutta was the capital of India until 1911.
Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the official residence in Northern Ireland of the British monarch and other members of the British royal family when they visit the region, as well as a guest house for prominent international visitors.
The North-Western Provinces was an administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. In 1858, the Nawab-ruled kingdom of Oudh was annexed and merged with the North-Western Provinces to form the renamed North-Western Provinces and Oudh. In 1902, this province was reorganized to form the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Allahabad served as its capital from 1858, when it also became the capital of India for a day.
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods:
The Bangabhaban is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, located on Bangabhaban Road, and short road connecting Dilkusha Avenue, Dhaka. It is surrounded by the Bangabhaban Gardens.
Ajmer is a historical region in central Rajasthan, a central part of a Shakambari Chahamana (Chauhan) kingdom in 11–12th centuries during the reign of Prithviraj Chauhan.
The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes called the Indian Legislative Assembly and the Imperial Legislative Assembly. The Council of State was the upper house of the legislature for India.
The 1936 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1935.
The 1924 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were published in The London Gazette on 3 June 1924.
Chief Commissioner's Province refers to a middle-level and minor type of province in British India and in the post-colonial successor states, not headed by a (lieutenant-)governor but by a Chief commissioner, notably :