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Charles III reigns as king of 15 independent countries known as the Commonwealth realms. He resides primarily in the oldest and most populous realm, the United Kingdom, and is represented in the other countries by the following viceregal representatives. The monarch is also represented in each of the Canadian provinces, Australian states, British overseas territories, Crown dependencies, and the states in free association with New Zealand.
Country | Governor-general | Since | List |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Sir Rodney Williams | 14 August 2014 | List |
![]() | Sam Mostyn | 1 July 2024 | List |
![]() | Dame Cynthia A. Pratt | 1 September 2023 | List |
![]() | Dame Froyla Tzalam | 27 May 2021 | List |
![]() | Mary Simon | 26 July 2021 | List |
![]() | Dame Cécile La Grenade | 7 May 2013 | List |
![]() | Sir Patrick Allen | 26 February 2009 | List |
![]() | Dame Cindy Kiro | 21 October 2021 | List |
![]() | Sir Bob Dadae | 28 February 2017 | List |
![]() | Dame Marcella Liburd | 1 February 2023 | List |
![]() | Errol Charles (acting) | 11 November 2021 | List |
![]() | Dame Susan Dougan | 1 August 2019 | List |
![]() | David Tiva Kapu | 7 July 2024 | List |
![]() | Sir Tofiga Vaevalu Falani | 29 September 2021 | List |
In the United Kingdom, the sovereign appoints counsellors of state to act on the monarch's behalf when he or she is not present in the country or unable for other reasons to perform royal constitutional functions.
The Crown dependencies are possessions of the Crown of the United Kingdom, not of the government of the United Kingdom, and the British monarch is head of state, represented by lieutenant governors.
Dependency | Lieutenant Governor | Since | List |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Richard Cripwell | 15 February 2022 | List |
![]() | Jerry Kyd | 8 October 2022 | List |
![]() | Sir John Lorimer | 29 September 2021 | List |
In the 14 British Overseas Territories, the King of the United Kingdom is represented by either an administrator, a commissioner, or a governor. [1]
British Overseas Territory | Viceregal representative | Current holder | Since |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Administrator | Peter Squires | 1 September 2022 |
![]() | Governor | Julia Crouch | 11 September 2023 |
![]() | Governor | Rena Lalgie | 14 December 2020 |
![]() | Commissioner | Paul Candler | 1 July 2021 |
![]() | Commissioner | Paul Candler | 1 July 2021 |
![]() | Governor | Daniel Pruce | 29 January 2024 |
![]() | Governor | Jane Owen | 21 April 2023 |
![]() | Governor | Alison Blake | 23 July 2022 |
![]() | Governor | Sir Ben Bathurst | 4 June 2024 |
![]() | Governor | Sarah Tucker | 6 April 2022 |
![]() | Governor | Iona Thomas | 8 August 2022 |
![]() | Governor | Nigel Phillips | 13 August 2022 |
![]() | Commissioner | Alison Blake | 23 July 2022 |
![]() | Governor | Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam | 29 June 2023 |
In the Realm of New Zealand, the Cook Islands have a king's representative to represent the King of New Zealand. Niue is entitled to the same, but, under the Niue Constitution Act, the monarch is represented by New Zealand's governor-general, who represents the King of New Zealand.
Territory | Representative | Since | List |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Sir Tom Marsters | 27 July 2013 | List |
![]() | Dame Cindy Kiro | 21 October 2021 | List |
In the six Australian states, the King of Australia is represented by a governor. As administrators of Australian territories represent the governor-general of Australia, they are not included here.
State | Governor | Since | List |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Margaret Beazley | 2 May 2019 | List |
![]() | Jeannette Young | 1 November 2021 | List |
![]() | Frances Adamson | 7 October 2021 | List |
![]() | Barbara Baker | 16 June 2021 | List |
![]() | Margaret Gardner | 9 August 2023 | List |
![]() | Chris Dawson | 15 July 2022 | List |
In the 10 Canadian provinces, the King of Canada is represented by a lieutenant governor. As the commissioners of the Canadian territories represent the Canadian king-in-Council (the federal government), rather than the monarch directly, they are not included here.
Province | Lieutenant governor | Since | List |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Salma Lakhani | 26 August 2020 | List |
![]() | Janet Austin | 24 April 2018 | List |
![]() | Anita Neville | 24 October 2022 | List |
![]() | Brenda Murphy | 8 September 2019 | List |
![]() | Joan Marie Aylward | 14 November 2023 | List |
![]() | Arthur LeBlanc | 28 June 2017 | List |
![]() | Edith Dumont | 14 November 2023 | List |
![]() | Antoinette Perry | 20 October 2017 | List |
![]() | Manon Jeannotte | 25 January 2024 | List |
![]() | Russell Mirasty | 18 July 2019 | List |
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.
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a governor may be either appointed or elected, and the governor's powers can vary significantly, depending on the public laws in place locally. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernare.
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth that has Charles III as its monarch and ceremonial head of state. All the realms are equal with and independent of the others, though one person, resident in the United Kingdom, acts as monarch of each. The phrase Commonwealth realm is an informal description not used in any law.
The Crown broadly represents the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions. The term can be used to refer to the office of the monarch or the monarchy as institutions; to the rule of law; or to the functions of executive, legislative, and judicial governance and the civil service.
Resident commissioner was or is an official title of several different types of commissioners, who were or are representatives of any level of government. Historically, they were appointed by the British Crown in overseas protectorates, or colonies, and some still exist in this capacity. The United States of America once had a resident commissioner in the Philippines and the Puerto Rico resident commissioner resides in Washington DC. State governments of today's Republic of India have a resident commissioner to represent them in New Delhi.
The territorial evolution of the British Empire is considered to have begun with the foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century. Since then, many territories around the world have been under the control of the United Kingdom or its predecessor states. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 by the union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England, the latter country's colonial possessions passed to the new state. Similarly, when Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to form the United Kingdom, control over its colonial possessions passed to the latter state. Collectively, these territories are referred to as the British Empire. When much of Ireland gained independence in 1922 as the Irish Free State, the other territories of the empire remained under the control of the United Kingdom.
The Realm of New Zealand is the area over which the monarch of New Zealand is head of state. The realm is not a federation but is a collection of states and territories united under its monarch. New Zealand is an independent and sovereign state that has one territorial claim in Antarctica, one dependent territory (Tokelau), and two associated states. The Realm of New Zealand encompasses the three autonomous jurisdictions of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, and Niue.
The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the sex of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of approving orders, on the advice of the country's privy council or executive council.
The Cook Islands are a constitutional monarchy within the Realm of New Zealand. Under the Cook Islands Constitution, the Sovereign in Right of New Zealand has been Head of State of the Cook Islands since 4 August 1965. The Sovereign is represented by the King's Representative; as such, the King is the de jure head of state, holding several powers that are his alone, while the King's Representative is sometimes referred to as the de facto head of state. The viceregal position is currently held by Tom Marsters.
In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is generally called a high commission.
There are six monarchies in Oceania where supreme power resides with an individual hereditary head, who is recognised as the head of state. Each is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the sovereign inherits his or her office, usually keeps it until death or abdication, and is bound by laws and customs in the exercise of their powers. Five of these independent states share King Charles III as their respective head of state, making them part of a global grouping known as the Commonwealth realms; in addition, all monarchies of Oceania are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The only sovereign monarchy in Oceania that does not share a monarch with another state is Tonga. Australia and New Zealand have dependencies within the region and outside it, although five non-sovereign constituent monarchs are recognized by New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and France.