King Edward VII was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Empire from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910.
During his reign Edward was served by a total of 13 prime ministers; 5 from Australia, 4 from the United Kingdom, 3 from New Zealand, and 1 from the Dominion of Canada.
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sir Edmund Barton | 22 January 1901 | 24 September 1903 |
 | Alfred Deakin | 24 September 1903 | 27 April 1904 |
| 5 July 1905 | 13 November 1908 | ||
| 2 June 1909 | 29 April 1910 | ||
 | Chris Watson | 27 April 1904 | 18 August 1904 |
 | Sir George Reid | 18 August 1904 | 5 July 1905 |
 | Andrew Fisher | 13 November 1908 | 2 June 1909 |
| 29 April 1910 | 6 May 1910 | ||
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sir Wilfrid Laurier | 22 January 1901 | 6 May 1910 |
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Gordon Sprigg | 22 January 1901 | 21 February 1904 |
 | Leander Starr Jameson | 22 February 1904 | 2 February 1908 |
 | John X. Merriman | 3 February 1908 | 6 May 1910 |
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Robert Bond | 22 January 1901 | 2 March 1909 |
 | Edward Morris | 2 March 1909 | 6 May 1910 |
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Richard Seddon | 22 January 1901 | 10 June 1906 |
 | William Hall-Jones | 10 June 1906 | 6 August 1906 |
 | Joseph Ward | 6 August 1906 | 6 May 1910 |
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil The Marquess of Salisbury | 22 January 1901 | 11 July 1902 |
 | Arthur Balfour | 12 July 1902 | 4 December 1905 |
 | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 5 December 1905 | 5 April 1908 |
 | H. H. Asquith | 5 April 1908 | 6 May 1910 |
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Dominions and the Crown.
The Irish Free State, also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann, was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic – the Irish Republican Army (IRA) – and British Crown forces.
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death on 6 February 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. The current monarch is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. In most of Ireland, this continued until 1949, when it transitioned to being the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, remains under a monarchical system of government.
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation, of a people or of a spiritual community. In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies there have been no limits on the duration of a sovereign's reign or incumbency, nor is there a term of office. Thus, a reign usually lasts until the monarch dies, unless the monarchy itself is abolished or the monarch abdicates or is deposed.
The House of Windsor is a British royal house, and currently the reigning house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The royal house's name was inspired by the historic Windsor Castle estate. Since it was founded in 1917, there have been five British monarchs of the House of Windsor: George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II, and Charles III. The children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip also genealogically belong to the House of Oldenburg since Philip was by birth a member of the Glücksburg branch of that house.
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state that has Charles III as its monarch and 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.
Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 to 22 June 1948 to signify their sovereignty over the British Raj as its imperial head of state. The image of the emperor or empress appeared on Indian currency, in government buildings, railway stations, courts, on statues etc. Oaths of allegiance were made to the emperor or empress and the lawful successors by the governors-general, princes, governors, commissioners in India in events such as imperial durbars.
British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, Virginia, and more substantially with the founding of the Thirteen Colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America.
The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire.
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster of 1931. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the original dominions within the meaning of the Balfour Declaration, and accordingly enjoyed a constitutional status equivalent to the other dominions of the time.
From 1910 to 1961 the Union of South Africa was a self-governing country that shared a monarch with the United Kingdom and other Dominions of the British Empire. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.
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 Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 is an act of the Australian Parliament that formally adopted sections 2–6 of the Statute of Westminster 1931, an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enabling the total legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire. With its enactment, Westminster relinquished nearly all of its authority to legislate for the Dominions, effectively making them de jure sovereign nations.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy whose Sovereign also serves as Monarch of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and eleven other former dependencies of the United Kingdom including Papua New Guinea, which was formerly a dependency of Australia. These countries operate as independent nations, and are known as Commonwealth realms. The history of the Australian monarchy has involved a shifting relationship with both the monarch and also the British government.
The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America, until merged into the new Home Office in 1782. In 1801, colonial affairs were transferred to the War Office in the lead up to the Napoleonic Wars, which became the War and Colonial Office to oversee and protect the colonies of the British Empire. The Colonial Office was re-created as a separate department 1854, under the colonial secretary. It was finally merged into the Commonwealth Office in 1966.
A dominion was any of several self-governing countries of the British Empire. With the evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations, the dominions became independent states, either as commonwealth republics or commonwealth realms.
The Permanent Forces of the Empire Beyond the Seas Medal is a long service and good conduct medal, instituted for award to other ranks of the Permanent Forces of the Dominions and Colonies of the British Empire. The medal, also known as the Permanent Overseas Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, was established in 1910 as a single common award to supersede the several local versions of the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal which were being awarded by the various territories.