page_title: Monarchy of Canada
section_title: Succession and regency
hierarchical_section_title: Monarchy of Canada / International and domestic aspects / Succession and regency
caption_attribution_description: English: Charles in Canada - Halifax, NS
context_page_description: The monarchy of Canada is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of both federal and provincial jurisdictions. The Queen of Canada has been Elizabeth II since 6 February 1952. The official styles of the Monarch is "By the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith."
  Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 15 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled Queen of Canada and, in this capacity, she, her consort, and other members of the Canadian royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Canada. However, the Queen is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
context_section_description: As in the other Commonwealth realms, the current heir apparent to the throne is Prince Charles, who is followed in the line of succession by his elder son, Prince William, and William's eldest child, Prince George.
  Upon a demise of the Crown (the death or abdication of a sovereign), the late sovereign's heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony; hence arises the phrase "The King is dead. Long live the King". It is customary for the accession of the new monarch to be publicly proclaimed by the governor general on behalf of the Privy Council, which meets at Rideau Hall after the accession. An appropriate period of mourning also follows, during which portraits of the recently deceased monarch are draped with black fabric and staff at government houses wear customary black armbands. The Manual of Official Procedure of the Government of Canada states the prime minister is responsible for convening parliament, tabling a resolution of loyalty and condolence from parliament to the new monarch, and arranging for the motion to be seconded by the Leader of the Official Opposition. The prime minister will then move to adjourn parliament. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation keeps a regularly updated plan for a "broadcast of national importance" announcing the demise of a sovereign and covering the aftermath, during which all regular programming and advertising is cancelled and on-call commentators contribute to a 24-hour news mode. The day of the funeral is likely to be a public holiday.
  The new monarch is crowned in the United Kingdom in an ancient ritual, but one not necessary for a sovereign to reign. By the Interpretation Act of 2005, no incumbent appointee of the Crown is affected by the death of the monarch, nor are they required to take the Oath of Allegiance again, and all references in legislation to previous monarchs, whether in the masculine (e.g. His Majesty) or feminine (e.g. the Queen), continue to mean the reigning sovereign of Canada, regardless of their gender. This is because, in common law, the Crown never dies. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she usually continues to reign until death.
  The relationship between the Commonwealth realms is such that any change to the rules of succession to their respective crowns requires the unanimous consent of all the realms. Succession is governed by statutes, such as the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701, and the Acts of Union 1707. In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated and any possible future descendants of his were excluded from the line of succession. As the Statute of Westminster 1931 disallowed the UK from legislating for Canada, including in relation to succession, Order in Council P.C. 3144 was issued, expressing the Cabinet's request and consent for His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 to become part of the laws of Canada and the Succession to the Throne Act 1937 gave parliamentary ratification to that action, together bringing the Act of Settlement and Royal Marriages Act 1772 into Canadian law. The latter was deemed by the Cabinet in 1947 to be part of Canadian law, as is the Bill of Rights 1689, according to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Department of External Affairs included all succession-related laws in its list of acts within Canadian law. In 2011, Canada committed to the Perth Agreement with the other Commonwealth realms, which proposed changes to the rules governing succession to remove male preference and removal of disqualification arising from marriage to a Roman Catholic. As a result of the Perth Agreement, the Canadian parliament passed the Canadian Succession to the Throne Act, 2013, which gave the country's assent to the Succession to the Crown Bill 2013, at that time proceeding in the parliament of the United Kingdom. In dismissing a challenge to the law on the basis that a change to the succession in Canada would require unanimous consent of all provinces under section 41(a) of the Constitution Act, 1982, Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude Bouchard rul
caption: Charles, Prince of Wales, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2014. Charles is the heir apparent to the Canadian throne.
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