page_title: Ireland–United Kingdom relations
section_title: Abdication crisis and the Republic of Ireland Act
hierarchical_section_title: Ireland–United Kingdom relations / Post-independence conflicts / Abdication crisis and the Republic of Ireland Act
caption_attribution_description: English: Statement of Abdication Français&#160;: Acte d'abdication d'Edouard VIII. Texte: Acte d'abdication. Moi, Edouard le Huitième, de Grande Bretagne, Irlande, et des Dominions Britanniques par delà les Mers, Roi, Empereur de l'Inde, déclare par le présent Ma détermination irrévocable de renoncer au Trône pour Moi-même et pour Mes descendants, et Mon désir que cet acte d'abdication prenne effet immédiatement. En foi de quoi j'ai apposé Ma signature ce dixième jour de Décembre, mil neuf cent et trente six, en la présence des témoins dont les signatures figurent ci-dessous. (signature) Edward R.I. SIGNÉ À FORT BELVEDERE EN LA PRÉSENCE DE (signature) Albert (signature) Henry (signature) George.
context_page_description: Ireland–United Kingdom relations, also referred to as Irish–British relations, or Anglo-Irish relations, are the relations between the states of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The three devolved administrations of the United Kingdom, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the three dependencies of the British Crown, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, also participate in multilateral bodies created between the two states.
  Since at least the 1600s, all of these areas have been connected politically, reaching a height in 1801 with the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. About five-sixths of the island of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom in 1921 as the Irish Free State. Historically, relations between the two states have been influenced heavily by issues arising from their shared history, the independence of the Irish Free State and the governance of Northern Ireland. These include the partition of Ireland and the terms of Ireland's secession, its constitutional relationship with and obligations to the UK after independence, and the outbreak of political violence in Northern Ireland.
context_section_description: The Irish Free State had been governed, at least until 1936, under a form of constitutional monarchy linked to the United Kingdom. The King had a number of symbolically important duties, including exercising the executive authority of the state, appointing the cabinet and promulgating the law. However, when Edward VIII proposed to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite and divorcée, in 1936, it caused a constitutional crisis across the British Empire. In the chaos that ensued his abdication, the Irish Free State took the opportunity to amend its constitution and remove all of the functions of the King except one: that of representing the state abroad.
  In 1937, a new constitution was adopted which entrenched the monarch's diminished role by transferring many of the functions performed by the King until 1936 to a new office of the President of Ireland, who was declared to "take precedence over all other persons in the State". However, the 1937 constitution did not explicitly declare that the state was a republic, nor that the President was head of state. Without explicit mention, the King continued to retain his role in external relations and the Irish Free State continued to be regarded as a member of the British Commonwealth and to be associated with the United Kingdom.
  During the period from December 1936 to April 1949, it was unclear whether or not the Irish state was a republic or a form of constitutional monarchy and (from 1937) whether its head of state was the President of Ireland (Douglas Hyde until 1945, and Seán T. O'Kelly afterwards) or the King of Ireland (George VI). The exact constitutional status of the state during this period has been a matter of scholarly and political dispute.
  The state's ambiguous status ended in 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act stripped the King of his role in external relations and declared that the state may be described as the Republic of Ireland. The decision to do so was sudden and unilateral. However, it did not result in greatly strained relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The question of the head of the Irish state from 1936 to 1949 was largely a matter of symbolism and had little practical significance. The UK response was to legislate that it would not grant Northern Ireland to the Irish state without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland (which was unlikely to happen in unionist-majority Northern Ireland).
  One practical implication of explicitly declaring the state to be a republic in 1949 was that it automatically terminated the state's membership of the British Commonwealth, in accordance with the rules in operation at the time. However, despite this, the United Kingdom legislated that Irish citizens would retain similar rights to Commonwealth subjects and were not to be regarded as foreigners.
  The Republic of Ireland Act came into force on 18 April 1949. Ten days later, 28 April 1949, the rules of the Commonwealth of Nations were changed through the London Declaration so that, when India declared itself a republic, it would not have to leave. The prospect of Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth, even today, is still occasionally raised but has never been formally considered by the Irish government.
caption: The Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII and his three brothers
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