Memorandum by Stephen Michael Szabo (HON
63)
The particular issue I wish to comment upon
relates perhaps to the exercise of Ministerial Powers and the
(Royal) Prerogative. I do not feel that, as an Australian citizen,
I have a vested interest in commenting upon an honours system
that relates solely to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. Perhaps our own Order of Australia model may
offer some ideas for change in Britain, but that is best left
to the Committee to consider.
The aspect of the Royal Prerogative to which
I refer is the granting of arms. In the United Kingdom this is
carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the English
Kings of Arms (Garter, Norroy and Ulster, and Clarenceaux) and
in Scotland by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
The following definitions are given of coat
of arms as honours:
"A grant of arms is a form of honour, but
an unusual one in that it has to be applied for and paid for.
Like any other award under the "honours system" it emanates
from the sovereign as the fount of honour, but the function of
granting arms has long been delegated to the kings of arms . .
." Stephen Friar (ed) A New Dictionary of Heraldry (Sherbourne,
Dorset; Alphabooks, 1987) entry titled "Grant of Arms"
page 171. The author of this entry was D H B Chesshyre, then Chester
Herald of Arms.
"Arms are in the nature of an honour rather
than a piece of personal property. If the latter were the case
then the common law which governs the inheritance of property
would have to take congnizance of arms. This it does not do. As
the Crown is the fount of all honour arms must stem from the Crown
just as they are protected by the Crown in the Court of Chivalry."
J P Brooke-Little, An Heraldic Alphabet (London, Robson
Books, 1985) page 27.
The point that I wish to refer to further is
that of the manner in which the English Kings of Arms make grants
to Australian citizens. The Kings of Arms may grant arms to whomever
they wish to, as long as the Sovereign of that individual does
not expressly forbid accepting a grant of arms from the representatives
of a foreign sovereign, so I would have no quarrel with the Kings
of Arms continuing to make grants of arms to Australians in the
name of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. This is precisely the manner in which Lord Lyon King
of Arms has made and continues to make grants and matriculations
of arms to Australians, and to citizens of the United States of
America with Scottish connections.
It appears, however, that the English Kings
of Arms have taken it upon themselves to grant arms in the name
of the Queen of Australia. This would appear to be ultra vires,
as the Queen of Australia is legally and constitutionally a different
entity to the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, even though the same individual holds the different
offices. It is unfortunate that Her Royal Majesty Elizabeth II
has not chosen to exercise her heraldic prerogative as Queen of
Australia and devolve the power to grant arms to Australians to
the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, as the
Queen of Canada did in 1988. It is hoped that this situation will
change in the future.
To add confusion to the situation Letters Patent
issued in the name of the Queen of Australia have illustrated
on them the arms of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland. Logic would suggest that the arms of the
Commonwealth of Australia should appear instead as suggested by
the following quote:
"In each of her independent realms, the
Queen bears different armorial bearings to identify separate sovereignty
and authority in each nation. In dependent territories of the
United Kingdom such as Hong Kong and the Falkland Islands, the
arms are also borne by the Queen in right of these territories.
Where a dependent territory has not had arms assigned to it, the
Royal Arms of the United Kingdom are borne as arms of dominion
and sovereignty." Peter Gwynn-Jones and Henry Paston-Bedingfeld
Heraldry (London, 1993) page 135.
Peter Gwynn-Jones is the current Garter King
of Arms, the most senior of Her Majesty's Kings of Arms for England,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Henry Paston-Bedingfeld is York Herald.
While it is understood that the matter of coats
of arms is not the main focus of the Committee, it would be excellent
if the Committee could make the following recommendation or similar:
— That the Prime Minister of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland recommend to the Queen of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that she direct
her Kings of Arms to cease granting arms to Australians in the
name of the Queen of Australia, but to continue granting arms
in the name of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland to those Australians who continue to petition
the Earl Marshal for grants of arms.
March 2004
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