Everything about Royal Charter totally explained
A
Royal Charter is a
charter granted by the
Sovereign on the advice of the
privy council, to legitimize an incorporated body, such as a city, company, university or such. A Royal Charter is a kind of
letters patent. In medieval Europe, cities were the only place where it was legal to conduct commerce, and Royal Charters were the only way to establish a city. The year a city was chartered is considered the year the city was "founded", irrespective of whether there was settlement there before. A Royal Charter can also create or give special status to an
incorporated body. It is an exercise of the
Royal Prerogative.
At one time a Royal Charter was the only way in which an incorporated body could be formed, but other means such as the registration of a limited company are now available. Among the historic bodies formed by Royal Charter were the
British East India Company, the
Hudson's Bay Company, the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), and the
American colonies.
Belgium
The royal decree is the equivalent in
Belgium of a Royal Charter. In the period before 1958, 32 higher education institutes had been by royal charter: these were typically engineering or technical institutions rather than universities
(External Link
).
However, several non-technical higher education institutions have been founded, or refounded, under royal decree:
Canada
In Canada, there are hundreds of organizations under Royal Charters. Such organisations include charities, businesses, colleges, universities, and cities. Today, it's mostly charities and professional institutions who receive Royal Charters.
Application for a charter is a petition to the Queen in Council. To receive a Royal Charter, the organization must have corporate members who have at least first degree level in a relevant field, consist of 5,000 members or more, be financially sound, and it must be in the public interest to regulate the institution under a charter. However, meeting these benchmarks doesn't guarantee the issue of a Royal Charter.
Companies
Canada's oldest company, the
Hudson's Bay Company, was founded under a Royal Charter issued by
King Charles II in 1670. By that charter, until the Company moved to Canada in the 1970's, the Company was required to give two
elk skins and two black
beaver pelts to the Sovereign or his or her heirs and successors when they visit the area originally called
Rupert's Land.
Cities
Cities under Royal Charter are not subject to municipal Acts of parliament applied generally to other municipalities, and instead are governed by legislation applicable to each city individually. The Royal Charter codifies the laws applied to the particular city, and lays out the powers and responsibilities not given to other municipalities in the province concerned.
Canada has four Royal Charter cities:
Saint John, (the oldest, having received its charter in 1786 from
King George III),
Vancouver,
Winnipeg, and
Montreal.
Universities and colleges
A number of Canadian universities and colleges were founded under Royal Charter.
From
King George III:
1802: King's College in Windsor, Nova Scotia — now University of King's College in Halifax
From King George IV:
1821: McGill University
1827: King's College — superseded by the University of Toronto
1829: Upper Canada College
From Queen Victoria:
1841: Queen's University
1852: Université Laval
1852: University of Trinity College, Toronto, Ontario
Hong Kong
Before 1997, a number of organizations had the Royal name attached to them:
Royal Hong Kong Police Force - now Hong Kong Police Force
Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club - now Hong Kong Jockey Club
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club - name remains unchanged after 1997
Royal Observatory, Hong Kong - now Hong Kong Observatory
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force - now Government Flying Service
Royal Hong Kong Golf Club - now Hong Kong Golf Club
Ireland
A number of Irish institutions still have a "Royal" prefix, even though the country has been a republic since 1949.
South Africa
The University of South Africa received a Royal Charter in 1877.
United Kingdom
Among the 750 or so organizations with Royal Charters are cities; the BBC; theatres such as the Royal Opera House and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane; Livery Companies; Britain's older universities; professional institutions and charities. (External Link)
A Royal Charter is the manner in which a British town is raised to the rank of city. Most recently Inverness, Brighton & Hove and Wolverhampton were given their charters to celebrate the millennium, and Preston, Stirling, Newport, Lisburn and Newry to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002.
Some of the older British universities operate under Royal Charters, which give them the power to grant degrees. The most recent generation of UK universities were granted the power to grant degrees by the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992 instead of by Royal Charter, while some other universities operate under Acts of Parliament.
The BBC operates under a Royal Charter which lasts for a limited period of ten years, after which it's renewed.
Most Royal Charters are now granted to professional institutions and to charities. For example, the six accountancy institutes which make up the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies each have a Royal Charter which allows their members to call themselves Chartered Accountants. A Charter isn't necessary for them to operate, but one is often sought as a recognition of "pre-eminence, stability and permanence".
A Royal Charter changes a body from a collection of individuals into a single legal entity. Once incorporated by Royal Charter, amendments to the Charter and by-laws require government approval. (External Link)
United States
Although several American universities which predate the American Revolution purport to hold Royal Charters, they hold instead either Letters Patent from the monarch, or another type of grant from a local authority such as a legislature.
Letters Patent from King William III and Queen Mary II:
The College of William & Mary 1693
Letters Patent from King George II:
Columbia University 1754 as King's College
American colleges popularly believed to have been established by Royal Charter, but actually by some other type of grant:
Harvard College 1639 - By Act of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Yale University 1701 - as Collegiate School by Act of the General Assembly of Connecticut
Princeton University 1746 - as College of New Jersey by the General Assembly of the Province of New Jersey
Brown University 1764 - as College of Rhode Island by Letters Patent from The Governor and General Assembly of the English Colony of Rhode Island
Rutgers University 1766 - as Queen's College by Governor William Franklin of New Jersey
Dartmouth College 1769 - by Letters Patent by King George III via the Governor of the province of New Hampshire. The distinction between the Letters Patent forming Dartmouth versus those documents founding William & Mary or Kings College (Columbia) is that seal of the Province of New Hampshire appearing on the Dartmouth document, while the Great Seal of England appears on the William & Mary document.Further Information
Get more info on 'Royal Charter'.
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