Commonwealth Realm

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A Commonwealth Realm is any one of the 16 sovereign states of the Commonwealth of Nations that separately recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their monarch. In each Realm she is the monarch of that state, and is titled accordingly. Hence the Commonwealth Realms are in personal union with one another, much as, for instance, Scotland and England were before their unification in the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Current Commonwealth Realms
The Commonwealth Realms are, in alphabetical order:

Country

Dates

Antigua and Barbuda
since independence in 1981
Australia
since adoption of the Statute of Westminster in 1942 (retroactive to 1939)
The Bahamas
since independence in 1973
Barbados
since independence in 1966
Belize
since independence in 1981
Canada
since the Statute of Westminster in 1931
Grenada
since independence in 1974
Jamaica
since independence in 1962
New Zealand
since adoption of the Statute of Westminster in 1947
Papua New Guinea
since independence in 1975
Saint Kitts and Nevis
since independence in 1983
Saint Lucia
since independence in 1979
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
since independence in 1979
Solomon Islands
since independence in 1978
Tuvalu
since independence in 1978
United Kingdom
n/a


System of Government
Outside the United Kingdom, the Queen appoints a Governor-General to act as her vice-regal representative. In almost all Realms, the Governor-General is appointed by the Queen on the advice of each nation's Prime Minister; in the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, the Prime Minister is required to consult the legislature in confidence. In Papua New Guinea, the Governor-General is appointed by parliamentary vote.

Historical development
Fourteen of the current Commonwealth Realms, and all of the former Realms, are former British self-governing colonies that have evolved into independent countries. The exceptions are the United Kingdom itself and Papua New Guinea, which was formed in 1975 as a union of the former German New Guinea, which had been administered by Australia as an international trusteeship before independence, and the former British New Guinea, which had legally been a British possession, though administered on the United Kingdom's behalf by Australia (as "Papua") since 1905.

Monarch's role in the Realms
Though the Queen's constitutional powers are virtually identical in each Realm, she does not usually act as political Head of State except in the UK, nor does she commonly perform ceremonial duties, except on occasions of significant historical or political importance. This results from the fact that she resides in the UK, even though she usually visits the other major Commonwealth Realms at least once every five or six years. Day-to-day political and ceremonial duties are instead performed in each Realm by a Governor-General who serves as the Queen's representative.