What's the official procedure for a British king/queen to give up the throne?

[KathyMoore]

What's the official procedure for a British king/queen to give up the throne?

Does he/she send some sort of abdication letter to the parliament, the prime minister, or the next in line?

Thanks!

[Avalon]

Though there were Monarchs in Britain, who were forced to abdicate or were removed from power, there is no provision in the British law for the sovereign to abdicate.
The Monarch, after ascending the Throne, must reign until death. They are not allowed to unilaterally abdicate. The only Monarch, who voluntarily abdicated was Edward VIII (in 1936). He did so with the authorisation of a special Act of Parliament, His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936.
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 was and Act of the British Parlament that allowed King Edward to abdicate the throne and passed the succession to Prince Albert, Duke of York (King George VI).
The Act was passed through the both Houses of Parlament in only one day, with no amendments. The Governments of the British Dominions (Australia, New Zeland, Union of South Africa and Canasa) gave their permission for the Act to apply in their realms (a requirement of the Statute of Westminster 1931); the only exception was the Irish Free State, to which the Act did not apply, and which instead passed the External Relations Act, which recognized Duke of York as King.
There were 2 reasons, that made the Act neccessary.
First of all, as I have said before, there is no provision in British Law for the sovereign to abdicate. The Act of Settlement (1701) ensured that the senior descendant of Electess Sophia of Hanover was sovereign in England. The Acto of Union (1707) confirmed this for Great Britain. This means that the senior descendant of Electress Sophia is the Sovereign, regardless of their wishes. If the Sovereign decides to abdicate, however, an Act of Parlament is required to give it a legal power.
Then, the Act ensure that the throne was passed to Prince Albert but ut did not exclude other descendats of the Electress Sophia from the line of succession. However any future descendants of Edward VIII would not have a claim to the British Throne.

[Queen Katherine]

Remember when Edward VIII abdicated and he gave that speech. I wasn't alive of course but the speech has been played numerous times. So that might be part of the procedure.

[selrahc4]

Originally Posted by Queen Katherine

Remember when Edward VIII abdicated and he gave that speech. I wasn't alive of course but the speech has been played numerous times. So that might be part of the procedure.

No speech was necessary. It wasn't part of the procedure.

[Royal Fan]

Was that his own Idea , What happens when a Monarch Passes Away Like if (God Forbid) E II R Passed on lets say August 10th what would happen who would be notified first and things like that ect and when would Charles most likely come to the throne?? sorry im just so curious about all this especially since I Think itll be in my lifetime.

[chrissy57]

Originally Posted by Royal Fan

Was that his own Idea , What happens when a Monarch Passes Away Like if (God Forbid) E II R Passed on lets say August 10th what would happen who would be notified first and things like that ect and when would Charles most likely come to the throne?? sorry im just so curious about all this especially since I Think itll be in my lifetime.

Charles would instantly be king on the 10th August - 'the Queen is dead - Long Live the King'.

Depending on how the Queen died it is possible that Charles would be with her at the instant he became king - this was the case in 1936 when George V died and Edward VIII succeeded. If, like Elizabeth, he wasn't there when the Queen died, he would be notified ASAP.

The PM would have to be notified but after Charles.

At some time after the death of the previous monarch an Accension (sp) Council would be called (the same day or the next - depending on the time of death - usually). At this Council Charles would announce his regnal name and accept the oaths of the various people who need to make such an oath - e.g. William possibly and the PM.

After the Accension (sp) Council there will be a ceremony at St James' Palace declaring Charles (using his regnal name) as the rightful monarch. A similar declaration would be made in Scotland.

[Royal Fan]

So Charles will be informed first :) would Harry be at the Accession Council. what role would Camilla play in all this and the rest of the family and who out of the current British Establishment would Attend the Coronation

[Oppie]

wiki has a copy if his Instrument of Abdication along with other information on this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_...ication_crisis


RoyalFan here is more info about what happens for an accession http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4945.asp

[branchg]

The ascension of the new Sovereign is automatic upon the death of the current Sovereign and there are no formalities necessary. Under the Act of Settlement, Charles is automatically King when his mother dies as the next eligible descendant of the Electress Sophia.

As his wife, Camilla automatically becomes Queen Consort as the wife of the Sovereign. Whether Parliament will later pass an Act allowing her to assume the style and title of Princess Consort (which is required to make it legal) remains to be seen.

The ceremonies that follow, including the Coronation, are not necessary for a new Sovereign's reign, but are very important parts of the tradition of the monarchy.

[Royal Fan]

I See , this is all very interesting to me :) its Amazing how much happens if the Monarch Dies or Abdicates.