' ("The King wills it",

Modern French French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

''Le Roi le veut'') or ' ("The Queen wills it", Modern French ''La Reine le veut'') is a Norman French phrase used in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

to signify that a

public bill Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...

(including a private member's bill) has received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

from the monarch of the United Kingdom. It is a legacy of the time prior to 1488 when parliamentary and judicial business was conducted in French, the language of the educated classes dating to the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

of 1066. It is one of a small number of Norman French phrases that continue to be used in the course of parliamentary procedure. Variations of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

modern French French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

translations of the phrase are also used in the

ceremony used in the

Canadian Parliament The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

. Norman French is not used.

Usage

The phrase is used to signify that the monarch has granted his or her royal assent to a bill in order to make it become law. It is used by the

Clerk of the Parliaments The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parlia ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. It is only used after the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

, accompanied by the

Lords Commissioners The Lords Commissioners are privy counsellors appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom to exercise, on his or her behalf, certain functions relating to Parliament which would otherwise require the monarch's attendance at the Palace of Wes ...

, has read out the letters patent for the bill. The Clerk of the Crown then reads out the short title of the bill and the Clerk of the Parliaments responds by saying the phrase towards the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the bar of the House for each bill. The phrase is also written on the paper of the bill to show that the monarch granted royal assent to the bill. Should royal assent be withheld, the expression ', "The King/Queen will advise him/her self" (i.e., will take the bill under advisement), a paraphrase of the

Law Latin Law Latin, sometimes written L.L. or L. Lat., and sometimes derisively called Dog Latin, is a form of Latin used in legal contexts. While some of the vocabulary does come from Latin, many of the words and much of the vocabulary stem from English. ...

euphemism '/' ("The King/Queen will consider he matter), would be used, though no British monarch has used this

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

power since Queen Anne on the

Scottish Militia Bill The Scottish Militia Bill 1708 (known formerly as the Scotch Militia Bill) was a bill that was passed by the House of Commons and House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain in early 1708. However, on 11 March 1708, Queen Anne withheld ro ...

in 1708. For a supply bill, an alternative phrase is used; ''/'' ("The King/Queen thanks her/his good subjects, accepts their bounty, and wills it so"). For a personal bill (e.g.

Handel's Naturalisation Act 1727 An Act for naturalizing Louis Sechehaye, George Frideric Handel, Anthony Furstenau and Michael Schlegel (13 Geo. I), later given the short title of Handel's Naturalisation Act 1727, was a 1727 Act of the Parliament of Great Britain with the inte ...

), the phrase ' ("Let it be done as it is desired") is used.

History

The practice of giving royal assent originated in the early days of Parliament to signify that the king intended for something to be made law. Norman French came to be used as the standard language of the educated classes and of the law, though

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

continued to be used alongside it. The work of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

was conducted entirely in French until the latter part of Edward III's reign (1327–1377) and

was only rarely used before the reign of Henry VI (1422–1461, 1470–1471). Royal assent was occasionally given in English, though more usually in French. The practice of recording parliamentary statutes in French or Latin ceased by 1488 and statutes have been published in English ever since. The phrase ''Le Roy le veult'' was also used in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

(13th century – 1800). During the period of

the Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Co ...

, when the Lord Protector (

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

and later his son

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's deat ...

) governed the country, assent was given in English. The old practice of giving assent in Norman French was resumed following the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...

in 1660 and has continued ever since. There has only been one attempt to abolish it, when the

passed a bill in 1706 "for abolishing the use of the French tongue in all proceedings in Parliament and courts of justice". The bill failed to pass the

. Although the use of French in courts was abolished in 1731, Parliamentary practice was unaffected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyne le veult, La French words and phrases French legal terminology Parliamentary procedure Parliament of the United Kingdom