The Throne of England is the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760)
''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All the Royal and Noble Personages, that Have Suffered in Great-Britain and Ireland for High Treason, Or Other Crimes: From the Accession of Henry VIII. to the Throne of England, Down to the Present Time,'' p. 55.
/ref> The term "Throne of Great Britain" has been used in reference to Sovereign's Throne in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, from which a monarch gives his or her speech at the

State opening of Parliament The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each Legislative session, session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His or Her Majesty's "Speech from the throne, gracious speech ...

History

The English Throne is one of the oldest continuing hereditary monarchies in the world. In much the same sense as

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, the Throne of England becomes an abstract metonymic concept that represents the legal authority for the existence of the government. It evolved naturally as a separation of the literal throne and property of the nation-state from the person and personal property of the monarch. According to tradition, the roots of British monarchy extend into legends before the ninth-century king

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

. On 1 May 1707, the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

was created by the

political union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal gove ...

of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

and the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

. In this period, the "Throne of the United Kingdom" was merged in usage with the "Throne of England." The modern

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

is a constitutional monarch, and the 20th century governmental policies of

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

have accorded new emphasis on the Throne of England and the Throne of Scotland. The

fungible In economics and law, fungibility is the property of something whose individual units are considered fundamentally interchangeable with each other. For example, the fungibility of money means that a $100 bill (note) is considered entirely equ ...

meanings of "Throne of England" encompass the modern monarchy and the chronological list of legendary and historical monarchs of England, Scotland and the United Kingdom.

Rhetorical usage

Microcosm of London Plate 052 - House of Lords edited

This flexible English term is also a rhetorical trope. Depending on context, the Throne of England can be construed as a

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...

, which is a rhetorical device for an allusion relying on proximity or correspondence, as for example referring to actions of the king or queen or as "actions of the throne." The throne is also understood as a

synecdoche Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech that uses a term for a part of something to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term is derived . Common English synecdoches include '' ...

, which is related to metonymy and metaphor in suggesting a play on words by identifying a closely related conceptualisation, e.g., * referring to a part with the name of the whole, such as "the throne" for the mystic process of transferring monarchic authority. * referring to the whole with the name of a part, such as "the throne" for the serial symbols and ceremonies of enthronement. * referring to the general with the specific, such as "the throne" for kingship. * referring to the specific with the general, such as "the throne" for the short reign of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

or equally as well for the ambit of the British monarchy.Russell, John. (1844)
''History of England: With Separate Historical Sketches of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar Until the Accession of Queen Victoria to the British Throne,'' p. 153.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Gordon, Delahay. (1760). ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All the Royal and Noble Personages, that Have Suffered in Great-Britain and Ireland for High Treason, Or Other Crimes: From the Accession of Henry VIII. to the Throne of England, Down to the Present Time.'' London: J. Burd
OCLC 22644648
* Jeudwine, John Wynne. (1912). ''The First Twelve Centuries of British Story: A Slight Sketch and Criticism of the Social and Political Conditions in the British Islands (herein Called Britain) from the Year 56 B.C. to the Accession of Henry II to the Throne of England in 1154 A.D.'' London: Longmans, Green
OCLC 1356980
* Russell, John. (1844). ''History of England: With Separate Historical Sketches of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; from the Invasion of Julius Cæsar Until the Accession of Queen Victoria to the British Throne.'' Philadelphia: Hogan & Thompson
OCLC 31202216
* Shawcross, William. (2002). ''Queen and Country: The Fifty-year Reign of Elizabeth II.'' New York:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. {{ISBN, 978-0-7432-2676-9 * Williams, David. (1858). ''The preceptor's assistant, or, Miscellaneous questions in general history, literature, and science.'' London: By Simpkin, Marshall
OCLC 63065688
Monarchy Thrones National symbols of England

History

Rhetorical usage

See also

Notes

References