From 1960 to 1963,

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

was a sovereign state and an independent constitutional monarchy. Nigeria shared the monarch with Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and certain other sovereign states. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the governor-general of Nigeria.

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

was the only monarch to reign during this period. As such, she was officially titled Queen of Nigeria. The monarchy was abolished on 1 October 1963, when Nigeria adopted a

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

as its head of state.

History

The

Federation of Nigeria The Federation of Nigeria was a predecessor to modern-day Nigeria from 1954 to 1963. It was a British protectorate until its independence on 1 October 1960. British rule of Colonial Nigeria ended in 1960, when the ''Nigeria Independence Act 196 ...

had superseded the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria within the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

on 1 October 1954. The Federation was initially a quasi-federal British colony. It became independent as a

dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

on 1 October 1960 under the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

's ''Nigeria Independence Act 1960''.

Princess Alexandra of Kent Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family and the only daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and D ...

represented the Queen at the independence celebrations. She flew to Lagos on 26 September 1960, and was welcomed in Nigeria by a crowd of tens of thousands of people. On 1 October, the Princess presented Nigeria's instrument of independence, also known as the Freedom Charter, to Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who became the Prime Minister. On 3 October, the Princess formally opened the first federal parliament of independent Nigeria, on behalf of the Queen, before an assembly of people and diplomats. Dr

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 ...

, President of the Nigerian senate and Governor-General-designate, addressed the Princess, asking her to open Parliament by reading the

Speech from the Throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...

. The Princess later took a state drive through Lagos, saying an official farewell to Nigerians. The Queen sent a message to Nigerians, which said:

Constitutional role

Nigeria was one of the realms of the

that shared the same person as

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

and head of state. Effective with the Nigeria Independence Act 1960, no British government minister could advise the sovereign on any matters pertaining to Nigeria, meaning that on all matters of Nigeria, the monarch was advised solely by Nigerian ministers. All Nigerian bills required Royal assent. The monarch was represented in the Federation by the Governor-General of Nigeria, who was appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Nigerian Prime Minister. After independence, the monarch held her sovereignty in virtue of her "Nigerian Crown", and acted on the advice of the Nigerian Government.

Executive and legislature

The Government of Nigeria was officially known as ''

Her Majesty's Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

''. The monarch, the Senate, and the House of Representatives constituted the Parliament of Nigeria. All executive powers of Nigeria rested with the sovereign. All laws in Nigeria were enacted only with the granting of

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 othe ...

, done by the Governor-General on behalf of the sovereign. The Governor-General could reserve a bill "for the Queen's pleasure"; that is withhold his consent to the bill and present it to the sovereign for her personal decision; or he could veto it completely by withholding his assent therefrom. The Governor-General was also responsible for summoning, proroguing, and dissolving Parliament. The Governor-General had the power to choose and appoint the Council of Ministers and could dismiss them under his discretion. All Nigerian ministers held office at the pleasure of the Governor-General.

Foreign affairs

The Royal Prerogative also extended to foreign affairs: the sovereign or the governor-general conducted

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

, alliances and international agreements on the advice of the Nigerian Cabinet. Nigerian representatives abroad were accredited to foreign countries by the monarch in her capacity as Queen of Nigeria. The governor-general, on behalf of the Queen, also appointed Nigerian high commissioners, ambassadors, and similar principal representatives, and received similar diplomats from foreign states. The

letters of credence A letter of credence (, ) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to another, asking them to give ...

were formerly issued by the monarch.

Courts

Within the Commonwealth realms, the sovereign is responsible for rendering justice for all her subjects, and is thus traditionally deemed the ''fount of justice''. In Nigeria, criminal offences were legally deemed to be offences against the sovereign and proceedings for indictable offences were brought in the sovereign's name in the form of ''The Queen versus ame'. Hence, the common law held that the sovereign "can do no wrong"; the monarch cannot be prosecuted in her own courts for criminal offences. The highest court of appeal for Nigeria was the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

, and criminal prosecution was instituted in the monarch's name. The monarch, and by extension the governor-general, could also grant immunity from prosecution, exercise the ''

royal prerogative of mercy In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal prer ...

'', and pardon offences against the Crown, either before, during, or after a trial.

Federal and provincial aspects

Nigeria's monarchy was federal, with four legal jurisdictions—one federal and three provincial—with the monarch taking on a distinct

legal person In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

a in each. The Queen of Nigeria was represented by the Governor-General at the federal level, and by governors in the three regions: Northern,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and Eastern. The governors and the Governor-General were appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Nigerian Premiers and the Nigerian Prime Minister respectively.

Royal style and titles

The Royal Style and Titles Act, 1961 of the

Nigerian Parliament The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Constitution of Nigeria The body consists of 109 members of the Senate and 360 members from the House of Representatives; The ...

granted the monarch separate style and titles in her role as Queen of Nigeria. Elizabeth II had the following style and titles in her role as the monarch of Nigeria: *1 October 19601 June 1961: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the FaithRoyal Styles and Title Act, 1961, quoted in *1 June 19611 October 1963: Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Nigeria and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth Colloquially, the Queen was referred to as '' Oba Obirin'' ( Yoruba: King Lady) by the people of Nigeria.

Oath of allegiance

In Nigeria, the oath of allegiance required a person to swear or affirm that he would be "faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors, according to law", while for the oath of office he had to swear that he would "well and truly serve Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second in the Office of _______".

Cultural role

The Crown and Honours

Within the Commonwealth realms, the monarch is deemed the

fount of honour The fount of honour () is a person, who, by virtue of their official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons. Origin During the High Middle Ages, European knights ...

. Similarly, the monarch, as Sovereign of Nigeria, conferred awards and honours in Nigeria in her name. Most of them were awarded on the advice of "Her Majesty's Nigerian Ministers".

The Crown and the Defence Force

The monarch was the commander-in-chief of

Nigerian Armed Forces The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the Military, military forces of Nigeria. The forces consist of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of ...

. The Crown sat at the pinnacle of the Nigerian Defence Force. It was reflected in Nigeria's naval vessels, which bore the prefix ''HMNS'', i.e., ''Her Majesty's Nigerian Ship''. The Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Navy were known as the "Royal Nigerian Army", and the "Royal Nigerian Navy" respectively. The prefix "Royal" was dropped when the monarchy was abolished.

Abolition

The monarchy was unpopular with Nigerians and all political parties in Nigeria agreed that the country should be a republic. Nigeria adopted the

president of Nigeria The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government an ...

as head of state, on 1 October 1963, when the

became the

Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, a republic within the

. The Queen sent a message to the new President Azikiwe, which said: Queen Elizabeth II visited Nigeria twice: 28 January–16 February 1956 and 3–6 December 2003, the latter time to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monarchy of Nigeria (1960-1963) Government of Nigeria Politics of Nigeria

Heads of state of Nigeria 1960 establishments in Nigeria 1963 disestablishments in Nigeria

Former monarchies of Africa Political history of Nigeria 1960s in Nigeria