The Regency Act 1705 ( 4 & 5 Ann. c. 20) was an act 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 England, great council of Lords Spi ...

. The act was passed at a time when Parliament was anxious to ensure that a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

succeeded to the throne on the death of Queen Anne. The act was conceived by the Whig Junto, mainly by John Somers, and seen through the House of Lords by Lord Wharton. Lord Cowper later claimed the act was designed "to put it he successionin such a method as was not to be resisted but by open force of arms and a public declaration for the

Pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...

". The act required privy counsellors and other officers, in the event of Anne's death, to proclaim as her successor the next Protestant in the line of succession to the throne, and made it

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

to fail to do so. If the next Protestant successor was abroad at the death of Anne, seven great Officers of State named in the act (and others whom the heir-apparent thought fit to appoint), called "Lords Justices," would form a regency. The heir-apparent would name these others through a secret instrument which would be sent to England in three copies and delivered to the Hanoverian Resident, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor. The Lords Justices were to have the power to give

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 ...

to bills, except that they would be guilty of treason if they amended the Act of Uniformity 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2. c. 4). The act also made it treason to say in writing than Anne was not the lawful queen, or that James the Pretender had any right to inherit the Crown. It was praemunire to say so in speech. The act also confirmed the clauses in the Parliament Act 1695 ( 7 & 8 Will. 3. c. 15) which stipulated that Parliament would continue to sit should the sovereign die "for and during the term of six months and no longer, unless the same be sooner prorogued or dissolved by such person to whom the Crown of this realm of Great Britain shall come". The act received royal assent in March 1706, but came into force retrospectively from the beginning of that session of Parliament (hence it is dated 1705).See Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793. Lord Halifax at the end of the session of Parliament was sent to Hanover to present a copy of the act to the heir apparent, Sophia, Electress of Hanover. The act was replaced only two years later by the Succession to the Crown Act 1707.

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References

* ''Statutes at Large'', vol. VI, Cambridge University Press, 1763. * *

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