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> I assume the GG, being a viceroy, can sign these things on the king's behalf? Apparently not. According to a 1946 edict of Buckingham Palace (whose text does not appear to be publicly available, although there are public documents referencing it), the procedure is (a) request is approved by Prime Minister (for national orgs) or state Premier (for state-based orgs)–in their sole individual discretion, (b) PM/Premier advises GG/Governor to submit request to Buckingham Palace, (c) the King/Queen signs it and returns it. Although theoretically either the GG/Governor or the monarch could veto the request, it is almost inconceivable they ever would. I think, theoretically, Buckingham Palace could delegate the power to sign them to GG/Governor, but they likely worry that not having the monarch sign it personally would deprive it of its magical properties. Also, in 1983, the federal government adopted a policy that the PM would no longer consider applications for the title "Royal" from national orgs, so now only state-based ones can get it. Any future PM could decide to change that, but in over 40 years nobody has. Even Tony Abbott, who was such a devout monarchist that he had to (briefly) resurrect knighthoods, couldn't be bothered. > If you're going to cast a magic spell you've gotta get it right. As I mentioned in a sibling comment, there is a notice on the Privy Council's website saying their list is not exhaustive, and please contact them to report any omissions. So, a few hours ago, I contacted them to query whether the College of William and Mary's omission is intentional or a mistake. I'll see what they say. It helps they have a copy of their charter on their website: https://scrc-kb.libraries.wm.edu/royal-charter |