When Queen Elizabeth II was coronated, many different realms of her Commonwealth of Nations passed legislation, all roughly similar, related to Queen Elizabeth II’s title in each realm.

In a previous post I wrote was about the Royal Styles and Titles Act in 1973 in Australia. This more or less replaced the 1953 Royal Styles and Titles Act in Australia.

While digging around I found something interesting. In Australia, the 1953 legislation has been mis-transcribed.

Here is the original scan – which you can find here after clicking “PDF”;

Note in the Schedule old-school text where it reads: “by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom“.

Here is how it has been transcribed in Australian legislation:

“by the Grace of the God of the United Kingdom“.

Note that there is an extra “the” transcribed.

Yes – this could be a simple transcription error. On balance, I’m 50:50 as to if it was an error, or deliberate.

However, this perked my interest because I know there is an issue here to do with the chain of authority. Power must be backed-up by authority, and God sits at the very top of the pyramid of authority.

What’s the difference in the extra “the”

The mis-transcription of “Grace of God of the United Kingdom” as “Grace of the God of the United Kingdom” may have an effect on the meaning.

Consider that there is a separate church called the Church of England. This separation goes back to Henry VIII who wanted to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. The pope wouldn’t allow it, so Henry VIII reformed the Catholic church into his own thing. The Church of England spawned off from the Catholic Church.

Now – Henry VIII may have spawned off a fresh new “God” for this reformed church. If that is the case then this transcription error in Australian legislation changes the meaning. “The God of the United Kingdom” would refer specifically to the (spawned) Church of England god, whereas “God of the United Kingdom” would refer to a shared god – the god of Roman Catholics and all it’s child/reformed churches.

This is a question of contiguity of authority. Which god sits on top? A fresh Henry VIII one? Or the Catholic one?

I think 50:50 this may have been deliberate mistranslation – a “just in case” – that they later decided to not use. The main reason to not use the mis-transcription (fresh Henry VIII God) is that the Catholic Church is behind the Doctrines of Discovery Papal Bulls in the first place. Colonialism was done wielding the authority of the Papal Bulls. So – it’s probably in England’s best interest to NOT pretend to have spawned a fresh God, because it allows England to take full advantage of the original Catholic God’s thumbs-up to rape and pillage foreign lands.

I looked to see if any other Commonwealth nation also mis-transcribed this part, and none have.

Note that Australia is the only British settler state to not have properly secured authority over territory with a treaty. Every other settler state has at least treaty over part of it’s territories to fall back on if authority comes into question. The mis-transcription for Australia, and for only Australia, makes sense as Australia’s authority is fully reliant on whatever “god” is in the United Kingdom. This is why they might want to use the mis-transcription: It allows the option for the Church of England (and the Church of England ONLY) to be the top source of authority. It means that socially progressive evolution in the Catholic Church will be less likely to come along and spoil things for the British empire, and force British hands to restitute victims of colonialism. But this turns out, is not necessary. The Catholic church is not progressive, they also have blood on their hands. They are along for the ride – currently actively helping wash away the sins of the British Empire. In fact, they are leading the way – there has been a strong and early link between Catholic institutions and the genesis of the Uluru Statement.

Like I said – I’m 50:50. It could also be a simple transcription error.

FYI – Titles in other Commonwealth countries

This is just for interest: here is a comparison of the 1953 titles of various Commonwealth countries;

Canada: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

New Zealand: Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

United Kingdom: Elizabeth II, 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 Faith.

Australia: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Australia and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.