Regent

Regent, one who exercises the power without having the name of a king. In a hereditary monarchy there are various circumstances which may necessitate the delegation of the sovereign power—as the devolution of the crown on a minor too young to be entrusted with the kingly office; the incapacity of the sovereign by illness, mental or bodily; and the case of absence from the realm. A regent under the title of Protector (q.v.) has often been appointed to exercise royal authority in the sovereign's minority, the latest instance in England being during the minority of Edward VI.; and regents and councils of regency have been sometimes named by the sovereign to provide for the probable nonage of his heir. During the frequent absences of the first two kings of the House of Hanover in their continental dominions it was the practice to appoint regents or Lords Justices (see Vol. VI. p. 379) to exercise the powers of sovereign. In 1788, when George III. became incapacitated from exercising the kingly office by insanity, it became a question whether his eldest son, then of full age, had a right to be regent, or whether the nomination rested with parliament. The chief political authorities of the time were divided in their judgment, but the king's recovery ended the discussion. On the return of the malady all parties were unanimous that the regency should be conferred on the Prince of Wales, and this was done by parliament. In 1830 a Regency Bill was passed, providing for the administration of the government, should the crown descend to the Princess Victoria before she attained eighteen years of age; and in 1840, one providing that the Prince Consort should be regent in the event of the demise of the Queen, her next lineal successor being under age. For Regent in universities, see UNIVERSITY.