The Shapeshifting Crown Locating the State in Postcolonial New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the UK
Book contents
- The Shapeshifting Crown
- The Shapeshifting Crown
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Statutes and Cases
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Nature and Development of the Crown
- Part II The Crown as an Embodied Entity
- 5 The Rituals of Crown and State in New Zealand
- 6 Locating the Crown in Australia
- 7 Localising the Crown
- Part III The Crown and Constitutional Reform
- Index
- References
5 - The Rituals of Crown and State in New Zealand
from Part II - The Crown as an Embodied Entity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2019
By
Book contents
- The Shapeshifting Crown
- The Shapeshifting Crown
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Table of Statutes and Cases
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The Nature and Development of the Crown
- Part II The Crown as an Embodied Entity
- 5 The Rituals of Crown and State in New Zealand
- 6 Locating the Crown in Australia
- 7 Localising the Crown
- Part III The Crown and Constitutional Reform
- Index
- References
Summary
Part II examines the Crown as an embodied entity and the way it is personified symbolically. The Governor-General in New Zealand, as representative of the Sovereign, has a range of constitutional duties, such as giving the royal assent to legislation. These are often explained as central to the smooth and proper functioning of government. Through these duties, the Governor-General is described as the ‘constitutional lynchpin’; however, less consideration has been paid to the importance of their ceremonial duties, which are often dismissed as mere formalities. This chapter shows how, when conceptualised as political ritual, state ceremonies that involve governors-general help construct sovereign authority. Ritual is at the heart of what it means to be a ‘constitutional linchpin’. I also examine how the relationships between those that ‘reign’ and those that ‘rule’ give meaning to other vice-regal duties and show how the Crown represents the Sovereign in state ceremonies, rather than executive government or the nation. Furthermore, the ritual construction of the Crown is syncretic in its use of bicultural motifs, illustrating one way the Crown has evolved from a colonial institution into a local one.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Shapeshifting CrownLocating the State in Postcolonial New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the UK, pp. 101 - 121Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
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