1.
Roberte Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough
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Roberte de Neuflize Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough GCStJ JP, was the daughter of Baron Jean de Neuflize, CVO. On 25 June 1912, she married Vere Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon, son of Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough and Blanche Vere Guest, she held the courtesy title of Viscountess Duncannon. The Viscount inherited the title of Earl of Bessborough upon the death of his father on 1 December 1920 and she and her husband were predeceased by two of their three sons. Their third son died in 1993, only their daughter is still alive. She was decorated with the Chevalier, Legion of Honour and she held the office of Justice of the Peace for West Sussex between 1943 and 1956. Charles Mosley, editor, Burkes Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition,3 volumes, volume 1, page 363
2.
Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough
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Vere Brabazon Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough GCMG PC was an Anglo-Irish businessman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 14th since Canadian Confederation. Upon the death of his grandfather 10 years later, Ponsonby succeeded as Earl of Bessborough, Lord Bessborough is remembered for promoting new communication technologies as well as giving support to the Canadian population during the Great Depression. After the end of his tenure, he returned to London, where he continued in business and also work with the Dominions Office. The 9th Lord Bessborough was the last Earl of Bessborough to own Bessborough House, the country house was largely built in the 1740s for the 1st Earl. It was gutted by fire during the Irish Civil War in February 1923, the 9th Lord Bessborough had the house rebuilt in the late 1920s. However, he sold the house in the late 1930s as he lived in Britain. The house now forms the part of Kildalton Agricultural College. Ponsonby was born in London the first son and third child of Edward, 8th Earl of Bessborough and her father, Sir Josiah Guest, was a great-uncle of Sir Winston Churchill. Ponsonby attended Harrow School before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1898, in 1903, he began a career in law, being called to the Bar at the Inner Temple. After his father succeeded as Earl of Bessborough in 1906, Ponsonby used the title of Viscount Duncannon. In 1907, the young Viscount Duncannon entered politics, being elected to a seat on the London County Council and he remained at that post until running in the January 1910 general election and winning a seat in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham. He lost that seat in the election of 19 December that same year, Lord Duncannon married Roberte de Neuflize on 25 June 1912. With her he had four children, Frederick, born 29 March 1913, Desmond, born 4 August 1915, Moyra, born 2 March 1918 and he was transferred on 11 November 1914 to the Suffolk Hussars, where he was later appointed captain and promoted to acting major. He served at Gallipoli in 1915 and, from 1916 to 1918, at the conclusion of the war, Lord Duncannon was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in the 1919 New Year Honours List. After the death of his father on 1 December 1920, he succeeded to the Irish earldom of Bessborough, requiring him to resign his seat in the House of Commons, on 17 December, he applied to be Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern. It was announced in early 1931 that King George V had, by commission under the royal sign-manual and signet, as a sign of his sympathy with the majority of the populace, he gave up 10% of his salary. Despite the economic situation, Canada was gaining international stature and Lord Bessborough acted as host to the leaders who, in July 1932 and he also presided over the opening of the Welland Canal the same year. Lord Bessborough was also the first Canadian viceroy to fly the new standard dedicated to that office, after life in Canada, Lord Bessborough returned to London and to his businesses
3.
Governor General of Canada
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The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The commission is for a period of time—known as serving at Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to rotate between anglophone and francophone incumbents, once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time. The office began in the 16th and 17th centuries with the Crown-appointed governors of the French colony of Canada followed by the British governors of Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries, subsequently, the office is, along with the Crown, the oldest continuous institution in Canada. Throughout this process of gradually increasing Canadian independence, the role of governor general took on additional responsibilities, finally, in 1947, King George VI issued letters patent allowing the viceroy to carry out almost all of the monarchs powers on his or her behalf. The current governor general is David Johnston, who has served since 1 October 2010, johnstons wife—who is thus the viceregal consort—is Sharon Johnston. The Government of Canada spells the title governor general without a hyphen, the Canadian media still often use the governor-general spelling. As governor is the noun in the title, it is pluralized, thus, governors general, moreover, both terms are capitalized when used in the formal title preceding an incumbents name. The position of general is mandated by both the Constitution Act,1867, and the letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI. As such, on the recommendation of his or her Canadian prime minister and that individual is, from then until being sworn-in, referred to as the governor general-designate. Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate, the governor general will then give a speech, outlining whichever cause or causes he or she will champion during his or her time as viceroy. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The prime minister may recommend to the Queen that the viceroy remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor general may also resign, and two have died in office, the sovereign has unrestricted freedom of choice. We leave that to Her Majesty in all confidence, however, between 1867 and 1931, governors general were appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British Cabinet. Thereafter, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster 1931, the appointment was made by the sovereign with the direction of his or her Canadian ministers only. Until 1952, all governors general were also members of the Peerage or sons of peers. These viceroys spent a limited time in Canada, but their travel schedules were so extensive that they could learn more about Canada in five years than many Canadians in a lifetime
4.
Viceroy
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A viceroy /ˈvaɪs. rɔɪ/ is a regal official who runs a country, colony, city, province, or sub-national state, in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning in the place of, a viceroys territory may be called a viceroyalty, though this term is not always applied. The adjectival form is viceregal, less often viceroyal, the term vicereine is sometimes used to indicate a female viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a gender-neutral term. Vicereine is more used to indicate a viceroys wife. The title was used by the Crown of Aragon, where beginning in the 14th century, it referred to the Spanish governors of Sardinia. In Europe, until the 18th century, the Habsburg crown appointed viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarre, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, with the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish throne, the historic Aragonese viceroyalties were replaced by new captaincies general. At the end of War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish monarchy was shorn of its Italian possessions and these Italian territories, however, continued to have viceroys under their new rulers for some time, Sardinia would have a viceroy until 1848. These large administrative territories became known as Viceroyalties, New viceroyalties were created for New Granada in 1717 and the Río de la Plata in 1776. These units gathered the local provinces which could be governed by either a crown official, audiencias primarily functioned as superior judicial tribunals, but unlike their European counterparts, the New World audiencias were granted by law both administrative and legislative powers. The Bourbon Reforms introduced the new office of the intendant, which was appointed directly by the crown and had broad fiscal and administrative powers in political and military issues. The government started six years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, in 1505, however the post was centered by governor Afonso de Albuquerque, who became plenipotentiary, and remained so. The duration in office was three years, possibly longer, given the power represented, of the thirty-four governors of India in the 16th century. After the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, the governors of Brazil that were members of the Portuguese high nobility started to use the title of Viceroy. Brazil became a permanent Viceroyalty in 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, the designation Viceroy, although it was most frequently used in ordinary parlance, had no statutory authority, and was never employed by Parliament. The Governor-General continued to be the representative of the Crown. The viceroys reported directly to the Secretary of State for India in London and were advised by the Council of India, alongside the Commander-in-Chief, India, the viceroy was the public face of the British presence in India, attending to many ceremonial functions as well as political affairs. During the offices history, the Governors-General of India were based in two cities, Calcutta during the 19th century and New Delhi during the 20th century, additionally, whilst Calcutta was the capital of British India, the viceroys spent the summer months at Simla. The two historic residences of the viceroys still stand, the Viceroys House in New Delhi and Government House in Calcutta and they are used today as the official residences of the President of India and the Governor of West Bengal, respectively
5.
Ottawa
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Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, the two form the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area and the National Capital Region. The 2016 census reported a population of 934,243, making it the fourth-largest city in Canada, the City of Ottawa reported that the city had an estimated population of 960,754 as of December 2015. Founded in 1826 as Bytown, and incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, the city name Ottawa was chosen in reference to the Ottawa River nearby, the name of which is derived from the Algonquin Odawa, meaning to trade. The city is the most educated in Canada, and is home to a number of post-secondary, research, and cultural institutions, including the National Arts Centre, Ottawa also has the highest standard of living in the nation and low unemployment. It ranked second out of 150 worldwide in the Numbeo quality of life index 2014–2015, with the draining of the Champlain Sea around ten thousand years ago the Ottawa Valley became habitable. The area was used for wild harvesting, hunting, fishing, trade, travel. The Ottawa river valley has archaeological sites with arrow heads, pottery, the area has three major rivers that meet, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years. The Algonquins called the Ottawa River Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi meaning Great River or Grand River, Étienne Brûlé, the first European to travel up the Ottawa River, passed by Ottawa in 1610 on his way to the Great Lakes. Three years later, Samuel de Champlain wrote about the waterfalls of the area and about his encounters with the Algonquins, the early explorers and traders were later followed by many missionaries. The first maps of the area used the word Ottawa to name the river, philemon Wright, a New Englander, created the first settlement in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from Ottawa in Hull. He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers, set about to create a community called Wrightsville. Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City, the following year, the town would soon be named after British military engineer Colonel John By who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project. Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of todays Parliament Hill and he also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named Upper Town west of the canal and Lower Town east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes, historically Upper Town was predominantly English speaking and Protestant whereas Lower Town was predominantly French, Irish, bytowns population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was being completed in 1832. In 1855 Bytown was renamed Ottawa and incorporated as a city, William Pittman Lett was installed as the first city clerk guiding it through 36 years of development. On New Years Eve 1857, Queen Victoria, as a symbolic, in reality, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had assigned this selection process to the Executive Branch of the Government, as previous attempts to arrive at a consensus had ended in deadlock
6.
Rideau Hall
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Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and his or her representative, the Governor General of Canada, and has been described as Canadas house. It stands in Canadas capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the building consisting of approximately 175 rooms across 9,500 m2. Rideau Hall and the grounds were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1977. The house is open to the public for guided tours throughout the year, following the completion of the canal, McKay built mills at Rideau Falls, making him the founder of New Edinburgh, the original settlement of Ottawa. Locals referred to the structure as McKays Castle, the next year, Frederick Preston Rubidge oversaw the refinishing of the original villa and designed additions to accommodate the new functions. It was enlarged to three or four times the size, mostly by way of a new 49 room wing, and, once complete, the first Governor General of Canada. These additions were opposed by George Brown, who claimed that the governor generals residence is a little house. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald agreed, complaining that more had been spent on patching up Rideau Hall than could have used to construct a new royal palace. Nonetheless, the gatehouse was enhanced by Rubidge and the property purchased outright in 1868 for the sum of $82,000. Probably the largest event held in the ballroom was a dress ball hosted by the Dufferins that took place on the evening of 23 February 1876. Still, despite the popularity of the events took place in the building. In 1893, Lady Stanley, wife of Governor General the Lord Stanley of Preston, had no furniture except chairs & tables. The room which has always been the wife of the G. G. s sitting room is very empty, there are no lamps in the house at all. No cushions, no table cloths, in none of the small things that make a room pretty & comfortable. Echoing these earlier comments, the Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair said upon her departure from Ottawa that Rideau Hall was a shabby old Government House put away amongst its clump of bushes. Various improvements were undertaken over the decades, seeing the first gas chandeliers, the Princess was not long in Rideau Hall before Fenians posed themselves as a threat to her life and she was ushered back to the UK for both rest and protection. When she returned in 1880, with the Queen greatly concerned for her daughters safety, the King, while there, became the first monarch of Canada to personally receive the credentials of an ambassador, that being Daniel Calhoun Roper as the representative of the United States. However, it was decided that the Royal Family leaving the United Kingdom at a time of war would be a blow to morale
7.
Monarchy of Canada
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The Monarchy of Canada is at the very core of both Canadas federal structure and Westminster-style of parliamentary and constitutional democracy. The monarchy is the foundation of the executive, legislature, and judiciary in the federal, the Canadian sovereign is the personification of the Canadian state and, as a matter of constitutional law, is Canada. The current Canadian monarch, since 6 February 1952, is Queen Elizabeth II, as such, Elizabeths son, Prince Charles, is heir apparent. Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 15 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each countrys monarchy is separate. However, the Queen is the member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role. While some powers are only by the sovereign, most of the monarchs operational and ceremonial duties are exercised by his or her representative. In each of Canadas provinces, the monarch is represented by a lieutenant governor, as the territories are not sovereign, they do not have a viceroy. As all executive authority is vested in the sovereign, their assent is required to allow for bills to become law and for letters patent, Canada is one of the oldest continuing monarchies in the world. The emergence of this arrangement paralleled the fruition of Canadian nationalism following the end of the First World War and culminated in the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931. Upon a demise of the Crown, the late sovereigns heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony, hence arises the phrase The King is dead. It is customary for the accession of the new monarch to be proclaimed by the governor general on behalf of the Privy Council. Following an appropriate period of mourning, the monarch is crowned in the United Kingdom in an ancient ritual. This is because, in law, the Crown never dies. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she continues to reign until death. The relationship between the Commonwealth realms is such that any change to the rules of succession to their respective crowns requires the consent of all the realms. Succession is governed by statutes, such as the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701, in 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated and any possible future descendants of his were excluded from the line of succession. As the Statute of Westminster 1931 disallowed the UK from legislating for Canada, including in relation to succession, the latter was deemed by the Cabinet in 1947 to be part of Canadian law, as is the Bill of Rights 1689, according to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Department of External Affairs included all succession-related laws in its list of acts within Canadian law, certain aspects of the succession rules have been challenged in the courts
8.
Excellency
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Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organisation or state. Generally people addressed as Excellency are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, and others holding equivalent rank and the FIFA President. It is sometimes misinterpreted as a title of office in itself, in reference to such an official, it takes the form His or Her Excellency, in direct address, Your Excellency, or, less formally, simply Excellency. The abbreviation HE is often used instead of His/Her Excellency, alternatively it may stand for His/Her Eminence, in most republican nations, the head of state is formally addressed as His Excellency. If a republic has a head of government, that official is often addressed as Excellency as well. If the nation is a monarchy, however, the customs may vary, in the case of Australia, all ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and the governor-general and their spouses are entitled to the use of Excellency. Governors of colonies in the British Empire were entitled to be addressed as Excellency, in various international organizations, notably the UN and its agencies, Excellency is used as a generic form of address for all republican heads of state and heads of government. Judges of the International Court of Justice are also called Your Excellency, in some monarchies the husbands, wives, or children, of a royal prince or princess, who do not possess a princely title themselves, may be entitled to the style. For example, in Spain spouses or children of a born infante or infanta are addressed as Excellency, also, former members of a royal house or family, who did have a royal title but forfeited it, may be awarded the style afterwards. Examples are former husbands or wives of a prince or princess, including Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. In some emirates, only the Emir, heir apparent and prime minister are called His Highness and their children are styled with the lower treatment of His/Her Excellency. In Spain members of the nobility, holding the dignity of grandee, are addressed as The Most Excellent Lord/Lady. Some of the high ranking counts, Excellency can also attach to a prestigious quality, notably in an order of knighthood. By a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonial of 31 December 1930 the Holy See granted bishops of the Roman Catholic Church the title of Most Reverend Excellency. In the years following the First World War, the title of Excellency. The adjective Most Reverend was intended to distinguish the title from that of Excellency given to civil officials. The instruction Ut sive sollicite of the Holy Sees Secretariat of State, dated 28 March 1969, cardinals, even those who were bishops, continued to use the title of Eminence. In some English-speaking countries, the honorific of Excellency does not apply to other than the nuncio
