The Greatest Reign

Dedicated:  To my father who taught me the value to Canada afforded by

having the British sovereign as our head of state.

Preface

               As in other opinion papers by the same author, the author has attempted to substantiate his opinion by quoting historical facts. I t is of course up to the reader to determine if the author makes a good point.  Feedback on the “Carter Files” website would be gratefully received.

Thoughts and Conclusion

               The table below is intended to present an argument which was the greatest British monarchs in history. How does one make an assessment of monarchs over such a vast time frame?! If we assess by how transformative the reign was and how impactful it was, then that could be a good start.one could probably start with the 2 great sovereign ladies, Queens Victoria and Elizabeth 1 as both instilled a global reach that is still reflected today.  Henry 8 provided the strategic tool in the form of the Royal Navy allowing Elizabeth 1 and Victoria to both explore and establish a global empire, an empire that surpassed all before it and all future empires. However, in order to rank the greatest Sovereigns it’s useful to consider them as builders of the foundation of the British Empire and how they collapsed the organization in an orderly manner and their lasting legacy seen in the table below.

Ranking	Name	Reasons
1	Victoria	Promoted the creation of empire
2	Elizabeth 1	Supported the age of exploration with the likes of Raleigh, Frobisher, and Hudson that expanded England’s interests on a global scale leading into Victoria’s empire-building .
3	Henry 8	Created the Royal Navy without which Britannia would never have been able to rule the waves and create the greatest empire of all time
4	William of orange	Created the modern-day protestant succession
5	George 5	Supported the creation of the Statute of Westminster that gave many of the colonies, e.g. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others control over their domestic matters. He also agreed to the supremacy of 0arliament over the monarchy
6	Elizabeth 2	Along with her father, Gorge 6, decolonized and gave many former colonies independence. And in Canada ‘s case signed into law the Canada A of 1982 that gave Canada the complete authority to revise its own constitution- The Canada Act. Canada would no longer need the approval of the British parliament and was thus the final act of true independence.
7	George 6

Name	Years on the throne	Reasons	Remarks
Henry 8	1609-1507	-        Established the Royal Navy (RN)	The RN would become a truly strategic weapon that allowed Britain to rule the waves globally and thus allow Britain to establish and maintain the greatest empire the world has ever seen
Queen Victoria	18837-1901	Oversaw the creation of the British Empire. Her legacy lasts to this day.  Canada celebrates “Victoria Day” and most Commonwealth country have cities, streets and parks named after her.	Her legacy lasts to this day.  Canada celebrates “Victoria Day” and most Commonwealth country have cities, streets and parks named after her.
William of Orange	1711-1701		-        Established Protestant throne in England
George 3	1760-1820	Carried on from Victoria of Britain’s world domination and empire	-
George 5	1865-1936	-        Established the supremacy of Parliament and the Statute of Westminster	-        The 1931 Statute of Westminster granted Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa the power to direct their domestic policies, which lead to their eventual independence.
George 6	1895-1952	Together with Sir Winston Churchill he galvanized and rallied the British Empire against the Nazi threat during the Second World war
Elizabeth 1	1558-1603	Supported Britain’s Age of Exploration”  that eventually led to the creation along with the Royal Navy,  of the British Empire.	[i]
Elizabeth 2	1926-2022	Queen Elizabeth began the formal decolonization process granting Britain’s former colonies independence, e.g. Canada and Australia	In the case of Canada, it was the repatriation of the constitution in 1982 that allowed Canada to amend its own constitution.

Figure 2: Queen Victoria

Figure 1; William the Conquer/ William of Orange

Figure 2: King Henry the 8th

Figure 3: Queen Elizabeth 1

Figure 4: King George 3

Figure 4: King George 5

Figure 5: King George 6

Figure 6; Queen Elizabeth 2

Bibliography

Wikipedia

[i]  The “Canada Act of 1982 was an amalgamation of the “British North American Act of 1867 and the Charter of Rights