Editing Monarchy of the United Kingdom (section)

==Style==
{{main|Style of the British sovereign}}
The present sovereign's [[Style of the British sovereign|full style and title]] is "Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The London Gazette, Supplement 63812, Page 2 |url=http://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/63812/supplement/2 |website=The Gazette |publication-date=12 September 2022 |access-date=18 October 2024 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922095048/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/63812/supplement/2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The title "[[Head of the Commonwealth]]" is held by the king personally, and is not vested in the British Crown.<ref name=hoc/> [[Pope Leo X]] first granted the title "[[Defender of the Faith]]" to King Henry VIII in 1521, rewarding him for his support of the Papacy during the early years of the [[Protestant Reformation]], particularly for his book the [[Defence of the Seven Sacraments]].{{Sfnp|Fraser|1975|p=180}} After Henry broke from the Roman Catholic Church, [[Pope Paul III]] revoked the grant, but Parliament passed a law authorising its continued use.<ref>{{Citation |title=Royal Styles: 1521–1553 |date=18 August 2007 |url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/england/king_england/01_kingstyle_1521.php |publisher=Archontology |access-date=10 October 2008 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116214628/http://www.archontology.org/nations/uk/england/king_england/01_kingstyle_1521.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The sovereign is known as "His Majesty" or "Her Majesty". The form "[[Britannic Majesty]]" appears in international treaties and on [[British passport|passports]] to differentiate the British monarch from foreign rulers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 January 2016 |title=Passports |newspaper=The Royal Family |url=https://www.royal.uk/passports |access-date=30 October 2018 |publisher=Official web site of the British Monarch |language=en |last1=Berry |first1=Ciara |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929023316/https://www.royal.uk/passports |url-status=live }}; {{Cite book |last=Thorpe |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0cVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP1 |title=A commentary on the treatises entered into between his Britannic majesty, and his most faithful majesty ... his catholic majesty ... and ... the king of the Netherlands ... for the purpose of preventing their subjects from engaging in any illicit traffic in slaves |date=1819 |page=1 |language=en |access-date=30 October 2018 }}</ref> The monarch chooses his or her [[regnal name]], not necessarily his or her first name – [[George VI]], [[Edward VII]] and [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]] did not use their first names.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Panton |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiyyueBTpaMC&pg=PA392 |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy |date=2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810874978 |page=392 |language=en |access-date=31 October 2018}}</ref>

If only one monarch has used a particular name, no [[Regnal number|ordinal]] is used; for example, Queen Victoria is not known as "Victoria I", and ordinals are not used for English monarchs who reigned before the Norman conquest of England. The question of whether numbering for British monarchs is based on previous English or Scottish monarchs was raised in 1953 when Scottish nationalists challenged the Queen's use of "Elizabeth II", on the grounds that there had never been an "Elizabeth I" in Scotland. In ''[[MacCormick v Lord Advocate]]'', the Scottish [[Court of Session]] ruled against the plaintiffs, finding that the Queen's title was a matter of her own choice and prerogative. The Home Secretary told the House of Commons that monarchs since the Acts of Union had consistently used the higher of the English and Scottish ordinals, which in the applicable four cases has been the English ordinal.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1953/mar/03/royal-titles-bill Royal Titles Bill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106163857/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1953/mar/03/royal-titles-bill |date=6 November 2023 }}. ''[[Hansard]]'', 3 March 1953, vol. 512, col. 251</ref> The prime minister confirmed this practice but noted that "neither The Queen nor her advisers could seek to bind their successors".<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1953/apr/15/royal-style-and-title Royal Style and Title] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106163856/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1953/apr/15/royal-style-and-title |date=6 November 2023 }}. ''Hansard'', 15 April 1953, vol. 514, col. 199</ref>