The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland (33 Hen 8 c. 1), declaring that King Henry VIII of England and his successors would also be Kings of Ireland. Since 1171 the monarch of England had held the title Lord of Ireland. The long title of the act read An Act that the King of England, his Heirs and Successors, be Kings of Ireland.

One of the consequences of the Act was that in 1555, Pope Paul IV issued a papal bull declaring Philip II of Spain and Queen Mary as King and Queen of Ireland.¹ After Mary died in 1558, Philip made no claim to the crown, but the principle was established that the Crown of Ireland, and its personal link to the English monarchy, was recognized from 1555 by the Holy See.

This Act has been repealed in the Republic of Ireland² by the Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act, 1962 ³, but is still in force in Northern Ireland.⁴ The short title was conferred by the Short Titles Act (Northern Ireland) 1951.⁵

In Northern Ireland the Act makes it treason to endanger the Sovereign or her possession of the Crown. This was still a capital offence until 1998.

Notes

References

• The Rights of Persons, According to the Text of Blackstone: Incorporating the Alterations Down to the Present Time, Sir William Blackstone and James Stewart, 1839, p. 92.

See also

• Protestant Ascendancy
• Style of the British Sovereign
• High treason in the United Kingdom

External links

• Official text of the Crown of Ireland Act (I) 1542 (c. 1) as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database

v • d • e Major constitutional laws affecting Ireland Pre-Union Laudabiliter (1155) · Poynings' Law (1495) · Crown of Ireland Act (1542) · Grattan's constitution (1782) · Act of Union (1800) UK Acts Catholic Relief Act (1829) · Irish Church Disestablishment Act (1869) · Reform Acts: 1884 and 1918 · Government of Ireland Act (1920) · Statute of Westminster (1931) · Northern Ireland Constitution Act (1973) · Northern Ireland Act (1998) Constitutions Proclamation of the Irish Republic (1916) · Dáil Constitution (1919) · Free State Constitution (1922) · Constitution of Ireland (1937) Oireachtas Acts Ministers and Secretaries Act (1924) · Courts of Justice Act (1924) · External Relations Act (1936) · Republic of Ireland Act (1948) · Human Rights Act (2003) Treaties Anglo-Irish Treaty (1922) · European Convention (1950) · Treaties of the EU (1973–2003) · Belfast Agreement (1998)

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