Oath

“I, [name], swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of New Zealand, Her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.”

What does it mean 'her heirs and successors'?

What other countries have this quote in their oath?

Queen of New Zealand? I didn't know they had a Queen. What is her name?

I assume that "her heirs and successors" just means whoever becomes king or queen after her. Glancing at the first page of Google results, I see pages about oaths in Australia and Barbados. The expression appears to be a part of oaths used in some if not all Commonwealth countries.

Queen of New Zealand = Queen of England

>>Queen of New Zealand = Queen of England <<

I see.

Do you have British oath?

Americans have the "Pledge of Allegiance" which goes like this:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to The Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The pledge is typically recited while standing and facing an American flag, and with the right hand placed over one's heart. Pretty much all Americans have had the words long-memorized, as the pledge is recited every morning by students in unison at school. It's also often used to open political ceremonies and other public events.

>>The pledge is typically recited while standing and facing an American flag, and with the right hand placed over one's heart.<<

However, historically, before World War II, the Bellamy salute (that is, the Roman salute) was used instead of placing one's right hand over one's heart, but it got changed to what it is now due to its similarity to the salutes used by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

Queen Elizabeth II is the official Head of State of this country, the United Kingdom. That's the way it is, whether we, the citizens, like it or not. That does n ot mean she has any actual political power...basically Lizzie is just a figurehead and most of the time she "acts on advice" given to her by hordes of minions scuttling back and forth in what is officially known as The Court..or is it the Court of St James? I'll have to check out that one.

The Divine Right of Kings more or less vanished on that bitterly cold and snowy 30 January 1649 when the English King Charles I suddenly found that he had been given a permanent cure for headaches on a block on a scaffold overlooking Whitehall in London. It was because of that Divine Right of Kings that Charlie boy found that cure and it was no longer the case that the Monarch had absolute power over all the citizens of the country and that whatever he or she took a fancy to, even on a whim, came to pass.

Fortunately, the Monarch no longer has that power so in effect Lizzie is just a gracious lady who sits in splendour on a Throne all decked out in ermine and priceless jewels and under a crown that must weigh a ton (non metric, please note) and as Head of State she must open Parliament several times a year and then reads out everything which the elected Government* of the day plans to do in the next session of Parliament. Not what she plans to do.....what the Government plans to do. They now tell her what to say, so she no longer has the divine right to rule as she thinks fit. So the British Head of State no longer has direct power. She has her opinions, and these she puts to the Prime Minister of the day every week when the PM pays his obligatory visit to the Queen wherever she happens to be during that week, even if it's up at Balmoral, not far from Aberdeen here in Scotland. The PM takes note of her opinions on matters of the day, but ultimately the Government acts on the democratic workings of Parliament and not on the desires of Lizzie.

*Elected Government really refers to the elected House of Commons. The House of Lords (aka the Upper House) is still an unelected body but that's another story as it is undergoing overdue change.

"What other countries have this quote in their oath?"

By the way, I note that Americans always seem overly fond of the expression "Queen of England" which is a complete misnomer. In Britain, The Queen is officially "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

Canada, Australia, Jamaica, Bahamas, Grenada and a few other spots share The Queen as Head of State and use similar versions of this oath.

All jabbering about the Crown aside, it's easy to forget sometimes what having the Queen as Head of State achieves constitutionally.

As one observer put it:

"What matters is not the power the monarchy has, but the power it denies to others. The Queen has residual powers that she cannot deploy unilaterally, but nobody else can either. The Crown in Parliament, Legislature, executive, judiciary. Checks and balances."

Amen to that.

"Fortunately, the Monarch no longer has that power ..." Fortunately ... You know, I think I'd be more willing to trust old Lizzie than the likes of John Howard or Tony Blair.

As for this oath ... I suppose there may be one in Australia but I've never heard of it. We Aussies would never go in for the kind of pledge reciting that our American cousins are so fond of ... Nazi salute or not. I can only imagine that the Kiwi are the same. So they have this oath but who pledges it?

The only instances where I could imagine this would possibly be employed would be when a foreigner takes up citizenship, someone joins the armed forces or someone takes government office or becomes a Governor or Governor General. Ordinary people would never recite such stuff ... unless they are some kind of freak.

I can't believe they have to say that in AMerica, THat is so propaganda

<As for this oath ... I suppose there may be one in Australia but I've never heard of it. We Aussies would never go in for the kind of pledge reciting that our American cousins are so fond of ... Nazi salute or not. I can only imagine that the Kiwi are the same. So they have this oath but who pledges it?>

Right on the ball Jim. The oath of New Zealand is only used in official state venues. Unlike the American oath we never say a oath before school started. Even the sight of a New Zealand flag on the side of the whiteboard is quite rare. Many older schools in New Zealand such as mine have the oath engraved in stone with a picture of the Queen above it.

"Even the sight of a New Zealand flag on the side of the whiteboard is quite rare."

"So they have this oath but who pledges it? ...The only instances where I could imagine this would possibly be employed would be when a foreigner takes up citizenship"

Antiestablishmentarianism!!! It takes a foreigner to do the dirty work!!!