Editing Privy seal

{{Short description|Personal seal of a reigning monarch}}
[[File:Privy Seal of King Rama IX (Bhumibol Adulyadej).svg|thumb|upright|Privy Seal of King [[Bhumibol Adulyadej|Rama IX]] of Thailand]]

A '''privy seal''' is the personal seal of a reigning [[monarch]], used to authenticate official documents of a personal nature, in contrast to a [[great seal]], which is used for documents of greater importance.

==Privy Seal of England==
{{main|Privy Seal of England}}
The Privy Seal of [[England]] can be traced back to the reign of [[John of England|King John]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lord privy seal {{!}} Definition & Duties {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/lord-privy-seal |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> It has been suggested that it was originally the [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] that accompanied the person of the Sovereign, while the [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal]] was required to remain in the [[Lord Chancellor|Chancery]]. Eventually, the Privy Seal took on a broader function and was replaced by the Signet as the king's personal seal. The [[Great Seal Act 1884]] ([[47 & 48 Vict.]] c. 30) effectively ended the use of the Privy Seal in England by providing that it was no longer necessary for any instrument to be passed under the Privy Seal.

==Privy Seal of Scotland==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2023}}
There is also a separate Privy Seal of [[Scotland]], which existed from at least the reign of [[Alexander III of Scotland|Alexander III]].

Article XXIV of the [[Act of Union 1707|Treaty of Union]] provided that

{{quote|the Privy Seal ... now used in Scotland be continued But that the said Seals be altered and adapted to the State of the Union as Her Majesty shall think fit And the said Seals and all of them and the Keepers of them shall be subject to such regulations as the Parliament of Great Britain shall hereafter make...}}

The Seal was last used in 1898 to execute the commission appointing the Rev. James Cooper to a [[Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Glasgow|Regius Chair]] at the [[University of Glasgow]], but has never been abolished. The office of [[Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland|Keeper of the Privy Seal]] has not been filled since the death of the [[Gavin Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane|Marquess of Breadalbane]] in 1922.

=={{anchor|Ireland}}<!--[[Privy Seal of Ireland]] and [[Keeper of the Signet or Privy Seal of Ireland]] redirect here-->Privy Seal of Ireland==
The "signet or privy seal" of the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] was a single seal, whereas in England and Scotland the [[Signet ring|signet]] was a separate seal kept by the [[Clerk of the Signet]] and [[Keeper of the Signet]] respectively. [[Fiants]] were issued under the privy seal or signet seal by the Keeper of the Signet or Privy Seal to authorise the issue of [[letters patent]] by the [[Lord Chancellor of Ireland]] under the [[Great Seal of Ireland]].<ref name="jstor25515934"/>
{|class="wikitable"
|+Keeper of the Signet or Privy Seal of Ireland<ref name="jstor25515934">{{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Herbert |title=The Offices of Secretary of State for Ireland and Keeper of the Signet or Privy Seal |jstor=25515934 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature |date=1928 |volume=38 |pages=51–68 |issn=0035-8991}}</ref>
|-
! Dates !! Holder !! Notes
|-
| 1560–1795 || [[Secretary of State for Ireland]] || Held by as a separate office from the Secretaryship under the same letters patent.
|-
| 22 June 1795 – 1797 ||  [[Edmund Pery, 1st Earl of Limerick|Edmund Pery, Lord Glentworth]] || While [[Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester|Thomas Pelham]] was Secretary of State
|-
| 24 July 1797–1801 ||  [[Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh|Robert Stewart, Lord Castlereagh]] || Appointed [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]] in November 1798.
|-
| 12 June 1801–8 May 1829 || [[Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester|Charles Abbot, latterly 1st Baron Colchester]] || Appointed Chief Secretary in February 1801 and Secretary of State on 12 June 1801. Vacated both when appointed [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the UK Commons]] in 1802 but remained Keeper until his death.
|-
| 8 May 1829–19 October 1922 || [[Chief Secretary for Ireland]] || The Chief Secretary was [[ex officio]] the Keeper under the [[Public Offices (Ireland) Act 1817]] ([[57 Geo. 3]]. c. 62).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ft4BxiUBdxgC&pg=PA231 Act 57 Geo. 3. c. 62 s. 11]</ref>
|}

==Privy Seal of Japan==
[[Image:Gyoji.svg|thumb|180px|Privy seal of Japan (天皇御璽)]]
{{main|Privy Seal of Japan}}
The [[Privy Seal of Japan]] is the official seal of the [[Emperor of Japan]]. While it is printed on many state documents, it is separate from the [[State Seal of Japan]]. The Privy Seal was made from copper beginning in the [[Nara period]]. After the [[Meiji Restoration]], a new seal was made from stone in 1868. The present seal was made from gold in 1874.

The Seal has been kept by the [[Chamberlain of Japan]] since 1945, when the office of [[Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan|Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal]] was abolished. The Lord Keeper was a personal adviser to the Emperor, a position adapted in 1885 from the earlier post of ''[[Naidaijin]]''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Seals (insignia)]]
[[Category:Government of England]]
[[Category:English law]]
[[Category:Government of Scotland]]
[[Category:Scots law]]
[[Category:Monarchy of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Government of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Constitution of the United Kingdom]]