| Privy Counselor? Privy Counsellor? or Privy Councillor?
Dear Mr. Hickey:
Which is the correct spelling of a member of the Privy Council? "counselor", "counsellor" or "councillor"?
--- JM in Ottawa
Dear JM:
In the United States "counselor" standard spelling for the word, but then again in the United States there is no Privy Council.
In the United Kingdom -- where there is one -- a member of the Privy Council is a "Privy Counsellor"
Link to the U.K. Privy Council Office's site where they use "counsellor"
In Canada, a member of the Privy Council is s "Privy Councillor"
Link to the Canadian Privy Council Office's site where they use "councillor"
I don't understand where the variant come from ... I just try and get them correct!
The correct Canadian form appears in my book as are the forms for the Speaker of the Senate, Senator, and members of the House of Commons who are Privy Councillors.
The correct British forms for Privy Counsellors appear on pages 362-363.
-- Robert Hickey
How to Address the Queen of England?
How is Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of England addressed when she is in Canada? Is she the Queen of Canada too?
~ Not knowing in Montana
Dear Not Knowing:
The "Queen of England" as you identify the Queen, is the Queen of a great many places including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and is the hereditary monarch of Canada. So, she is the Queen of Canada, too.
All the correct forms you need appear on page 296 in the chapter on Canadian Officials: Most completely, Her Majesty is: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
Forms of address are to Her Majesty without reference to her domain.
On the envelope you would write:
Her Majesty
The Queen
(Address)
In the letter salutation, as well as conversation, use:
Your Majesty
-- Robert Hickey
[Note: For every form of address for (British) royalty and nobility -- written in a way that's easy to understand by people not familiar with royalty, the peerage, knights, baronets, and life peers -- I include complete formulas on pages 393-405.]
What is The Correct Style for the Mayor of Winnipeg?
What is the correct style for the Mayor of Winnipeg?
-- Benjamin McGill
Dear Mr. McGill:
The correct form of address ... the correct style for Canadian mayors is:
An envelope is addressed to:
His/Her Worship (full name)
Mayor of (name of city)
(Address)
For the salutation:
Dear Sir:
Verbally he or she would be addressed as:
Your Worship
Note on the use of the word style: In the US we would refer to this use of 'style' as 'British English" -- like "lift" for elevator or "holiday" for vacation. Style as a noun means a form of address. To style is used as a verb …. as in to style someone with a title, or to be styled with a title. To style implies granting the use of a title. The term self-styled is used when one grants oneself a title. I hear that use in the USA as in "He is a self-styled expert" which has the implication that perhaps although he calls himself an expert, he may not be one at all.
The use of his/her worship as a courtesy title for mayors also comes from the Brits. You will encounter its use (with minor variations) all over the world in current and former British Commonwealth countries.
Special thanks to three Canadian graduates of The Protocol School of Washington who made sure I gave the best and current most formal form for your letter:
Craig Kennedy, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa, Ontario
Nancy Kosik, Academy of International Protocol and Etiquette, Montreal - Ottawa, Ontario
Jay Remer, Etiquette Consultant, Corporate Etiquette and International Protocol, St. Andrews, New Brunswick
-- Robert Hickey |
