List of Canadian monarchs

[11] The date of the first claim by a monarch over Canada varies, with most sources giving the year as 1497, when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on the North American coast (likely either modern-day Newfoundland or Nova Scotia) and claimed the land for England on behalf of King Henry VII.

[22][23] Monarchical governance subsequently evolved under a continuous succession of French, British, and eventually uniquely Canadian sovereigns.

[37] While Canada became a Dominion within the British Empire upon Confederation in 1867,[38][39][40][41] the concept of a fully independent Canada sharing the person of the sovereign with the United Kingdom and other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, only emerged gradually over time through constitutional convention,[42] and was officially confirmed with the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931.

However, its parliament never adopted the statute to create a separate position of king of Newfoundland and would remain under the British Crown until it joined Canada in 1949.

After informal discussions among the various Commonwealth prime ministers between 1954 and 1957, it was decided that the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Elizabeth II, would not be granted the title of prince consort.