Page "Statute of Westminster 1931" Paragraph 25

In February 1937, the South African Parliament formally gave its " assent " by passing the Abdication Act, which declared that Edward had abdicated on 10 December 1936 ; that he and his descendants, if any, would have no right of succession to the throne ; and that the Royal Marriages Act would not apply to him or his descendants, if any.

The move was largely done for symbolic purposes, in an attempt by Prime Minister J.

B. M. Hertzog to assert South Africa's independence from Britain.

In Canada, the Parliament passed the Succession to the Throne Act 1937 ( 1 Geo.

VI, c. 16 ) to ratify the government's consent to the British Act.

In the Irish Free State, the laws allowing for the abdication of Edward as King in Ireland were not passed until the day following each of the other realms, which technically meant that the State had a different monarch for twenty-four hours.

Further, Prime Minister Éamon de Valera used the departure of the Monarch as an opportunity to remove all monarchical language from the Constitution of the Irish Free State.

As a result, Constitution ( Amendment No. 27 ) Act 1936 was first passed on 10 December 1936, which, in addition to effecting his constitutional reforms, also provides for the use of the British monarch for certain diplomatic purposes while Ireland is still in the Commonwealth, if authorized by law.

The External Relations Act, passed the next day, as well as properly approving the abdication, also triggers the constitutional clause, making the new king " authorized by Ireland " for external relations.

A new Constitution of Ireland, with a President as head of state except for external relations, was approved by Irish voters in 1937, with the Irish Free State becoming simply " Ireland ", or, when speaking or writing in the Irish language, Éire.

However, as the External Relations Act was still in effect, the head of state of Ireland remained unclear until 1949, when Ireland unambiguously became a republic outside the British Commonwealth by enacting Republic of Ireland Act 1948.