Legal Definitions - regnal year

Definition: A regnal year is a year of a monarch's reign, which is marked from the date or anniversary of the monarch's accession. In the past, British statutes were cited by the regnal years in which they were enacted. However, since 1962, British statutes have been cited by calendar year instead of regnal year.

Example: Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952. Her first regnal year was from February 6, 1952, to February 5, 1953. Her second regnal year was from February 6, 1953, to February 5, 1954, and so on.

Explanation: This example illustrates how a regnal year is marked from the date of a monarch's accession. In this case, Queen Elizabeth II's first regnal year began on the date she became queen and ended on the anniversary of that date the following year.