Regnal year
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Regnal year: the year of the reign of a sovereign. From Latin regnum meaning kingdom, rule.
[edit] Calendars
In ancient times, calendars were counted in terms of the number of years of the reign of the current monarch. This is still done for general purposes in Japan, and is still done for the numbering of Acts of Parliament in many jurisdictions.
In England until 1963, each Act of Parliament was defined by its serial number within the regnal year in which it was enacted. Each regnal year begins on the anniversary of the day the sovereign succeeded to the throne. A table of English regnal years, from 1066 to 1962, is given here.
