Oath of Allegiance

An Oath of Allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges his duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to his Sovereign or country. In many modern oaths of allegiance, allegiance is sworn to the Constitution.

In feudal times a person would also swear allegiance to his feudal superiors. To this day the oath sworn by freemen of the City of London contains an oath of obedience to the Lord Mayor of London.

Oaths of allegiance are commonly required of newly-naturalised citizens, members of the armed forces, and those assuming public (particularly parliamentary and judicial) office. Clergy in the Church of England are required to take an Oath of Supremacy acknowledging the authority of the British monarch.

A typical example of an oath of allegiance is that sworn by Members of Parliament in many Commonwealth countries:

I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God!

There have been moves in Canada and Australia to make the oath of allegiance sworn by new citizens refer to the country rather than the monarch. In Canada the oath now refers to both the country and Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, but in Australia references to the monarchy have been dropped. However, the oath sworn by Members of Parliament, judges, etc., has not changed.