regency

Regency refers to the authority exercised by a regent, a person appointed to govern on behalf of a monarch who is a minor, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to rule. A regent governs under a legal framework that defines the extent and limits of power, and the arrangement ends when the monarch resumes personal rule or dies. The term can denote both the office of the regent and the period during which such governance is in effect.

Historically the best-known Regency is the British Regency, 1811–1820, when Prince George, later King George IV, acted as regent for his father, King George III, whose illness left him unfit to govern. The formal period is often slightly longer in cultural usage, extending roughly from the late 1790s to the 1830s.

The Regency era is associated with distinctive social customs, architecture known as Regency style, and a vibrant literary culture that includes Jane Austen and others. Urban development, fashion, and decor reflected neoclassical influences and a distinctive metropolitan sensibility.

In political terms, regencies are typically constitutional: the regent's powers are defined by constitution or statute, and government remains accountable to a legislature. Regencies may be temporary or long-standing and can arise from minority, illness, or other constraints on royal rule.

Outside Britain, regencies have occurred in other monarchies and can refer to historical periods or ceremonial arrangements. Today, the term is also used in a cultural sense to describe a stylistic era.