A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on state affairs.
Kingdom | Privy Council | Notes |
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Geheimrat | |
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His Imperial Majesty's Council | (honorific title, some members were part of the Council of Ministers or the Council of State; abolished by a coup in 1889)[1] |
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Byedaik | (abolished 1885) |
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Grand Council | (abolished 1898) |
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Privy Council of England | (replaced by the Privy Council of Great Britain on 1 May 1708)[2][3] |
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Crown Council of Ethiopia | (abolished 1974, revived in pretence 1987)[] |
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Conseil du Roi | (abolished 1799 and replaced by the Conseil d'État) |
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Geheimrat | (abolished 1918 and replaced with the State Council 1919-1933, and the Federal Council from 1949) |
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Council of State | (Initially established as a Privy council by King Otto in 1835 (abolished in 1865, re-established in 1929 as the senior administrative court of Greece)) |
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Privy Council of Hanover | (abolished 1866) |
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Privy Council of the Hawaiian Kingdom | (abolished after the Kingdom of Hawai'i was overthrown 1893) |
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Privy Council of Ireland | (retained following the coming into effect of the Act of Union 1800, but dormant from 1922) |
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Privy Council of Japan | (abolished 1947) |
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King's Council | (abolished 1975) |
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Rajsabha | (monarchy abolished on 28 May 2008) |
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Privy Council of Northern Ireland | (made dormant 1972) |
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His Most Faithful Majesty's Council | (monarchy abolished in 1910) |
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Supreme Privy Council | (abolished 1730) |
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Privy Council of Saxony | established in 1697 to administer jurisdiction over Lutheran institutions on behalf of the Elector who had converted to Catholicism[] |
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Privy Council of Scotland | (abolished on 1 May 1708, replaced by the Privy Council of Great Britain)[2][3][4] |
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Privy Council of Sweden | (abolished 1789) |
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Supreme Council of State of Siam | (abolished 1932) |
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Privy Council of Yugoslavia | (abolished 1945, revived in pretence 1990 and replaced by the Privy Council of Serbia in 2006)[] |