| Commonwealth of California | ||||||
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| Motto E pluribus unum (Latin) Out of many, one | ||||||
| Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Royal Anthem | ||||||
 Location of California within North America
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| Capital | Sonoma | |||||
| Languages | English (official) Spanish French | |||||
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy | |||||
| Monarch | ||||||
| - | 1850 – 1901 (first) | Victoria | ||||
| - | 1936 – 1943 (last) | Edward II | ||||
| Governor General | ||||||
| - | 1851 – 1854 (first) | The Earl of Launceston | ||||
| - | 1940 – 1943 (last) | The Earl of Geraldton | ||||
| Chancellor | ||||||
| - | 1851 – 1854 (first) | John C. Fremont | ||||
| - | 1931 – 1943 (last) | Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||
| - | Upper house | House of Councillors | ||||
| - | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
| History | ||||||
| - | Californian Revolution | 1846–1848 | ||||
| - | Proclamation of Loyalty | 9 September 1850 | ||||
| - | Constitution | 1 January 1851 | ||||
| - | Dominion Act | 11 December 1931 | ||||
| - | Monarchy abolished | 23 July 1943 | ||||
| Currency | Californian Dollar ($) | |||||
| Today part of |  California
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From 9 September 1850 until 23 July 1943, the Commonwealth of California was a Dominion of the Empire of Cygnia under a constitutional monarchy. Throughout the existence of the monarchy, the Cygnian monarch served simultaneously as the monarch of California, beginning with Queen Victoria and ending with King Edward II.
The federal government of California was modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, which was used in Cygnia. The monarch was represented in California by the Governor General, who was appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Chancellor, the country's head of government.
Beginning in 1931 with the Dominion Act, California became a de facto sovereign state largely independent from the imperial government in Northam, though limited legislative and judicial links with Cygnia were maintained. However, after the accession of Edward II, relations between California and the monarchy became increasingly tense, especially given the King's friendliness towards the Fascist regime in Britain. Consequently, Californians voted to abolish the monarchy in 1943, and the final Governor General, the Earl of Geraldton, was sworn in on a provisional basis as the first President of California. California thus became a Commonwealth republic alongside a number of the other former Dominions, with the final legal connections between California and Cygnia being severed in 1982 with the California Act.
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