When granting assent by commission, the sovereign authorises three or more (normally five) lords who are Privy Counsellors to grant assent in his or her name.
Queen Victoria became the last monarch to personally grant assent in 1854.
In Australia, the formal ceremony of granting Assent in parliament has not been regularly used since the early 20th century.
Under the Royal Assent Act 2002, however, the alternative practice of granting assent in writing, with each house being notified separately, was brought into force.
Two methods are available: the sovereign's representatives may grant assent in the presence of both houses of parliament; alternatively, each house may be notified separately, usually by the speaker of that house.
In Canada, the traditional ceremony for granting assent in parliament was regularly used until the 21st century, long after it had been discontinued in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.
However, George IV reluctantly granted his assent upon the advice of his ministers.
In 1887 the Act to unite Toronto Baptist College and Woodstock College was granted royal assent, and McMaster University was officially incorporated.
The Act was coupled with a subsidy bill, and so to secure the latter, Charles grudgingly granted royal assent in February 1641.
