The Monarchy of Ceylon (the Ceylonese monarchy) was the system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign of British Ceylon (1815â€"1948) and then the Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1948 to 1971. Ceylon shared the Sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Ceylon. The Royal succession was governed by the English Act of Settlement of 1701.
The monarchy was abolished in 22 May 1972, when Ceylon became a republic within the Commonwealth, and its name was changed to Sri Lanka.
History
In 1796 British gained control of the coastal areas from the Dutch and in 1815 the entire island. The Kandyan Convention of 1815 recognized the King of England as the King of Kandy, hence the British Monarchs from 1796 to 1948 were the monarchs of Ceylon.