The sovereign was regarded as the personification, or legal personality, of the Barbadian state. Therefore, the state was referred to as Her Majesty in Right of Barbados. The monarch, her position as sovereign, and not as an individual, was thus the owner of all state lands (called Crown lands), buildings and equipment (called Crown held property), as well as the copyright for all literary and artistic works (called Crown copyright). Government staff (the Civil Service) were also employed by the monarch or the governor-general, as were Supreme Court judges, members of the Barbados Defence Force, police officers, and senators.
