A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, or later by Great Britain or the United Kingdom, as part of the English and later British Empire. Such colonies usually had a governor representing the Crown and thus holding executive power of the territory; this person was appointed by the UK Government, and governed the relevant territory with or without the assistance of a locally appointed or elected council. In some cases, especially in larger colonies, this council was split into two: an executive council and a legislative council, and the executive council was similar to the Privy Council that advises the monarch. Members of executive councils were appointed by the governors, and British citizens resident in Crown colonies either had no representation in local government, or limited representation in a lower house. In several Crown colonies, this limited representation grew over time. As the House of Commons of the British Parliament has never included seats for any of the colonies, there was no direct representation in the sovereign government for British subjects or citizens residing in Crown colonies.