Another catalyst for change came in 1926 , when Field Marshal the Lord Byng of Vimy , then Governor General of Canada , refused the advice of his prime minister ( William Lyon Mackenzie King ) in what came to be known colloquially as the King – Byng Affair . Mackenzie King , after resigning and then being reappointed as prime minister some months later , pushed at the Imperial Conference of 1926 for a reorganisation of the way the Dominions related to the British government , resulting in the Balfour Declaration , which declared formally that the Dominions were fully autonomous and equal in status to the United Kingdom . What this meant in practice was not at the time worked out ; conflicting views existed , some in the United Kingdom not wishing to see a fracturing of the sacred unity of the Crown throughout the empire , and some in the Dominions not wishing to see their jurisdiction have to take on the full brunt of diplomatic and military responsibilities
Imperial Conference of 1926
1926 Imperial Conference
Commonwealth realm