 In each of the years 1991 to 2000, the number of practising Queen's Counsel was 736, 760, 797, 845, 891, 925, 974, 1006, 1043, and 1072, respectively.Gradually, the appointment to the Queen's Counsel shifted from a vocational calling to a badge of honor and prestige.In 1898, Baron Watson noted in his opinion in "Attorney General of the Dominion of Canada v. Attorney General for the Province of Ontario," writing on behalf of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, that

The title traditionally depends on the gender of the sovereign.