The peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary
titles in the
United Kingdom, which is constituted by the ranks of
British nobility and is part of the
British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer
to the entire body of noble titles (or a subdivision thereof), and
individually to refer to a specific title (and generally has an initial
capital in the former case and not the latter). The holder of a peerage
is termed a peer.
In modern practice, only members of the
Royal Family are granted new hereditary peerages. Only life peerages
which carry the personal right to sit and vote in the
House of Lords are generally granted to honour individuals in modern
practice; the last non-royal hereditary peerages were created under the
Thatcher government. Peerages, like all modern British honours, are
created by the
British monarch and take effect when
letters patent are affixed with the
Great Seal of the Realm.
Her Majesty's Government advises the Sovereign on a new peerage,
under a process which scrutinises appointments to political honours.
Currently a few hereditary peers, elected to represent the others, also
retain the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords; as of
1 July 2011, only
90 members sitting by virtue of a hereditary peerage remain.[1]
The
Sovereign is considered the
fount of honour and, as "the fountain and source of all dignities
cannot hold a dignity from himself",[2]
cannot hold a peerage (although the
British Sovereign, whether male or female, uses the style "Duke
of Lancaster"). If an individual without a peerage is neither the
Sovereign nor other royalty, he or she is a commoner. All members of a
peer's family are commoners, too; the British system thus differs
fundamentally from continental European ones, where entire families,
rather than individuals, were
ennobled. Nobility in Britain is based on title and not on
bloodline. For example,
Peter Phillips, son of HRH The Princess Royal, is a commoner even
though his mother is a princess and his grandmother is The Queen. He has
no title; therefore, he is a commoner.
Certain personal privileges are afforded to all peers and peeresses,
but the main distinction of a peerage nowadays is the style or title and
traditional forms of address. The claim to an existing hereditary
peerage is regulated by the House of Lords through its
Committee for Privileges and Conduct.
Baronage renamed
The modern peerage system is a continuation and renaming of the
baronage which existed in
feudal times. The requirement of attending Parliament was at once a
liability and a privilege for those who held land as a
tenant-in-chief of the king per baroniam, that is to say
under the feudal contract of being one of the king's barons, responsible
for raising knights and troops for the royal feudal army. Certain other
classes such as the higher clerics and freemen of the
Cinque Ports were deemed barons.
This right, entitlement or "title", began to be granted by decree in
the form of the
writ of summons from 1265 and by
letters patent from 1388. Additionally, many holders of smaller
fiefdoms per baroniam ceased to be summoned to parliament. As a result
of this, the barony started to become personal rather than territorial.
Feudal baronies had always been hereditable by an eldest son under
primogeniture, but on condition of payment of a fine, termed "relief",
derived from the Latin verb levo to lift up, meaning a
"re-elevation" to a former position of honour. Baronies and other titles
of nobility became unconditionally hereditable on the abolition of
feudal tenure by the
Tenures Abolition Act of 1660, and non-hereditable titles began to
be created in 1876 for law lords, and in 1958 for life peers. See also:
Official Roll of the Baronetage
Peerages
There are in fact five Peerages rather than one:
Ranks
Peers are of five ranks, in descending order of hierarchy:
- Duke
comes from the
Latin
dux, leader. The first duke in a peerage of the British Isles
was created in 1337. The feminine form is Duchess.[3]
-
Marquess comes from the French
marquis, which is a derivative of marche or march.
This is a reference to the borders ("marches")
between England, Scotland, and Wales, a relationship more evident in
the feminine form: Marchioness. The first marquess in a peerage of
the British Isles was created in 1385.[3]
- Earl
comes from the
Old English or Anglo-Saxon eorl, a military leader. The
meaning may have been affected by the
Old Norse jarl, meaning free-born warrior or nobleman,
during the
Danelaw, thus giving rise to the modern sense. Since there was
no feminine Old English or Old Norse equivalent for the term,
"Countess" is used (an Earl is analogous to the
Continental
count),
from the Latin comes. Created circa 800–1000.[3]
-
Viscount comes from the Latin vicecomes, vice-count.
Created in 1440.[3]
- Baron
comes from the Old Germanic baro, freeman. Created in 1066.[3]
In the Peerage of Scotland alone, a holder of the fifth rank is not
called a "Baron" but rather a
Lord of Parliament, as Barons in Scotland were traditionally
holders of feudal dignities, not peers but are considered minor
barons and noble.
Baronets, while holders of hereditary titles, are not peers and does
not confer nobility.
Knights,
Dames, and holders of other non-hereditary Orders, decorations, and
medals of the United Kingdom are also not peers.
The titles of peers are in the form of (Rank) (Name of Title)
or (Rank) of (Name of Title). The name of the title can either be
a place name or a surname. The precise usage depends on the rank of the
peerage and on certain other general considerations. Dukes always use
of. Marquesses and Earls whose titles are based on place names
normally use of, while those whose titles are based on surnames
normally do not. Viscounts, Barons and Lords of Parliament generally do
not use of. However, there are several exceptions to the rule.
For instance, Scottish vicecomital titles theoretically include of,
though in practice it is usually dropped. (Thus, the "Viscount of
Falkland" is commonly known as the "Viscount Falkland".)
Geographic
association
A
territorial designation is often added to the main peerage title,
especially in the case of Barons and Viscounts: for instance,
Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, or
Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, of Hindhead in the County of Surrey.
Any designation after the comma does not form a part of the main title.
Territorial designations in titles are not updated with
local government reforms, but new creations do take them into
account. Thus there is a
Baron Knollys, of
Caversham in the
County of Oxford (created in 1902), and a
Baroness Pitkeathley, of
Caversham in the
Royal
County of Berkshire (created in 1997).
It was once the case that a peer administered the place associated
with his title (such as an Earl administering a County as
High Sheriff or main landowner), but this has not been true since
the early
Norman period. The only remaining peerages with certain associated
rights
over land are the
Duchy of Cornwall (place), which appertains to the
Dukedom of Cornwall, held by the eldest son and heir to the
Sovereign, and the
Duchy of Lancaster (place), which regular income (revenue)
appertains to the
Dukedom of Lancaster, held by the Sovereign whose government owns
the capital and all capital gains on disposals. In both cases due to the
particular function of
bona vacantia in these areas, these titles afford rights
encompassing the whole territorial designation of the holder, donated by
the holder now to registered charities. Separate smaller-than county
size estates form the bulk of the two Duchies.
Hereditary peers
A hereditary peer is a peer whose dignity may be inherited; those
able to inherit it are said to be "in remainder". Hereditary peerage
dignities may be created with
writs of summons or by
letters patent; the former method is now obsolete. Writs of summons
summon an individual to Parliament, in the old
feudal tradition, and merely implied the existence or
creation of an hereditary peerage dignity, which is automatically
inherited, presumably according to the traditional medieval rules
(male-preference
primogeniture, similar to the succession of the British crown).
Letters patent explicitly create a dignity and specify its course of
inheritance (usually
agnatic succession, like the
Salic Law).[citation
needed]
Once created, a peerage dignity continues to exist as long as there
are surviving legitimate descendants (or legitimate agnatic descendants)
of the first holder, unless a contrary method of descent is specified in
the letters patent. Once the heirs of the original peer die out, the
peerage dignity becomes extinct. In former times, peerage dignities were
often forfeit by Acts of Parliament, usually when peers were
found guilty of
treason.
Often, however, the felonious peer's descendants successfully petitioned
the Sovereign to restore the dignity to the family. Some dignities, such
as the
Dukedom of Norfolk, have been forfeit and restored several times.
Under the
Peerage Act 1963 an individual can disclaim his peerage dignity
within one year of inheriting it.
When the holder of a peerage succeeds to the throne, the dignity
"merges in the Crown" and ceases to exist.
All hereditary peers in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great
Britain, and the United Kingdom were entitled to sit in the House of
Lords, subject only to qualifications such as age and citizenship, but
under section 1 of the
House of Lords Act 1999 they lost this right. The Act provided that
92 hereditary peers — the
Lord Great Chamberlain and the
Earl Marshal, along with 90 others exempted through
standing orders of the House — would remain in the House of Lords in
the interim,[4]
pending any reform of the membership to the House. Standing Order 9
provides that those exempted are 75 hereditary peers elected by other
peers from and by respective party groups in the House in proportion to
their numbers, and fifteen chosen by the whole House to serve as
officers of the House.[5]
Some hereditary titles can pass through and vest in female heirs in a
system called
coparcenary.
Representative
peers
From 1707 until 1963 Scottish peers elected 16
representative peers to sit in the House of Lords. Since 1963 they
have had the same rights as Peers of the United Kingdom. From 1801 until
1922 Irish peers elected 28 representative peers to sit in the House of
Lords. In 1922 the
Irish Free State became a separate country.
Life peers
The
Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 and the
Life Peerages Act 1958 authorise the regular creation of life
peerages. Life peers created under both acts are of baronial rank and
are always created under letters patent.
Until the formal opening of the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009, life peers
created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act were known as "Lords of
Appeal in Ordinary" or in common parlance "Law Lords". They performed
the
judicial functions of the House of Lords and served on the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. They remained peers for
life, but ceased to receive judicial salaries at the age of 75. Under
the terms of the Act, there may be no more than 12 Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary under the age of 75 at one time. However, after the transfer of
the judicial functions of the Lords to the Supreme Court of the United
Kingdom, the Act ceased to have meaningful effect (although all members
but one of the Court are former Law Lords and hold peerages).
There is no limit on the number of peerages the Sovereign may create
under the Life Peerages Act. Normally life peerages are granted to
individuals nominated by political parties or by the House of Lords
Appointments Commission, and to honour important public figures such as
the
Archbishop of Canterbury[citation
needed] and the
Prime Minister on their retirement.[6]
There is currently no recognised way for a life peer to leave the
upper House permanently and voluntarily, other than by death.
Styles and titles
- Main articles:
Forms of address in the United Kingdom,
Courtesy title
Dukes use His Grace, Marquesses use The Most Honourable
and other peers use The Right Honourable. Peeresses (whether they
hold peerages in their own right or are wives of peers) use equivalent
styles.
In speech, any peer or peeress except a Duke or Duchess is referred
to as Lord X or Lady X. The exception is a
suo
jure baroness (that is, one holding the dignity in her own
right, usually a life peeress), who may also be called Baroness X
in normal speech, though Lady X is also common usage. Hence,
Baroness Thatcher, a suo jure life peeress, was referred to
as either "Baroness Thatcher" or "Lady Thatcher". "Baroness" is
incorrect for female holders of Scottish Lordships of Parliament, who
are not Baronesses; for example, the
21st Lady Saltoun is known as "Lady Saltoun", not "Baroness
Saltoun".
A peer is referred to by his peerage even if it is the same as his
surname, thus
Baron Owen is "Lord Owen" not "Lord David Owen", though such
incorrect forms are commonly used.
Some peers, particularly life peers who were well known before their
ennoblement, do not use their peerage titles. Others use a combination:
for example, the author
John Julius Norwich is John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich.
Individuals who use the style Lord or Lady are not
necessarily peers. Children of peers use special titles called
courtesy titles. The
heir apparent of a duke, a marquess, or an earl generally uses his
father's highest lesser peerage dignity as his own. Hence, the
Duke of Devonshire's son is called
Marquess of Hartington. Such an heir apparent is called a
courtesy peer, but is a commoner until such time as he inherits
(unless summoned by a
writ in acceleration).
Younger sons of dukes and marquesses prefix Lord to their
first names as courtesy titles while daughters of dukes, marquesses and
earls use Lady. Younger sons of earls and children of viscounts,
barons and lords of Parliament use The Honourable.
Privilege of
Peerage
Peers wear ceremonial
robes, whose designs are based on their rank.
The
privilege of peerage is the body of
privileges that belongs to peers, their wives and their unremarried
widows. The privilege is distinct from
parliamentary privilege, and applies to all peers, not just members
of the House of Lords. It still exists, although "occasions of its
exercise have now diminished into obscurity."[7]
Although the extent of the privilege has been ill-defined, three
features survived to the 20th century: the right to be tried by fellow
peers in the
Lord High Steward's Court and in the House of Lords (abolished in
1948); the personal right of access to the Sovereign at any time, but
this privilege has long been obsolete; and the right to be exempt from
civil
arrest (a privilege that has been used only twice since 1945). All
privilege of peerage is lost if a peer disclaims his or her peerage
under the
Peerage Act 1963.[7]
History
When
William of Normandy conquered England, he divided the nation into
many "manors", the owners of which came to be known as barons; those who
held many manors were known as "greater barons", while those with fewer
manors were the "lesser barons". When Kings summoned their barons to
Royal Councils, the greater barons were summoned individually by the
Sovereign, lesser barons through sheriffs. In 1254, the lesser barons
ceased to be summoned, and the body of greater barons evolved into the
House of Lords. Since the Crown was itself a hereditary dignity, it
seemed natural for seats in the upper House of Parliament to be so as
well. By the beginning of the 14th century, the hereditary
characteristics of the Peerage were well developed. The first peer to be
created by patent was
Lord Beauchamp of Holt in the reign of
Richard II.
The modern peerage system is a vestige of the custom of English kings
in the 12th and 13th centuries; in the late 14th century, this right (or
"title") began to be granted by decree, and titles also became inherited
with the rest of an estate under the system of
primogeniture. Non-hereditary positions began to be created again in
1867 for Law Lords, and 1958 generally.
The ranks of baron and earl date to feudal, and perhaps
Anglo-Saxon, times. The ranks of duke and marquess were introduced
in the 14th century, and that of viscount in the 15th century. While
life peerages were often created in the early days of the Peerage, their
regular creation was not provided for by Act of Parliament until the
Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876.
Counterparts
Other feudal monarchies equally had a similar system, grouping high
nobility of different rank titles under one term, with common privileges
and/or in an assembly, sometimes legislative and/or judicial.
Itō Hirobumi and the other
Meiji leaders deliberately modeled the Japanese
House of Peers on the
House of Lords, as a counterweight to the popularly elected
House of Representatives (Shūgiin).
In France, the system of
pairies (peerage) existed in two different versions: the exclusive
'old' in the French kingdom, in many respects an inspiration for the
English/British practice, and the very prolific
chambre des pairs of the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1848).
In Spain and Portugal, the closest equivalent title was
grandee;
in Hungary,
magnat.
In the Kingdom of Sicily a peerage was instituted in 1812 in
connection with the abolition of feudalism. Peers were nominated based
on the taxable incomes of their formerly-feudal estates.
In the Holy Roman Empire, instead of an exclusive aristocratic
assembly, the
Imperial Diet was the highest organ, membership of which, expressed
by the title
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, was granted to all major princes,
and various minor ones, princes of the church (parallel to the Lords
spiritual) and in some cases restricted to a collective 'curiate' vote
in a 'bench', such as the
Grafenbank.
In the medieval
Irish nobility, Gaelic nobles were those presented with the
White Wand or slat in a formal ceremony, and presented it by
another noble. It was the primary symbol of lordship and effectively
reserved only for the three tiers of kings (provincial, regional, local)
and for those princely and comital families descending from them in
control of significant territories. The total number was between 100 and
150 at any time.
See also
References
Sources
-
Blackstone, W. (1765). Commentaries on the Laws of England.
Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Bush, Michael L. The English Aristocracy: a Comparative
Synthesis. Manchester University Press, 1984. Concise
comparative historical treatment.
-
Cox, N. (1997). "The British Peerage: The Legal Standing of the
Peerage and Baronetage in the overseas realms of the Crown with
particular reference to New Zealand." New Zealand Universities
Law Review. (Vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 379–401).
-
Farnborough, T. E. May, 1st Baron. (1896). Constitutional
History of England since the Accession of George the Third,
11th ed. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Hilfswörterbuch für Historiker (in German)
- Paul, James Balfour (ed.). The Scots Peerage Founded on . . .
Sir Robert Douglas’s Peerage of Scotland. 9v. Edinburgh: David
Douglas, 1904-14.
- "Peerage." (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th
ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
-
Peerage Act 1963. (1963 c. 48). London: Her Majesty's Stationery
Office.
- Plowden. Alison. Lords of the Land. Michael Joseph, 1984.
- Sanford, John Langton & Meredith Townsend. The Great
Governing Families of England. 2v. Blackwood & Sons, 1865 (Books
for Libraries Press, 1972).
External links