Peerage - Ranks

The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility that exists in the United Kingdom and is one part of the British honours system. The term can be used to refer to the entire body of titles in a collective sense, or to a specific title. All British honours, including peerage dignities, spring from the Sovereign, who is considered the fount of honour. The Sovereign him or herself cannot belong to the Peerage as "the fountain and source of all dignities cannot hold a dignity from himself" (opinion of the House of Lords in the Buck ...

Including:

• Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage
• Peerage - Ranks
• Peerage - Hereditary peers
• Peerage - Life peers
• Peerage - Styles and titles
• Peerage - Privilege of Peerage
• Peerage - History

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Peers are of five ranks: duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron. In Scotland, the fifth rank is called a lord of Parliament, as "barons" in Scotland are not peers, but holders of feudal dignities. Baronets, while holders of a hereditary title, are not peers. The word "duke" traces its origin to the Latin word dux, meaning leader. "Marquess" comes from the Germanic word "Mark" (for "border"), referring to the border ("marches") between England and either Wales or Scotland; the relationship is more evident in the feminine form: ...

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Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - Ranks

Main article: History of the Peerage 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 lesser barons were summoned through sheriffs, while the greater barons were summoned individually by the Sovereign. In 1254, the lesser barons ceased to be summoned; the body of greater baron ...

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Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - History

Main article: Privilege of Peerage The Privilege of Peerage is the body of privileges that belongs to peers, their wives and their unremarried widows. While the Privilege of Peerage was once extensive, only three privileges survived into the twentieth century. Peers had the right to be tried by fellow peers in the Lord High Steward's Court and in the House of Lords; this privilege was abolished in 1948. Peers have the right to personally access the Sovereign, but this privilege has long been obsolete. Finally, peers have the right to be exempt from civil arrest. Thi ...

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Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - Privilege of Peerage

Main article: Life peer Two acts—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. They are always created under letters patent, and not by writs of summons. While succession to hereditary peerage dignities is mostly restricted to males, many women hold life peerage dignities. Life peers created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act are known as "lords of Appeal in Ordinary." They perform the judi ...

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Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - Life peers

Main article: Hereditary peer A hereditary peer is a peer whose dignity may be inherited. Hereditary peerage dignities may be created by the Sovereign with writs of summons or by letters patent, the former method now being obsolete. Writs of summons summon an individual to Parliament, in the old feudal tradition, and merely imply the existence or creation of an hereditary peerage dignity, which is automatically inherited, presumably according to the traditional mediæval rules (male-preference primogeniture, similar to t ...

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Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - Hereditary peers

There are various parts to the Peerage which convey slightly different benefits: the Peerage of England pertains to all titles created by the Kings and Queens of England prior to the Act of Union in 1707. The Peerage of Scotland, similarly, pertains to all titles created by the Kings and Queens of Scotland before 1707. The Peerage of Ireland includes titles created for the Kingdom of Ireland before the Act of Union of 1801, and some titles created after that year, whilst the Peerage of Great Britain pertains to titles created for the Kingdom of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. Finally, the Peerage of the United ...

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Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage

Main articles: Forms of Address in the United Kingdom; Courtesy title Peers and peeresses are entitled to certain styles and titles. Dukes use His Grace, Marquesses use The Most Honourable and other peers (whether hereditary or for life) 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. (For instance, the Earl of Derby ...

See also:

Peerage, Peerage - Divisions of the Peerage, Peerage - Ranks, Peerage - Hereditary peers, Peerage - Life peers, Peerage - Styles and titles, Peerage - Privilege of Peerage, Peerage - History

Read more here: » Peerage: Encyclopedia II - Peerage - Styles and titles