The Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, broke with royal tradition when he chose the title of Earl of Wessex upon his marriage in 1999. Similarly The Queen’s grandson, Prince William of Wales, was created Duke of Cambridge upon his marriage in 2011. The Queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, was created Duke of York upon his marriage in 1986. The first subject to receive a dukedom who was not a member of the royal family, nor one nearly related, was Sir William de la Pole, Marquess of Suffolk, who was created Duke of Suffolk in 1448.Ī Prince of the Royal Blood is usually created a duke either shortly after coming of age or upon his marriage. This ceremony was traditionally used until 1615, when it was replaced by the conferring of letters patent under the Great Seal (peerage patents are always created by letters patent under the Great Seal, which represents the Sovereign’s authority). The title originally signified Sovereign status, for example William the Conqueror was Duke of Normandy, and it was not adopted as a peerage title until 1337, when King Edward III conferred the Dukedom of Cornwall upon his eldest son, the Black Prince.ĭukedoms were created in Parliament by the fastening of a ceremonial sword to a belt or girdle (cincture). The title duke is derived from the Latin dux, a leader. Life peers now form the overwhelming majority of peers sitting in the House of Lords, 357 of them having been appointed by Tony Blair.ĭuke is the highest of the five ranks of the peerage, standing above the ranks of marquess, earl, viscount and baron. However, up to 92 hereditary peers have been allowed to remain in the House until the second stage of the reforms is implemented. The 1999 House of Lords Act withdrew this right of hereditary peers, as the first stage of a radical reform proposed by Tony Blair's Labour government. Until 1999, one of the main privileges of the majority of the peerage was the right to sit in the House of Lords. 'People's peers' are non-political appointments and recommended by the non-statutory House of Lords Appointments Commission set up in 2000. Life peers, sometimes referred to as 'working peers', represent the various political parties and are expected to regularly attend the House of Lords. Normally the Prime Minister chooses only peers for his own party, but he also permits the leaders of opposition parties to recommend peers from their own parties. The Life Peerage Act of 1958 allowed the government to create life peerages (all baronies). That is to say, the older the title, the more senior the title-bearer. The precedence that any one peer has among those of his own degree (rank) is dependent upon the antiquity of the peerage in question. This hierarchy of titles becomes further complicated by the fact that an individual peer can hold several peerages of different rank, created and conferred, or inherited, at different times over the centuries. The highest rank of the peerage, duke, is the most exclusive. The five titles of the peerage, in descending order of precedence, or rank, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |