Peerage facts for kids

A peer is a special title given to a member of the nobility in countries like the United Kingdom. You might hear them called 'Lord'. In old British documents, the House of Lords was sometimes called the House of Peers.

Ranks of Peers

In the United Kingdom, there are five main ranks (levels) of peers:

• Baron: This is the lowest rank. In Scotland, a Baron is called a Lord, which is short for Lord in Parliament.
• Viscount: This rank is above a Baron.
• Earl: This is an old Saxon word. In other parts of Continental Europe, this rank is called a 'count'. A count was the lord in charge of a county. An Earl's wife is called a countess.
• Marquess: This rank is higher than an Earl. A Marquess's land was often in the Marches, which were border areas that needed to be defended. A Marquess's wife is called a marchioness. In Scotland, this title was often spelled 'marquis', like in France.
• Duke: This is the highest rank of peer.

Most Barons, Viscounts, Earls, and Marquesses are informally called 'lords'. When you speak to them, you would say 'my lord'. However, a Duke is never called a lord. Instead, you would say 'Your Grace' to a Duke.

A special list is kept to show who is officially a peer. This list is called the Roll of Peerage. It helps prove who has a peerage title.

Who Comes First?

When peers are in a procession or at an important event, there's an order to decide who goes first. This is called precedence. It depends on three things:

• The Rank: Dukes always come before Marquesses. Marquesses come before Earls, then Viscounts, and finally Barons.
• Where the Title Was Made: Peers whose titles were first created by the King of England come before those created by the King of Scotland. After them come Dukes of Great Britain, whose titles were made between 1707 and 1801. In 1801, Ireland joined Great Britain to form the United Kingdom. So, Dukes of Ireland come next, followed by Dukes of the United Kingdom. Other types of peers follow the same order:
  • England
  • Scotland
  • Great Britain
  • Ireland
  • United Kingdom
• When the Title Was Made: If two peers have the same rank and their titles were created in the same country, the one whose title was created earlier in time goes first.

Special Cases

There are a few exceptions to these rules, especially for members of the royal family and one specific Duke.

• Royal Dukes: The dukes of Gloucester, Kent, Edinburgh, York, Cambridge, and Sussex are usually the most junior (lowest in rank) dukes. But because they are princes, they rank ahead of all other dukes. In 1952, the Queen ordered that her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, would be second only to her.
• The Duke of Abercorn: When the Irish Marquess of Abercorn became a Duke in 1868, he was listed as a Duke of the Kingdom of Ireland. However, he was given a higher precedence, as if his title was from the United Kingdom.