Editing Peerages in the United Kingdom (section)

== Background ==

===Creation===

[[File:Reverse of the Great Seal of the Realm 1953.jpg|thumb|Wax impression of the Great Seal of the Realm which is affixed to all letters patent creating new peerages]]
All peerages are created by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]]. The monarch, as the fount of honour, cannot hold a British peerage themselves.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coppel |first1=Philip |title=Information Rights: A Practitioner's Guide to Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Other Information Rights |date=21 September 2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-5099-6731-5 |page=2252 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzHYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2252 |language=en}}</ref> However, the monarch, in addition to their title of 'King' or 'Queen', whether male or female, is informally accorded the style of '[[Duke of Lancaster]]' (a title linked to the historic [[Duchy of Lancaster]], which became the private estate of the British sovereign when the holder, [[Henry IV of England]], ascended the throne in 1399). Likewise in the [[Channel Islands]] and [[Isle of Man]] (which are not parts of the United Kingdom, but possessions of the British Crown) the informal titles [[Duke of Normandy#Modern usage|Duke of Normandy]] (a title associated with [[William the Conqueror]] prior to his ascension to the throne in 1066) and [[Lord of Mann]] (the title acquired with the Crown [[Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765|purchase of the Isle of Man]] under [[George III]] in 1765) are used respectively.

All British subjects who were neither Royal nor Peers of the Realm were previously termed [[Commoner|''commoners'']], regardless of ancestry, wealth or other social factors. Thus, all members of a peer's family, with the exception of their wife or unremarried widow, are (technically) commoners too; the British system therefore differs fundamentally from continental European versions, where entire families, rather than individuals, were [[ennobled]]. This idea that status as a 'commoner' is based on title rather than bloodline correspondingly means for example that [[Princess Anne]], who enjoys royal status as the daughter of Queen [[Elizabeth II]], opted for her children ([[Peter Phillips]] and [[Zara Tindall]]) to be technically commoners (though functionally part of the [[Landed gentry|untitled nobility]]) despite their being grandchildren of the then sovereign, when Anne and her husband, Mark Philips, declined the offer of peerage titles. Where children of peers use titles, these are accorded by [[Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom|courtesy]], and they do not hold a peerage themselves. For example, the [[Duke of Norfolk]] holds other peerage titles including the [[Earl of Arundel]] and [[Baron Maltravers]]. A hypothetical eldest son of the Duke of Norfolk can therefore be styled by courtesy as "Earl of Arundel" ("the" does not precede it, as this would indicate a substantive title). In this example, only the Duke of Norfolk is actually a peer; his son is not.

===Division and rank===

Most peerages since 1801, and all subsequent peerages from 1898, are created within the division of the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom]]. Hereditary peerages are still extant in the other divisions: the [[Peerage of England]], the [[Peerage of Scotland]], the [[Peerage of Great Britain]] and the [[Peerage of Ireland]].

Since 2009 almost all life peerages are created, by convention, at the rank of baron, the sole exception being the royal life peerage of the [[Dukedom of Edinburgh]] in 2023. The reason for this is that the [[Life Peerages Act 1958]] restricts the issuing of [[Writ of summons|writs of summons]] to life peers (entitling the peer to sit in the House of Lords) to those created at the rank of baron only. While peerages remain part of the honours system, the main reason for creating new peers is for them to hold a seat in the House of Lords. A government could theoretically support the creation of a life peerage at a more senior rank as an honour for someone who displayed particularly meritorious service, who did not want to enter parliament, but so far no government has done so.

===Entitlement and Heritability===

All honours, including peerages, are granted at the discretion of the monarch as the [[fount of honour]] (though functionally and mostly on the advice of the government); there is, therefore, no entitlement to be granted a peerage. However, historic precedent means some individuals are granted peerages by convention. For example, since the [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]] it has been convention for a retiring [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|speaker of the House of Commons]] to be granted a hereditary viscountcy; however, the last to receive the honour was in 1983, and the convention is now accepted to have changed to a life peerage at the rank of baron instead. British prime ministers are also offered a peerage by convention when leaving office. This was previously a hereditary earldom. However, the last prime minister to receive this honour was [[Harold Macmillan]] in 1984. When she resigned in 1990 [[Margaret Thatcher]], as the first female prime minister, was not offered a hereditary earldom or any other peerage, but instead a [[baronet]]cy (a hereditary knighthood and not a peerage) was awarded to her husband [[Denis Thatcher]] (this was the last non-royal hereditary honour of any variety created in the UK to date). Thatcher was later given a life peerage in her own right in 1992. The most recent prime minister to receive a peerage was [[Theresa May]], who was given a life peerage in 2024.

Most peerage nominations are 'political peers' or 'working peers', nominated by the prime minister of the governing party, or by other party leaders to ‘top up’ each of the party groups’ strengths and on the expectation that they will attend parliament regularly and take on [[frontbench]] work. However, since 2001 any member of the public can make a nomination to the House of Lords Appointment Commission, to nominate someone to sit with the "[[Crossbencher|cross bench]]" peers, as a non-party political peerage - sometimes called [[House of Lords Appointments Commission#People's peers|'people's peers']]. As of 2023, since 2001 67 'people's peers' have been appointed.

Historically monarchs sold peerage titles under limited circumstances. This was often done to raise funds. For example, in the early [[Stuart period]], King James I sold peerages, adding sixty-two peers to a body that had included just fifty-nine members at the commencement of his reign. Some governments through history also sold peerages to fund government activities, or more controversially, party activities. The selling of peerages by a government was made illegal in 1925 with the ''[[Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925]]''. The act was the result of the administration of [[David Lloyd George]] selling a high number of controversial peerages. The Blair administration was later accused of trying to skirt this law in 2006 in the so called "[[Cash-for-Honours scandal]]", as was an aide of [[Charles III|Prince Charles]] in the 2021 [[Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925#2021: Cash for favours scandal|Cash-for-Favours scandal]]. Unlike the feudal titles they replaced, peerages are not a form of property and cannot be transferred, bought, or sold by the title holder.

The exact terms of the peerage are set out in the letters patent. All peerages are strictly personal and for life. However, historic peerages are often [[heritable]], primarily by [[Primogeniture|agnatic primogeniture]] with some exceptions of male-preference cognatic primogeniture. For most of their history, hereditary peerages were the norm. Today, the only new hereditary peerages granted are, by convention, to members of the [[British royal family|royal family]]. The last non-royal awardees of hereditary titles were in the [[Premiership of Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]] era. Since then, [[Government of the United Kingdom|ruling parties]] have instead exclusively created [[life peers]] and refrained from recommending any others to be elevated to a hereditary peerage, although this is simply present convention and there is nothing preventing future governments from doing so.

===Confirmation process===

The [[government of the United Kingdom]] makes recommendations to the sovereign concerning who should be elevated to the peerage, after external vetting by the [[House of Lords Appointments Commission]] for those peers who will be sitting in the House of Lords (which is now by convention almost all new creations, with the exception of [[Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom|royal peerages]]).

It is unclear in the present day whether the monarch would move to directly block a recommendation or a conventional ascension to the peerage, though they are constitutionally entitled to do so. It was reported in 2023 that members of the British security services had contacted Queen Elizabeth II to request she intervene and block the peerage of [[Evgeny Lebedev]] who had been nominated by then Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]]. Some media outlets have reported personal interventions with other honours: For example, former prime ministers are also by convention knighted, being raised to the [[Order of the Garter]] or the [[Order of the Thistle]]. However it was alleged in 2020 that due to a personal reluctance by Queen Elizabeth II to award the Garter to [[Tony Blair]] other living prime ministers would not be raised either. Tony Blair was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as a Knight Companion of the Garter in 2022.

Like all Crown honours, peerages are affirmed by [[letters patent]] affixed with the [[Great Seal of the Realm]]. In addition to letters patent, peers who are to sit in Parliament are issued a [[Writ of summons]]. The Writ of Summons calls the member to the House. A new writ is issued for every member at the beginning of each Parliament (after a general election). A writ accompanies the letters patent for new members. The honour will also be recorded in ''[[The London Gazette]]''.

Honours, including peerages, are usually awarded at [[New Year Honours|new year]] and on the [[Birthday Honours|monarch's official birthday]]. They can also be awarded as part of a [[Prime Minister's Resignation Honours|Prime Minister's resignation]], or upon the [[Crown Honours Lists#Dissolution Honours|dissolution of a Parliament]]. Monarchs may also make new peers upon their coronation, jubilee or upon the demise of the previous monarch. There are also ''ad hoc'' announcements and "Special Honours", issued at any time throughout the year at the pleasure of the monarch. This might be done to allow someone to serve in cabinet, or as an immediate reward for exemplary service.

Recipients of new peerages are typically announced via the [[Crown Honours Lists]]. Formerly, new peers were presented with an investiture ceremony, but this has not taken place since 1621 (investiture ceremonies for other honours are mostly managed by the [[Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood]]). New peers serving in parliament do receive an [[Introduction (House of Lords)|introduction ceremony]] at the House of Lords.

All peerages are recorded on the [[Roll of the Peerage]] maintained by the [[Crown Office in Chancery|Crown Office]] within the United Kingdom's [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]], and published by the [[College of Arms]]. The Secretary of State for Justice in their role as Lord Chancellor is the keeper of the Peerage Roll, and their duties in that regard are daily discharged by a Registrar of the Peerage and a Deputy Registrar, who work within the Crown Office under the supervision of the [[Clerk of the Crown in Chancery]]. Succession claims to existing hereditary peerages are regulated by the House of Lords [[Committee for Privileges and Conduct]] and administered by the [[Crown Office in Chancery|Crown Office]].

===Declining, disclaiming, and revocation===

Peerages can be declined by prospective recipients, and [[List of people who have declined a British honour|often have been]] throughout history for various different reasons. For instance, [[Winston Churchill]] declined the [[List of honours of Winston Churchill#Proposed dukedoms|Dukedom of London]] so he could continue to sit in the House of Commons.

Since the ''[[House of Lords Reform Act 2014]]'', peers may resign from the House of Lords, whilst keeping their title and style.

Though there is no mechanism for life peers to fully disclaim their peerage, hereditary peers may fully disclaim their peerage for their lifetime under the ''[[Peerage Act 1963]]''. The peerage remains extant until the death of the peer who had made the disclaimer, when it descends to his or her heir in the usual manner.

[[The Crown]] does not have the power to cancel or revoke a peerage once it has been created. A peerage can only be removed from an individual by an act of parliament,<ref>{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Amy |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/prince-andrew-titles-what-left-stop-duke-of-york-virginia-giuffre-settlement-1463531 |title=What titles does Prince Andrew have left? Why he'll remain Duke of York after Virginia Giuffre settlement |work=[[i (British newspaper)|i]] |date=16 February 2022 |access-date=29 September 2024 |quote=The Queen alone cannot remove titles of peerage; that can only be done by statute, passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and receiving royal assent, which means the agreement of the Queen.}}</ref> an example of such being the ''[[Titles Deprivation Act 1917]]''.