The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house,the House of Commons,it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London,England. One of the oldest institutions in the world,its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
Peerages in the United Kingdom form a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles,composed of various ranks,and within the framework of the Constitution of the United Kingdom form a constituent part of the legislative process and the British honours system. The British monarch is considered the fount of honour and is notionally the only person who can grant peerages,though there are many conventions about how this power is used,especially at the request of the British government. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of titled nobility,and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm.
The Peerage Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permits women peeresses and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed.
In the United Kingdom,representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999,all members of the Peerage of England held the right to sit in the House of Lords;they did not elect a limited group of representatives. All peers who were created after 1707 as Peers of Great Britain and after 1801 as Peers of the United Kingdom held the same right to sit in the House of Lords.
The House of Lords Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords,one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries,the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;the Act removed such a right. However,as part of a compromise,the Act did permit ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.
A Lord of Parliament was the holder of the lowest form of peerage,entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland. Since that Union in 1707,it has been the lowest rank of the Peerage of Scotland,ranking below a viscount. A Lord of Parliament is said to hold a Lordship of Parliament.
Baron Grenfell,of Kilvey in the County of Glamorgan,is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 15 July 1902 for the military commander Sir Francis Grenfell. His eldest son,the second Baron,was Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords and Chairman of Committees from 1963 to 1976. As of 2010 the title is held by the latter's son,the third Baron,who succeeded in 1976. He previously worked for the World Bank. Lord Grenfell lost his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. However,in 2000 he was made a life peer as Baron Grenfell of Kilvey,of Kilvey in the County of Swansea,and was able to return to the House of Lords.
Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil,7th Marquess of Salisbury,Baron Gascoyne-Cecil,,is a British Conservative politician. From 1979 to 1987 he represented South Dorset in the House of Commons,and in the 1990s he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne. Lord Salisbury lives in one of England's largest historic houses,the 17th-century Hatfield House in Hertfordshire,and currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.
The British peerage is governed by a body of law that has developed over several centuries. Much of this law has been established by a few important cases,and some of the more significant of these are addressed in this article.
In the United Kingdom,life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited,in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. With the exception of the Dukedom of Edinburgh awarded for life to Prince Edward in 2023,all life peerages conferred since 2009 have been created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 with the rank of baron and entitle their holders to sit and vote in the House of Lords,presuming they meet qualifications such as age and citizenship. The legitimate children of a life peer appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958 are entitled to style themselves with the prefix "The Honourable",although they cannot inherit the peerage itself. Prior to 2009,life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges.
Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell,1st Baron Grenfell,was a British Army officer. After serving as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief,South Africa,he fought in the 9th Xhosa War,the Anglo-Zulu War and then the Anglo-Egyptian War. He went on to become Sirdar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Egyptian Army and commanded the forces at the Battle of Suakin in December 1888 and at the Battle of Toski in August 1889 during the Mahdist War. After that he became Governor of Malta and then Commander-in-Chief,Ireland before retiring in 1908.
Margaret Alison of Mar,31st Countess of Mar,is a Scottish hereditary peer and politician. She was a crossbench member of the House of Lords from 1975 to 2020 and was one of 92 hereditary peers elected to remain in the Lords in 1999. She is the holder of the original earldom of Mar,the oldest peerage title in the United Kingdom. She is the only suo jure countess and was the only female hereditary peer in the House of Lords from 2014 to 2020. She is also a farmer and former specialist goats cheesemaker in Great Witley,Worcestershire.
Valerian Bernard Freyberg,3rd Baron Freyberg is a British hereditary peer,who sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher.
Rupert Bertram Mitford,6th Baron Redesdale,Baron Mitford,is a British hereditary peer,Liberal Democrat politician and member of the prominent Mitford family.
Following the enactment of the House of Lords Act 1999,the number of hereditary peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords was reduced to ninety-two. The Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain were entitled to sit ex officio;the remaining ninety were elected by all the hereditary peers before the passing of the reform. Since November 2002,by-elections have been held to fill vacancies left by deaths,resignations or disqualifications of those peers. Since the passing of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014,by-elections have also been held to fill vacancies left by the retirements of those peers.
Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley,7th Baron Cromwell,is a British hereditary peer and member of the House of Lords,sitting as a crossbencher.
The House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was a private member's bill. It received royal assent on 14 May 2014. The Act allows members of the House of Lords to retire or resign –actions previously constitutionally impossible for life peers. It also makes provision to exclude members who commit serious criminal offences resulting in a jail sentence of at least one year,and members who fail to attend the House for a whole session. The Act does not have retrospective effect.
Edward Sebastian Grigg,4th Baron Altrincham is a British hereditary peer and Conservative member of the House of Lords.
