Kings and Dukes

 

The Peerage is the collective term for peers of the realm. In this case the realm is the United Kingdom of Great Britain. A peer holds a title inherited from a direct ancestor or bestowed upon him by the monarch. The titles are, in ranked order: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron.

In feudal times, peers were vassals of the monarch. In other words, servants who swore an oath of loyalty in exchange for protection or a fief, usually a bequest of land or money. These barons were periodically summoned to the Counsel or Parliament, which over time morphed into the House of Lords.

These men tied their fortunes to the monarch. Inter-related through blood and marriage in successive generations, their fortunes rose and fell according to the stability of the kingdom and their favour with the Sovereign. In Tudor times many were executed. Henry VIII got rid of almost every noble person with any Plantagenet blood in his veins. He created a new aristocracy from the lesser branches of old families, and from the gentry and knightly classes.

The royal houses of Stuart, Hanover and Windsor have similarly brought new blood and new titles to the peerage. The ranks were further enlarged by the passing of the Life Peerages Act of 1958.

The last three hereditary peerages (excluding royal peerages) were created in 1984, when Harold Macmillan was created Earl of Stockton, and William Whitelaw and George Thomas were created Viscounts. Of these three, only Macmillan had an heir.

England and Scotland had separate peerages until the Act of Union in 1707 The Peerage of Ireland remained separate until 1801, when Great Britain and Ireland were combined under a second Act of Union. Since 1801 the peerage has been styled the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 did not affect the rights of the hereditary peers of Ireland to their titles, and the Lord Chancellor's Office continues to receive and report on their claims to have their names added to the Roll of the Peerage.

The House of Lords Act in 1999 has greatly reduced the political power of the peerage, but their social influence remains undimmed, and their lives remain a source of interest and speculation to many. And to authors!