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.
Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007.
Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross,, known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal. He also served as Britain's principal delegate to the United Nations immediately after the Second World War and as Attorney General for England.
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His Majesty's "gracious speech from the throne", which is read by the monarch but written by HM Government. In the speech the monarch gives notice of forthcoming state visits, before setting out the government's legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. No business of either House of Parliament can proceed until the Sovereign’s speech has been delivered.
Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secretary from 1979 to 1982, Chairman of the General Electric Company from 1983 to 1984, and Secretary General of NATO from 1984 to 1988. In Margaret Thatcher's first government, he played a major role in negotiating the Lancaster House Agreement that ended the conflict in Rhodesia and enabled the creation of Zimbabwe.
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.
Earl of Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Shropshire and of Clandon Park in the County of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1801 for George Onslow, 4th Baron Onslow.
Robert Bannatyne Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay,, known as Sir Robert Finlay from 1895 to 1916, was a British barrister and politician who was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1916 to 1919.
Viscount Finlay, of Nairn in the County of Nairn, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 27 March 1919 for the lawyer and politician Robert Finlay, 1st Baron Finlay. He had already been created Baron Finlay, of Nairn in the County of Nairn, on his appointment as Lord Chancellor in 1916. He was succeeded by his only son, the second Viscount, who was a Lord Justice of Appeal. Both titles became extinct on his death in 1945.
Frederic Herbert Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham, was a British barrister and judge who was Lord Chancellor from March 1938 until September 1939.
Charles Henry John Benedict Crofton Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot, 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury, 22nd Earl of Waterford, 7th Earl Talbot,, styled Viscount Ingestre until 1980, is an English nobleman and the Lord High Steward of Ireland. He is the premier earl in the Peerage of England as the Earl of Shrewsbury, and in the Peerage of Ireland as the Earl of Waterford (1446). He also holds the titles of Earl Talbot and Baron Talbot.
Walter Aston, 8th Lord Aston of Forfar was the son of Edward Aston and Anne Bayley.
Viscount Maugham, of Hartfield in the County of Sussex, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 September 1939 for the former Lord Chancellor, Frederic Maugham, Baron Maugham. He had already been created a life peer under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 as Baron Maugham, of Hartfield in the County of Sussex, on 7 October 1935. This title was also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. On Lord Maugham's death in 1958 the life barony became extinct while he was succeeded in the viscountcy by his only son, the second Viscount. He was an author known as Robin Maugham. He never married and on his death in 1981 the viscountcy became extinct.
Henry Edward Fox-Strangways, 5th Earl of Ilchester PC, known as Henry Fox-Strangways until 1865, was a British peer and Liberal politician. He served as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms under William Ewart Gladstone between January and February 1874.
The Roll of the Peerage is a public record registering peers in the peerages of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. It was created by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II dated 1 June 2004, is maintained by the Crown Office within the United Kingdom's Ministry of Justice, and is published by the College of Arms.
Armorial of the speakers of the House of Commons is displayed at the House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster. Speakers customarily take a grant of arms while in office, if they are not armigerous already. Their shields of arms are painted on the interior walls of Speaker's House, and after their elevation to the peerage they are displayed on the windows along the peers' staircase in the House of Lords.
Lords of Appeal, informally called Law Lords, were members of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 allowed life peers to be appointed to the upper house for the specific purpose of serving on the committee, and they were called Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The committee was reconstituted as the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and many incumbent law lords were co-opted. Later-appointed justices have Lord or Lady as a courtesy title.
The Crown Office, also known as the Crown Office in Chancery, is a section of the Ministry of Justice. It has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain administrative functions in connection with the courts and the judicial process, as well as functions relating to the electoral process for House of Commons elections, to the keeping of the Roll of the Peerage, and to the preparation of royal documents such as warrants required to pass under the royal sign-manual, fiats, letters patent, etc. In legal documents, the Crown Office refers to the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.
The following is an armorial of the individuals who have served as governor-general of the Commonwealth of Australia.
