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 female hereditary peers and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords and allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be disclaimed.
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 allowed ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.
Baron Windlesham, of Windlesham in Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for the Conservative politician Sir George Hennessy, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Winchester in the County of Southampton, in 1927. His eldest son, the second Baron, was a Brigadier in the Grenadier Guards. The latter's son, the third Baron, succeeded in 1962; a Conservative politician, he notably served as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords in 1974. In 1999 he was created a life peer as Baron Hennessy, of Windlesham in the County of Surrey, so that he could continue to sit in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to a seat in the upper chamber of parliament. As of 2015 the titles are held by his son, the fourth Baron.
Baron Northbrook, of Stratton in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the Liberal politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet. The holders of the barony represent the genealogically senior branch of the prominent Baring family. The name Northbrook is derived from a tithing of the local parish.
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 hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of August 2023, there are 805 hereditary peers: 30 dukes, 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 110 viscounts, and 442 barons.
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.
David Garro Trefgarne, 2nd Baron Trefgarne,, is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the longest-serving member of the House of Lords.
Malcolm Ian Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness,, is a Scottish Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords as one of the remaining hereditary peers. He is also 20th Lord Berriedale, 15th Baronet, of Canisbay, Co. Caithness, and chief of Clan Sinclair. He is the Chief Executive of the Clan Sinclair Trust.
Hugh William Mackay, 14th Lord Reay, Baron Mackay, was a British politician and Conservative member of the House of Lords. He was the only male Lord of Parliament to sit in the House of Lords following the abolition of the automatic right of all British hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords in 1999, the only female being The Lady Saltoun.
Rodney Elton, 2nd Baron Elton, was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords.
John Dawson Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles,, is a British Conservative peer and businessman. He is one of the ninety-two hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999.
Malcolm McEacharn Mitchell-Thomson, 3rd Baron Selsdon was a British peer, banker and businessman. He sat in the House of Lords from 1963 to 2021, having been elected as one of the 90 hereditary peers who retained their seats after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999.
Leopold David Verney, 21st Baron Willoughby de Broke,, is a British hereditary peer and former member of the House of Lords.
Luke Richard White, 6th Baron Annaly, is a British hereditary peer and former Government Whip in the House of Lords, who sat on the Conservative benches.
David Hacking, 3rd Baron Hacking, is a British arbitrator, barrister and hereditary peer.
Rupert Francis John Carington, 7th Baron Carrington,, is a British banker, hereditary peer and crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Edward Sebastian Grigg, 4th Baron Altrincham, is a British hereditary peer and Conservative member of the House of Lords.
