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.
Earl of Cork is a title in the Peerage of Ireland,held in conjunction with the Earldom of Orrery since 1753. It was created in 1620 for Richard Boyle,1st Baron Boyle. He had already been created Lord Boyle,Baron of Youghal,in the County of Cork,in 1616,and was made Viscount of Dungarvan,in the County of Waterford,at the same time he was given the earldom. These titles are also in the Peerage of Ireland.
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 Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union in 1801,when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain. New peers continued to be created in the Peerage of Ireland until 1898
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.
Earl of Orrery is a title in the Peerage of Ireland that has been united with the earldom of Cork since 1753. It was created in 1660 for the soldier,statesman and dramatist Roger Boyle,1st Baron Boyle,third but eldest surviving son of Richard Boyle,1st Earl of Cork. He had already been created Lord Boyle,Baron of Broghill,in the Peerage of Ireland in 1628. He was succeeded by his son,the second Earl. He represented County Cork in the Irish House of Commons and served as Vice-President of Munster. On his death,the titles passed to his eldest son,the third Earl. He represented East Grinstead in the English House of Commons. He was succeeded by his younger brother,the fourth Earl. He was a Lieutenant-General in the Army and a prominent diplomat. In 1711 he was created Baron Boyle of Marston,in the County of Somerset,in the Peerage of Great Britain. His son,the fifth Earl,succeeded his third cousin as fifth Earl of Cork in 1753. See the latter title for further history of the peerages.
Earl of Kingston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1768 for Edward King,1st Viscount Kingston. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles Baron Kingston,of Rockingham in the County of Roscommon,Viscount Kingston,of Kingsborough in the County of Sligo,Baron Erris,of Boyle in the County of Roscommon,and Viscount Lorton,of Boyle in the County of Roscommon,also in the Peerage of Ireland. He is also a baronet in the Baronetage of Ireland. Between 1821 and 1869 the earls also held the title Baron Kingston,of Mitchelstown in the County of Cork,in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Earl of Shannon is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1756 for the prominent Irish politician Henry Boyle,who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and as Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer. The earldom is named after Shannon Park in County Cork.
Baron Carleton is a title that has been created three times in British history,once in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1626 when Sir Dudley Carleton was made Baron Carleton,of Imbercourt in the County of Surrey. He was made Viscount Dorchester two years later. See the article on him for more information on this creation. Dudley Carleton was the first cousin of Sir John Carleton,1st Baronet.
Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice,the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1831. Since 1858,Earl of Burlington has been a courtesy title used by the dukes of Devonshire,traditionally borne by the duke's grandson,who is the eldest son of the duke's eldest son,the marquess of Hartington.
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of November 2024,there are 801 hereditary peers:30 dukes,34 marquesses,189 earls,109 viscounts,and 439 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.
Richard Edmund St Lawrence Boyle,9th Earl of Cork and 9th Earl of Orrery KP,PC,styled Viscount Dungarvan between 1834 and 1856,was a British courtier and Liberal politician. In a ministerial career spanning between 1866 and 1895,he served three times as Master of the Buckhounds and twice as Master of the Horse.
Charles Boyle may refer to:
Baron Clifford is a title in the Peerage of England created by writ of summons on 17 February 1628 for Henry Clifford,the heir of Francis Clifford,4th Earl of Cumberland. Francis was believed to hold the Barony de Clifford,created in 1299,which could therefore be used to give Henry a seat in the House of Lords during his father's lifetime via a writ of acceleration. However,it would later be determined that the barony had in fact passed to his niece,Lady Anne Clifford. The summons of 1628 therefore unintentionally created a new barony,held by Henry. In 1641,on his father's death,Henry inherited the earldom of Cumberland,which became extinct upon his own death in 1643.
A writ in acceleration,commonly called a writ of acceleration,is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords,using one of his father's subsidiary titles,during his father's lifetime. This procedure could be used to bring younger men into the Lords and increase the number of capable members in a house that drew on a very small pool of talent.
Charles Boyle,Viscount Dungarvan,3rd Baron Clifford,FRS,was an English peer and politician. He was a member of a famous Anglo-Irish aristocratic family.
Nicholas Power Richard Le Poer Trench,9th Earl of Clancarty,8th Marquess of Heusden,is an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer,as well as a nobleman in the Dutch nobility. Lord Clancarty serves as an elected Crossbench hereditary peer in the British House of Lords. His earldom is in the Peerage of Ireland.
By-elections to the House of Lords occur when vacancies arise among seats assigned to hereditary peers due to death,resignation,or disqualification. Candidates for these by-elections are limited to holders of hereditary peerages,and their electorates are made up of sitting Lords;in most cases the electorate are those sitting hereditary peers of the same party affiliation as the departed peer.
Elections of the excepted hereditary peers were held in October and November 1999,before the House of Lords Act 1999 excluded most hereditary peers from the membership of the House of Lords allowing Earl Marshal,Lord Great Chamberlain and 90 others to remain in the House. Before the passing of the 1999 Act,the Lords approved a Standing Order stating that those 90 would consist of:
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