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 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 Oranmore and Browne, of Carrabrowne Castle in the County of Galway and of Castle Macgarrett in the County of Mayo, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1836 for Dominick Browne, who had earlier represented County Mayo in the House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, sat in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer from 1869 to 1900. Lord Oranmore and Browne assumed the surname of Guthrie on his marriage in 1859 to Christina Guthrie. He was succeeded by his son, the third Baron. He was an Irish Representative Peer from 1902 to 1926 and a member of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland. In 1926 he was created Baron Mereworth, of Mereworth Castle in the County of Kent, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. This title gave the barons an automatic seat in the House of Lords until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. On his death in 1927 the title passed to his son, the fourth Baron. He married, as his third wife, the actress Sally Gray. Lord Oranmore and Browne died in August 2002, aged 100 years and 291 days. He was thereby the third-oldest hereditary peer ever. As of 2014 the titles are held by his son, the fifth Baron, who succeeded in 2002.
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.
Baron Shaughnessy, of the City of Montreal in the Dominion of Canada and of Ashford in the County of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1916 for the Milwaukee born businessman Thomas Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron, a Director of the CPR and of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. His son, the third Baron, was a businessman and was also active in the House of Lords. However, he lost his hereditary seat in parliament after the House of Lords Act 1999.
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.
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.
Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare,, is a British nobleman, and since 2009 a crossbench hereditary peer elected under the House of Lords Act 1999.
David Antony Fromanteel Lytton Cobbold, 2nd Baron Cobbold,, was a British hereditary peer and member of the House of Lords.
William Lloyd George, 3rd Viscount Tenby, JP, was a British peer and army officer. A grandson of the Prime Minister David Lloyd George, he was among the 90 hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999.
Rupert Bertram Mitford, 6th Baron Redesdale, Baron Mitford, is a British hereditary peer, Liberal Democrat politician and member of the prominent Mitford family.
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.
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.
