List of peerages created for women

Last updated November 12, 2024

This is a list of peerages created for women in the peerages of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom. It does not include peerages created for men which were later inherited by women, or life peerages created since 1958 under the Life Peerages Act 1958.

Background

Prior to the regular creation of life peerages, the great majority of peerages were created for men. Suo jure peeresses are known from an early period; however, most of them were women to whom a peerage had passed as an inheritance. It was very rare for a woman to be created a peeress before the 17th century. Peeresses of the first creation were not allowed to sit in the House of Lords until the passage of the Life Peerages Act 1958. Female holders of hereditary peerages could not sit in the Lords until the passage of the Peerage Act 1963. In some, but not all cases, peeresses of first creation were created for life only.

Created peeresses fall into the following categories:

Created for merit or achievement
Having a father who was a peer, but who under the terms of the peerage could not pass the peerage to his daughter. Such an event could create the anomalous situation of commoners holding important lands and estates traditionally associated with lordship.
Closely connected to a reigning monarch (including many royal mistresses)
Created to honour a relative, including:
- As a posthumous honour for a dead husband, often one who would have received a peerage if he had not died
- To honour a husband who was living, but could not or would not accept a peerage in his own right (for instance if he wanted to retain his seat in the elected Commons)
- To confer nobility upon the peeress's children, again often in recognition of the achievement of a husband

The peerages are listed chronologically, divided by the monarch who created them.

Richard II

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
1397	Duchess of Norfolk Peerage of England	Margaret, 2nd Countess of Norfolk	Extinct on death of recipient 24 March 1399.	For life only.

Henry VIII

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
1512	Countess of Salisbury Peerage of England	Margaret Pole	Forfeited upon arrest for treason in May 1539.	First cousin once-removed of Henry VIII (first cousin to Henry's mother, Elizabeth of York).
1532	Lady Marquess of Pembroke Peerage of England	Anne Boleyn	Uncertain: either forfeited upon conviction for treason 15 May 1536, or extinct upon her death on 19 May 1536.	Second wife of Henry VIII.

James I

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
1618	Countess of Buckingham Peerage of England	Mary, Lady Villiers	Extinct on death of recipient 1632.	For life only.
29 July 1620	Baroness Offaly	Lettice Digby	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Duke of Leinster.	Granddaughter of the 1st Baron Offaly of the first creation.
8 July 1623	Viscountess Maidstone	Elizabeth, Lady Finch	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Earl of Winchilsea.

Charles I

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
29 February 1628	Lady Cramond Peerage of Scotland	Elizabeth, Lady Richardson	Extinct 1735.
12 July 1628	Countess of Winchilsea Peerage of England	Elizabeth, 1st Viscountess Maidstone	Extant
12 September 1640	Baroness Stafford Peerage of England	Mary (Stafford) Howard	Extinct on death of recipient 1693.	For life only. Sister of the 5th Baron Stafford of the fourth creation and wife of the 1st Baron Stafford of the fifth creation
1641	Countess Rivers Peerage of England	Elizabeth, Viscountess Savage	Extinct on death of recipient, 9 March 1650.	For life only. Daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers of the second creation who could not inherit his title.
23 May 1644	Duchess of Dudley Peerage of England	Alice, Lady Dudley	Extinct on death of recipient 1668.	For life only. Wife of Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick.

Charles II

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
29 May 1660	Countess of Chesterfield Peerage of England	Katherine Stanhope, Lady Stanhope	Extinct on death of recipient, 9 April 1667.	For life only. For service.
1660	Countess of Guilford Peerage of England	Elizabeth Boyle, Viscountess Boyle	Extinct on death of recipient, 1667.	For life only.
20 April 1663	Duchess of Buccleuch Peerage of Scotland	Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch	Extant.	On the occasion of her marriage to James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
1663	Baroness Lucas, of Crudwell, in the County of Wiltshire Peerage of England	Mary Grey, Countess of Kent	Extant.	Daughter of John, 1st Baron Lucas.
June 1667	Duchess of Cleveland, Countess of Southampton, and Baroness Nonsuch, of Nonsuch Park Peerage of England	Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine	Extinct 1774.	Mistress of Charles II.
19 August 1673	Duchess of Portsmouth, Countess of Fareham, and Baroness Petersfield Peerage of England	Louise de Kérouaille	Extinct on death of recipient 14 November 1734.	For life only. Mistress of Charles II.
1674	Baroness Belasyse Peerage of England	Susan Belasyse	Extinct on death of the recipient in 1713.	For life only.
1674	Viscountess Bayning Peerage of England	Anne Murray	Extinct on death of recipient 1678.	For life only.
1679	Viscountess Corbet	Sarah Corbet	Extinct on death of recipient 1682.	For life only.
1680	Countess of Sheppey	Elizabeth Lennard	Extinct on death of recipient 1686.	For life only.

James II

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
1686	Countess of Dorchester Baroness Darlington	Catherine Sedley	Extinct on death of recipient 26 October 1717	For life only. Mistress of James II.
5 October 1688	Countess of Stafford	Mary Howard, Baroness Stafford	Extinct on death of recipient, 1693.	For life only. Wife of William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, executed 1680.
13 December 1688	Baroness Shelburne	Elizabeth, Lady Petty	Extinct on death of recipient, February 1708.	For life only.

George I

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
1 January 1715	Countess Granville Viscountess Carteret	Grace Granville Carteret	Extinct 1776.	Daughter of John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath.
18 July 1716	Duchess of Munster Marchioness of Dungannon Countess of Dungannon Baroness Dundalk	Melusine von der Schulenburg	All titles extinct on death of recipient, 10 May 1743.	For life only. Mistress and unofficial wife of George I.
19 March 1719	Duchess of Kendal Countess of Feversham Baroness Glastonbury	Melusine von der Schulenburg	All titles extinct on death of recipient, 10 May 1743.	For life only. Mistress and unofficial wife of George I.
1721	Countess of Leinster	Countess Sophia von Platen	Extinct on death of recipient 20 April 1725.	For life only. Half-sister of George I.
6 April 1722	Countess of Darlington Baroness Brentford	Countess Sophia von Platen	Extinct on death of recipient 20 April 1725.	For life only. Half-sister of George I.
7 April 1722	Countess of Walsingham	Melusina von der Schulenburg	Extinct on death of recipient 16 September 1778.	For life only. Illegitimate daughter of George I.

George II

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
24 March 1740	Countess of Yarmouth	Amalie von Wallmoden	Extinct on death of recipient, 19 October 1765.	For life only. Mistress of George II.
1746	Viscountess Grandison	Elizabeth Mason	Extinct 1800.	Daughter of John Villiers, 1st Earl Grandison.
18 October 1749	Countess Temple	Hester Grenville, 2nd Viscountess Cobham	Extinct 26 March 1889.
1 August 1758	Countess of Brandon	Ellis Agar Bourke Bermingham	Extinct on death of recipient, 11 March 1789	For life only.
21 May 1760	Baroness Stawell	Mary Bilson-Legge	Extinct 1820.	Daughter of the 4th Baron Stawell who could not inherit his title.

George III

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
3 April 1761	Baroness Mount Stuart	Mary Stuart, Countess of Bute	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Marquess of Bute.	Wife of the Earl of Bute, soon to become prime minister.
4 December 1761	Baroness Chatham	Lady Hester Pitt	Extinct 24 September 1835.	Wife of William Pitt the Elder, the recently resigned Leader of the House of Commons.
6 May 1762	Baroness Holland	Lady Caroline Fox	Extinct 18 December 1859.	Wife of Henry Fox, then Leader of the House of Commons.
1766	Viscountess Langford and Baroness Summerhill	Elizabeth Rowley	Extinct 1796.
1767	Countess Grandison and Viscountess Villiers	Elizabeth Mason, Viscountess Grandison	Extinct 1800.
19 August 1767	Baroness Greenwich	Lady Caroline Townshend	Extinct on death of recipient 11 January 1794.	Daughter of John Campbell, 1st Duke of Greenwich.
1770	Baroness Arden	Catherine Perceval, Countess of Egmont	Extinct 2011.
20 May 1776	Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon	Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Duke of Argyll.
1783	Baroness Donoughmore	Christiana Hely-Hutchinson	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Earl of Donoughmore.
1783	Countess of Longford	Elizabeth Pakenham	Extant
1790	Baroness Oriel of Collon	Margaretta Amelia Foster	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Viscount Massereene.
1792	Baroness Waterpark	Sarah, Lady Cavendish	Extant
13 June 1792	Baroness Fermanagh	Mary Verney	Extinct on death of recipient 15 November 1810.	Granddaughter of Ralph Verney, 1st Earl Verney.
26 July 1792	Baroness Bath	Laura Pulteney	Extinct on death of recipient, 14 July 1808.
1793	Countess of Wicklow	Alice, Viscountess Wicklow	Extinct 1983.	Widow of Ralph Howard, 1st Viscount Wicklow.
27 March 1795	Baroness Hood	Susanna Hood	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Viscount Hood.
1795	Baroness Kilwarden	Anne Wolfe	Extinct 1830.
1 December 1797	Baroness Crofton	Anne, Lady Crofton	Extant	In place of her husband, Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Baronet, who died 30 September 1797.
1797	Viscountess Ferrard	Margaretta, 1st Baroness Oriel	Extant
1797	Baroness Norwood	Grace Toler	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Earl of Norbury
1798	Baroness ffrench	Rose, Lady ffrench	Extant	For her son, Sir Thomas ffrench, who later inherited the title.
31 July 1800	Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye	Dorcas, Lady Blackwood	Extant	In place of her late husband, Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet, d. 27 February 1799.
1800	Baroness Nugent	Mary Nugent-Temple-Grenville	Extinct 1850.
1800	Baroness Newcomen	Charlotte Gleadowe-Newcomen	Extinct 1825.	In place of her husband, Sir William Gleadowe-Newcomen, 1st Baronet.
28 May 1801	Baroness Abercromby	Mary, Lady Abercromby	Extinct 1924.	In place of her husband Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who died 28 March 1801 following the Battle of Alexandria.
19 June 1802	Baroness Sandys	Mary Hill, Marchioness of Downshire	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Marquess of Downshire.
1803	Viscountess Newcomen	Charlotte Gleadowe-Newcomen, 1st Baroness Newcomen	Extinct 1825.	In place of her husband, Sir William Gleadowe-Newcomen, 1st Baronet.
26 October 1803	Countess of Bath	Laura, 1st Baroness Bath	Extinct upon death of recipient, 14 July 1808.
25 October 1816	Countess de Grey	Amabel Hume-Campbell, 5th Baroness Lucas	Extinct 1923.

George IV

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
18 July 1821	Baroness Rayleigh	Lady Charlotte Strutt	Extant	In place of her husband, Joseph Strutt MP, who refused a peerage.
27 June 1826	Baroness FitzGerald and Vesey	Catherine Vesey	Extinct 20 March 1860.
22 January 1828	Viscountess Canning	Joan Scott Canning	Extinct 17 June 1862.	In place of her husband George Canning, Prime Minister, who died in office 8 August 1827.

William IV

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
28 May 1831	Baroness Talbot of Malahide	Margaret Talbot	Extant
3 June 1834	Baroness Wenman	Sophia Wykeham	Extinct upon death of recipient 1870.
22 January 1836	Baroness Stratheden	The Hon. Mary, Lady Campbell	Extant	Wife of Sir John Campbell.

Victoria

Date	Title	Recipient	Current status	Notes
10 April 1840	Duchess of Inverness	Lady Cecilia Underwood	Extinct upon death of recipient 1 August 1873.	Illegally married to Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex.
21 October 1861	Countess of Cromartie Viscountess Tarbat Baroness Castlehaven Baroness Macleod	Anne, Duchess of Sutherland	Extant	Descendant of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie.
27 April 1864	Baroness Buckhurst	Elizabeth, Countess De La Warr	Extant, as a subsidiary title of the Earl De La Warr.	Daughter of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset and 9th Baron Buckhurst.
30 November 1868	Viscountess Beaconsfield	Mary Anne Disraeli	Extinct upon death of recipient, 15 December 1872.	Placeholder for her husband Benjamin Disraeli, who remained in the House of Commons.
9 June 1871	Baroness Burdett-Coutts	Angela Burdett-Coutts	Extinct upon death of recipient, 30 December 1906.	For service.
23 April 1880	Baroness Bolsover	Augusta Cavendish-Bentinck	Extinct 21 March 1977.	In place of her deceased husband Lieutenant-General Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck.
14 August 1891	Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe	Agnes, Lady Macdonald	Extinct on death of recipient, 5 September 1920.	In place of her husband, Sir John A. Macdonald, who died in office as Prime Minister of Canada 6 June 1891.
11 November 1891	Viscountess Hambleden	Emily Danvers Smith	Extant	In place of her husband, William Henry Smith, who died in office as Leader of the House of Commons 6 October 1891.
2 August 1899	Baroness Dorchester	Henrietta Carleton	Extinct 20 January 1963.	Daughter of 3rd Baron Dorchester who could not inherit his title.

George V

Date	Title		Recipient	Current status	Notes
8 May 1928		Countess Cave of Richmond	Anne Cave, Viscountess Cave	Extinct upon death of recipient 1938.	In place of her husband, George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave, who died 29 March 1928, the day of his resignation as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.

George VI

Date	Title		Recipient	Current status	Notes
6 May 1943		Viscountess Daventry	Muriel FitzRoy	Extant	In place of her husband, Edward FitzRoy, who died in office as Speaker of the House of Commons 3 March 1943.

Related Research Articles

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.

Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count. Often, barons hold their fief – their lands and income – directly from the monarch. Barons are less often the vassals of other nobles. In many kingdoms, they were entitled to wear a smaller form of a crown called a coronet.

A courtesy title is a form of address and/or reference in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry. These styles are used "by courtesy" in the sense that persons referred to by these titles do not in law hold the substantive title. There are several different kinds of courtesy titles in the British peerage system.

The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisions of Peerages in the United Kingdom. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron. As of 2016, there were 135 titles in the Peerage of Ireland extant: two dukedoms, ten marquessates, 43 earldoms, 28 viscountcies, and 52 baronies. However, these titles have no official recognition in Ireland, with Article 40.2 of the Constitution of Ireland forbidding the state conferring titles of nobility and stating that an Irish citizen may not accept titles of nobility or honour except with the prior approval of the Irish government.

The order of precedence in the United Kingdom is the sequential hierarchy for Peers of the Realm, officers of state, senior members of the clergy, holders of the various Orders of Chivalry, and is mostly determined, but not limited to, birth order, place in the line of succession, or distance from the reigning monarch. The order of precedence can also be applied to other persons in the three legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom:

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 following is the order of precedence in England and Wales as of November 2024. Separate orders exist for men and women.

The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself replaced by the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801.

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

Baron Ravensdale, of Ravensdale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the Conservative politician George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon, of Kedleston, who had previously served as Viceroy of India.

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.

The history of the British peerage, a system of nobility found in the United Kingdom, stretches over the last thousand years. The current form of the British peerage has been a process of development. While the ranks of baron and earl predate the British peerage itself, the ranks of duke and marquess were introduced to England in the 14th century. The rank of viscount came later, in the mid-15th century. Peers were summoned to Parliament, forming the House of Lords.

The British peerage is governed by a body of law that has developed over several centuries. Much of this law has been established by a few important cases, and some of the more significant of these are addressed in this article.

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.

The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale</span> British hereditary peeress (1896-1966)

Mary Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale, Baroness Ravensdale of Kedleston,, was a British peeress, socialite and philanthropist.

Mona Josephine Tempest Fitzalan-Howard, 11th Baroness Beaumont, Baroness Howard of Glossop, OBE was a British peer and member of the Howard and Tempest families. She inherited the Barony of Beaumont before her second birthday, following her father's death in a tragic accident.

Douglas Clifton Brown, 1st Viscount Ruffside, was a British politician who represented the Conservative Party (UK). He served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1943 to 1951. Upon stepping down as Speaker he became the Viscount Ruffside; the peerage became extinct with his death.

The first women in the House of Lords took their seats in 1958, forty years after women were granted the right to stand as MPs in the House of Commons. These were life peeresses appointed by the Prime Minister, although countesses had appeared in medieval times.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.