List of peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom

Last updated October 08, 2024

This article lists all peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom, whether created or inherited before or after their premiership. Extant titles are in bold.

Peerages created for prime ministers by reign
King George I, 1714–1727
King George II, 1727–1760
King George III, 1760–1820
King George IV, 1820–1830
King William IV, 1830–1837
Queen Victoria, 1837–1901
King Edward VII, 1901–1910
King George V, 1910–1936
King Edward VIII, 1936
King George VI, 1936–1952
Queen Elizabeth II, 1952–2022
King Charles III, 2022–present
Peerages inherited before, during or after premiership
Prime ministers never raised to the peerage
See also
Notes
External links

Peerages created for prime ministers by reign

Created after their respective Premierships

Peerage	Title(s)	Created	Prime Minister	Current status	Notes
King George I, 1714–1727
	Earl of Clare Viscount Haughton	19 October 1714	Thomas Pelham-Holles 2nd Baron Pelham	Extinct 17 November 1768	Created before Premiership Created with a special remainder
	Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Marquess of Clare	11 August 1715	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Earl of Clare	Extinct 17 November 1768	Created before Premiership Created with a special remainder
King George II, 1727–1760
	Baron Wilmington	8 January 1728	Sir Spencer Compton	Extinct 2 July 1743	Created before Premiership
	Earl of Wilmington Viscount Pevensey	14 May 1730	Spencer Compton, 1st Baron Wilmington	Extinct 2 July 1743	Created before Premiership
	Earl of Orford Viscount Walpole Baron Walpole of Houghton	6 February 1742	Sir Robert Walpole	Extinct 2 March 1797	Created during Premiership
	Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne	17 November 1756	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne	Extinct 25 December 1988	Created with a special remainder
King George III, 1760–1820
	Baron Pelham of Stanmer	4 May 1762	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle	Extant	Created during Premiership Created with a special remainder
	Earl of Chatham Viscount Pitt	4 August 1766	William Pitt the Elder	Extinct 24 September 1835	Created during Premiership
	Marquess of Lansdowne Earl of Wycombe Viscount Calne and Calston	6 December 1784	William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne	Extant
	Baron Grenville	25 November 1790	William Grenville	Extinct 12 January 1834	Created before Premiership
	Viscount Sidmouth	12 January 1805	Henry Addington	Extant
	Viscount Wellington Baron Douro	4 September 1809	Sir Arthur Wellesley	Extant	Created before Premiership
On 5 February 1811, George Prince of Wales became the Prince Regent
	Earl of Wellington	28 February 1812	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Viscount Wellington	Extant	Created before Premiership
	Marquess of Wellington	3 October 1812	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Earl of Wellington	Extant	Created before Premiership
	Duke of Wellington Marquess Douro	11 May 1814	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington	Extant	Created before Premiership
	Viscount Gordon	16 July 1814	George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen	Extant	Created before Premiership
King George IV, 1820–1830
	Viscount Goderich	28 April 1827	F. J. Robinson	Extinct 22 September 1923	Created before Premiership
King William IV, 1830–1837
	Earl of Ripon	13 April 1833	F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich	Extinct 22 September 1923
Queen Victoria, 1837–1901
	Earl Russell Viscount Amberley	30 July 1861	Lord John Russell	Extant
	Earl of Beaconsfield Viscount Hughenden	21 August 1876	Benjamin Disraeli	Extinct 19 April 1881	Created during Premiership
King Edward VII, 1901–1910
no peerage creations for prime ministers
King George V, 1910–1936
	Earl of Midlothian Viscount Mentmore Baron Epsom	3 July 1911	Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery	Extant
	Earl of Balfour Viscount Traprain	5 May 1922	Sir Arthur Balfour	Extant	Created with a special remainder
	Earl of Oxford and Asquith Viscount Asquith	9 February 1925	H. H. Asquith	Extant
King Edward VIII, 1936
no peerage creations for prime ministers
King George VI, 1936–1952
	Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Viscount Corvedale	8 June 1937	Sir Stanley Baldwin	Extant
	Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor Viscount Gwynedd	12 February 1945	David Lloyd George	Extant
Queen Elizabeth II, 1952–2022
	Earl Attlee Viscount Prestwood	16 December 1955	Clement Attlee	Extant
	Earl of Avon Viscount Eden	12 July 1961	Sir Anthony Eden	Extinct 17 August 1985
	Baron Home of the Hirsel	19 December 1974	Sir Alec Douglas-Home	Extinct 9 October 1995	Life peerage Earl of Home before becoming prime minister
	Baron Wilson of Rievaulx	16 September 1983	Sir Harold Wilson	Extinct 24 May 1995	Life peerage Granted as part of the 1983 Dissolution Honours
	Earl of Stockton Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden	24 April 1984	Harold Macmillan	Extant
	Baron Callaghan of Cardiff	5 November 1987	Sir James Callaghan	Extinct 26 March 2005	Life peerage Granted as part of the 1987 Dissolution Honours
	Baroness Thatcher	26 June 1992	Margaret Thatcher	Extinct 8 April 2013	Life peerage Granted as part of the 1992 Dissolution Honours
King Charles III, 2022–present
	Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton	17 November 2023	David Cameron	Extant	Life peerage Granted for his tenure as Foreign Secretary
	Baroness May of Maidenhead	21 August 2024	Theresa May	Extant	Life peerage Granted as part of the 2024 Dissolution Honours

Peerages inherited before, during or after premiership

Irish and Scottish Peers did not have an automatic seat in the House of Lords unlike their English and British counterparts, until the Peerage Act 1963 which granted all Scottish Peers (those without Imperial status) to have an automatic seat in the House of Lords until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and Peers to disclaim their own peerage for the rest of their life, which Alec Douglas-Home did on the 23 October 1963.

Lord Palmerston never sat in the House of Lords as he was a holder of an Irish peerage, but sat as a member of Parliament for Tiverton during his two spells as prime minister.

Name	Courtesy title (before inheriting main title)	Writ of acceleration	Inherited title	When inherited (before premiership unless stated)	Sat in the House of Commons
Thomas Pelham(-Holles)			2nd Baron Pelham of Laughton	23 February 1712	No
John Stuart	Lord Mount Stuart		3rd Earl of Bute ^[1]	28 February 1723	No
Charles Watson-Wentworth	Earl of Malton		2nd Marquess of Rockingham	14 December 1750	No
William Cavendish	Marquess of Hartington	Baron Cavendish of Hardwick	4th Duke of Devonshire	5 December 1755	Yes
Augustus FitzRoy	Earl of Euston		3rd Duke of Grafton	6 May 1757	Yes
William Petty	Viscount FitzMaurice		2nd Earl of Shelburne ^[2]	14 May 1761	Yes
William Cavendish-Bentinck	Marquess of Titchfield		3rd Duke of Portland	1 May 1762	Yes
Frederick North	Lord North		2nd Earl of Guilford	4 August 1790 (after premiership)	Yes
George Hamilton-Gordon	Lord Haddo		3rd Earl of Aberdeen ^[3]	13 August 1801	No
Henry John Temple	Lord Temple		3rd Viscount Palmerston	17 April 1802	Yes
Charles Grey	Viscount Howick		2nd Earl Grey	14 November 1807	Yes
Robert Jenkinson	Baron Hawkesbury	Baron Hawkesbury	2nd Earl of Liverpool	17 December 1808	Yes
William Lamb			2nd Viscount Melbourne ^[4]	22 July 1828	Yes
Edward Smith-Stanley	Lord Stanley	Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe	14th Earl of Derby	30 June 1851	Yes
Archibald Primrose	Lord Dalmeny		5th Earl of Rosebery ^[5]	4 March 1868	No
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil	Viscount Cranborne		3rd Marquess of Salisbury	12 April 1868	Yes
Alec Douglas-Home	Lord Dunglass		14th Earl of Home ^[6]	11 July 1951 (disclaimed it in 1963)	Yes

Prime ministers never raised to the peerage

Eligible for Peerage

Prime Minister	Notes	Constituency	Related peerage
Henry Pelham	Died in Office	Seaford	He was in line to the Barony of Pelham of Laughton which title was extinct in 1768.
Henry Pelham	Died in Office	Sussex
George Grenville	Died as an MP	Buckingham	He and his male line descendants were in line to the Viscountcy of Cobham (title extant) and the Earldom Temple (title extinct). His son George became in 1784 the 1st Marquess of Buckingham and his grandson in 1822 the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (titles extinct in 1889). His other son William, also Prime Minister, became Baron Grenville
William Pitt the Younger	Died in Office	Appleby	He was in line to the Earldom of Chatham which title was extinct in 1835.
William Pitt the Younger	Died in Office	Cambridge University
Spencer Perceval	Died in Office	Northampton	He and his male line descendants were in line to the Earldom of Egmont (his great-grandson became the 10th Earl in 1929) which title was extinct in 2011.
George Canning	Died in Office	Newtown	His widow was created Viscountess Canning in 1828, and his son Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning was created Earl Canning in 1859. The titles were extinct in 1862.
		Wendover
		Tralee
		Hastings
		Petersfield
		Liverpool
		Harwich
		Newport (Isle of Wight)
		Seaford
Sir Robert Peel, Bt.	Died as an MP	Cashel	His baronetcy merged with the Earldom of Peel in 1942 (his younger son became Viscount Peel and his grandson Earl Peel).
		Chippenham
		Oxford University
		Westbury
		Tamworth
William Ewart Gladstone	Declined a peerage	Newark	He and his male line descendants are in the line of the Gladstone Baronetcy. Two of his sons became Peers (Viscount Gladstone and Baron Gladstone of Hawarden) but their titles are extinct.
		Oxford University
		South Lancashire
		Greenwich
		Midlothian
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Died as an MP	Stirling Burghs
Bonar Law	Died as an MP	Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown	His third and last surviving son Richard Law was created Baron Coleraine in 1954, which title is extant.
		Dulwich
		Bootle
		Glasgow Central
Ramsay MacDonald	Died as an MP	Leicester
		Aberavon
		Seaham
		Combined Scottish Universities
Neville Chamberlain	Died as an MP	Birmingham Ladywood
Neville Chamberlain	Died as an MP	Birmingham Edgbaston
Sir Winston Churchill	Declined a peerage	Oldham	He and his male line descendants are in the line of the Dukedom of Marlborough. Twice offered and declined a Dukedom. His widow was created Baroness Spencer-Churchill for life in 1965.
		Manchester North West
		Dundee
		Epping
		Woodford
Sir Edward Heath	Declined a peerage	Bexley
		Sidcup
		Old Bexley and Sidcup
Sir John Major	Declined a peerage	Huntingdonshire
Sir John Major	Declined a peerage	Huntingdon
Sir Tony Blair	Declined a peerage	Sedgefield
Gordon Brown	Declined a peerage	Dunfermline East
Gordon Brown	Declined a peerage	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
Boris Johnson	Currently living as a commoner	Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Liz Truss	Currently living as a commoner	South West Norfolk
Rishi Sunak	Currently serving as an MP	Richmond (Yorks)
Sir Keir Starmer	Currently serving as an MP	Holborn and St Pancras

Notes

↑ Sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer.
↑ Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Wycombe in the Peerage of Great Britain.
↑ Sat in the House of Lords as Viscount Gordon in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
↑ Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Melbourne in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
↑ Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
↑ Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Douglas of Douglas in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

External links

Prime Ministers in History from the 10 Downing Street website.

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.

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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.

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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.

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[1] Sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer.

[2] Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Wycombe in the Peerage of Great Britain.

[3] Sat in the House of Lords as Viscount Gordon in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

[4] Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Melbourne in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

[5] Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Rosebery in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

[6] Sat in the House of Lords as Baron Douglas of Douglas in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

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List of peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom

Contents

Peerages created for prime ministers by reign

King George I, 1714–1727

King George II, 1727–1760

King George III, 1760–1820

King George IV, 1820–1830

King William IV, 1830–1837

Queen Victoria, 1837–1901

King Edward VII, 1901–1910

King George V, 1910–1936

King Edward VIII, 1936

King George VI, 1936–1952

Queen Elizabeth II, 1952–2022

King Charles III, 2022–present

Peerages inherited before, during or after premiership

Prime ministers never raised to the peerage

See also

Notes

External links

Related Research Articles