Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. [1] In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without hyphenation).
There are two kinds of lord-in-waiting: political appointees by the government of the day who serve as junior government whips in the House of Lords (the senior whips have the positions of Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard); and non-political appointments by the monarch (who, if they have a seat in the House of Lords, sit as crossbenchers). Lords-in-waiting (whether political or non-political) may be called upon periodically to represent the sovereign; for example, one of their number is regularly called upon to greet visiting heads of state on arrival at an airport at the start of a state or official visit, and they may then play a role in accompanying them for the duration of their stay (for instance, on 3 June 2019 lord-in-waiting Alan Brooke, 3rd Viscount Brookeborough was in attendance at London Stansted Airport to welcome U.S. president Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on behalf of the Queen; he and Viscountess Brookeborough then remained "specially attached" to the Trumps for the duration of their visit). [2] They are also occasionally in attendance on other state or royal occasions. "Extra" lords-in-waiting may also be appointed, supernumerary to the regular appointees, who fulfil a similar role; for example, Baroness Rawlings, whose appointment as a government whip (and baroness-in-waiting) ceased in 2012, continued to serve as an extra baroness-in-waiting, [3] and represented the Queen on certain occasions (for example on 27 February 2019 she was present at RAF Northolt to welcome the King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, while at the same time another baroness-in-waiting, Baroness Manzoor, was present at Heathrow Airport to welcome Borut Pahor, president of Slovenia). [4]
In addition, the honour of serving as a permanent lord-in-waiting is occasionally bestowed on very senior courtiers following their retirement. A permanent lord-in-waiting may also represent the sovereign, as often happens at funerals or memorial services for former courtiers.
Most baronesses and lords-in-waiting serve as government whips in the House of Lords. Being members of the government, they are appointed by the sovereign on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and invariably relinquish their position when there is a change of government.
Currently, there are eight lords and baronesses-in-waiting who serve as junior whips in the House of Lords: [5]
Portfolio | Name | Since |
---|---|---|
Lord-in-waiting | Ray Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury | 9 July 2024 |
Frederick Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede | 9 July 2024 | |
Sonny Leong, Baron Leong | 11 July 2024 | |
Baroness-in-waiting | Sharon Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage | 9 July 2024 |
Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch | 9 July 2024 | |
Ruth Smeeth, Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent | 11 July 2024 | |
Fiona Twycross, Baroness Twycross | 11 July 2024 | |
Judith Blake, Baroness Blake of Leeds | 11 July 2024 |
Alongside the political appointees two non-political lords-in-waiting are always appointed, [1] at the personal discretion of the sovereign (distinguished from their political counterparts by the designation 'Personal Lord in Waiting'). [6]
Those currently serving in this capacity are: [7]
Portfolio | Name | Since |
---|---|---|
Personal lord-in-waiting | Alan Brooke, 3rd Viscount Brookeborough [8] | 1 May 1997 |
Henry Hood, 8th Viscount Hood | 30 July 2008 | |
Any additional appointees are termed extra lords or baronesses-in-waiting.
Those currently serving in this capacity are: [9]
Portfolio | Name | Since |
---|---|---|
Extra baroness-in-waiting | Patricia Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings | 2012 |
Extra lord-in-waiting | Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso | 19 March 1998 |
Permanent lords-in-waiting are retired senior officials of the Royal Household. Those serving in this capacity include: [10]
Name | Since |
---|---|
Former Lord Great Chamberlain of England | |
David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley | 17 March 2023 |
Former Lord Chamberlains of the Household | |
Richard Luce, Baron Luce | 16 July 2007 |
William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel | 1 April 2021 |
Former Private Secretaries to the Sovereign | |
Robin Janvrin, Baron Janvrin | 13 November 2007 |
Christopher Geidt, Baron Geidt | 4 March 2019 |
Edward Young, Baron Young of Old Windsor | 15 May 2023 |
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 extant institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British honours system within the framework of the Constitution of the United Kingdom.
The Right Honourable is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and, to a lesser extent, Australia.
The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His or Her Majesty's "gracious speech from the throne", which is read by the monarch but written by HM Government. In the speech the monarch gives notice of forthcoming state visits, before setting out the government's legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. No business of either House of Parliament can proceed until the Sovereign’s speech has been delivered.
Winifred Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, is a British politician and life peer who served in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 1974 to 1983, and Dewsbury from 1987 to 2005.
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
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.
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a retainer or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a secretary, courtier, or companion to her mistress than a servant.
An equerry is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a sovereign, a member of a royal family, or a national representative. The role is equivalent to an aide-de-camp, but the term is now prevalent only among some members of the Commonwealth of Nations.
John Steven Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and a member of the House of Lords.
Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes, was a British courtier who was private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1990 to 1999. He was the brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales, and a maternal first cousin of Ronald Ferguson, the father of Sarah, Duchess of York.
Edward Young, Baron Young of Old Windsor, is a British courtier who served as Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 2017 to 2023. In this role, he was the senior operational member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. As chief adviser to the Sovereign, he oversaw the transition from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III. Young was recruited to the Royal Household in 2004, serving as Queen Elizabeth II's assistant and then as deputy private secretary until his promotion to private secretary in 2017. After the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, Young served as joint principal private secretary to King Charles III until he stepped down in May 2023.
Alan Henry Brooke, 3rd Viscount Brookeborough, is a Northern Irish peer and landowner. He is one of the 92 hereditary peers who remain in the House of Lords; he sits as a crossbencher. He is the current Lord Lieutenant of Fermanagh.
Oliver Michael Robert Eden, 8th Baron Henley, 6th Baron Northington, is a British hereditary peer and politician, who is a Conservative member of the House of Lords. He has served in a number of ministerial positions in the governments of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, most recently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Michael Walton Bates, Baron Bates is a British Conservative Party politician. He has served in the House of Lords since 2008, having previously represented the constituency of Langbaurgh in the House of Commons from 1992 to 1997.
John Fielden Brocklehurst, 1st Baron Ranksborough, was a British soldier, courtier and Liberal politician.
Lt Col. Charles Harbord, 6th Baron Suffield, CB, MVO, was a British Army officer and British Conservative politician.
The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the collective departments that support members of the British royal family. Many members of the royal family who undertake public duties have separate households. They vary considerably in size, from the large household that supports the sovereign to the household of the Prince and Princess of Wales, with fewer members.
The State Opening of Parliament includes a State Procession, a formal display of the Sovereign, dignified by a sizeable entourage made up of Great Officers of State and members of the Royal Household. The State Procession is now confined to the interior of the Palace of Westminster, but in earlier centuries it followed an outdoor route to and from Westminster Abbey.
State and official visits to the United Kingdom are formal visits by the head of state of one country to the United Kingdom, during which the British Sovereign acts as official host of the visitor. It is a royal event that involves all the assets in the Civil Service, the Royal Household and the Household Division. It also involves other members of the Royal family and is centred in London, the national capital. Invitations for state visits are sent by the Royal Household with supervision by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.