The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles,composed of various noble ranks,and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of nobles,and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm. The peerage's fundamental roles are ones of government,peers being eligible to a seat in the House of Lords,and of meritocracy,the receiving of any peerage being the highest of British honours. In the UK,five peerages or peerage divisions co-exist,namely:
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. The Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland continues to exercise jurisdiction over the Peerage of Ireland,including those peers whose titles derive from places located in what is now the Republic of Ireland. Article 40.2 of the Constitution of Ireland forbids the state conferring titles of nobility and an Irish citizen may not accept titles of nobility or honour except with the prior approval of the Irish government. This issue has not arisen in respect of the Peerage of Ireland because no creation of titles in it has been made since the constitution came into force.
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.
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year,the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in the United Kingdom in total.
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.
Earl of Clancarty is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland.
The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2023,there are 806 hereditary peers:30 dukes,34 marquesses,189 earls,110 viscounts,and 443 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.
In the United Kingdom,life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited,in contrast to hereditary peers. 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 Le Poer Trench,2nd Earl of Clancarty,1st Marquess of Heusden,styled The Honourable from 1797 to 1803 and then Viscount Dunlo to 1805,was an Anglo-Irish peer,a nobleman in the Dutch nobility,and a diplomat. He was an Irish,and later British,Member of Parliament and a supporter of Pitt. Additionally he was appointed Postmaster General of Ireland,and later,of the United Kingdom.
William Francis Brinsley Le Poer Trench,8th Earl of Clancarty,7th Marquess of Heusden was a prominent ufologist. He was an Irish peer,as well as a nobleman in the Dutch nobility.
William Power Keating Trench,1st Earl of Clancarty was an Irish aristocrat and politician and later United Kingdom statesman at the time of the Act of Union. His family,through his son Richard,became prominent and hereditary members of the Netherlands' nobility.
William Thomas Le Poer Trench,3rd Earl of Clancarty,2nd Marquess of Heusden,styled Viscount Dunlo between 1805 and 1837,was an Irish peer,as well a nobleman in the Dutch nobility. He was educated at St John's College,Cambridge.
Marquess of Heusden is a high-ranking Dutch title of nobility retained by the Earl of Clancarty.
Richard Somerset Le Poer Trench,4th Earl of Clancarty,3rd Marquess of Heusden,styled Viscount Dunlo between 1837 and 1872,was an Irish peer,as well a nobleman in the Dutch nobility.
Following the enactment of the House of Lords Act 1999,the number of hereditary peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords was reduced to ninety-two. The Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain were entitled to sit ex officio;the remaining ninety were elected by all the hereditary peers before the passing of the reform. Since November 2002,by-elections have been held to fill vacancies left by deaths,resignations or disqualifications of those peers. Since the passing of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014,by-elections have also been held to fill vacancies left by the retirements of those peers.
John Richard Boyle,15th Earl of Cork and 15th Earl of Orrery is a British hereditary peer and a member of the House of Lords,where he sits as a Crossbencher. Boyle was an officer in the Royal Navy and then had a career in the sugar industry before inheriting his titles in 2003.
William Frederick Le Poer Trench,5th Earl of Clancarty,4th Marquess of Heusden was an Irish peer of the House of Lords,a Dutch nobleman,and a deputy lieutenant and justice of the peace of County Galway. He was known for the controversy that ensued after a petition for divorce was argued in 1890,which was based on an affidavit accusing his wife at the time,Belle Bilton,of adultery.
