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 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 Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords. The office organises all ceremonial activity such as garden parties, state visits, royal weddings, and the State Opening of Parliament. They also oversee the Royal Mews and royal travel, as well as the ceremony around the awarding of honours.
The following is the order of precedence in England and Wales as of February 2025. Separate orders exist for men and women.
An unofficial order of precedence in Northern Ireland, according to Burke's Peerage, 106th Edition, this is not officially authorised by or published with authority from either Buckingham Palace or the College of Arms, or the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice or the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, or the Northern Ireland Assembly, or the Northern Ireland Executive.
Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedford from 1950 to 1966. He held several government posts and attained Cabinet rank.
Ralph Thomas Campion George Sherman Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, was a British peer and banker who served as Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2000, and the first Catholic Lord Chamberlain since the Reformation.
Richard Napier Luce, Baron Luce, is a British politician. He is a former Lord Chamberlain to the Queen, serving from 2000 to 2006, and has been Governor of Gibraltar, a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1971 to 1992, and government minister, and a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Peter St Clair-Erskine, 7th Earl of Rosslyn,, known professionally as Peter Loughborough, is a Scottish peer and police officer. He is Lord Steward of the Royal Household and Personal Secretary to Their Majesties, as well as a former Metropolitan Police Commander. The Earl's lands include Rosslyn Chapel.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Frederick Dame Johnston, was a British Army officer and courtier. He joined the Royal Household in 1964, serving as Assistant Comptroller and then Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office. Sometimes known as "Stopwatch Johnny", he was one of the Queen's most popular courtiers. His duties included co-ordinating the weddings of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981 and of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in 1986, and the funeral of The Duchess of Windsor at St George's Chapel, Windsor, also in 1986.
Sir Richard Rashleigh Folliott Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, is a British judge, who formerly held the office of Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
Robert Henley Henley, 2nd Baron Henley, styled Hon. Robert Eden from 1799 to 1830, was a British lawyer, Member of Parliament, peer, and writer.
Sir Thomas Raymond Dunne, was a British military officer who was Lord Lieutenant of Hereford and Worcester, serving from 1977, then from 1998 he was the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire until 2001 and the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire until 2008.
John David James Dalrymple, 14th Earl of Stair is a British politician who, since 2008, has been a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
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.
Andrew David Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere,, is a British life peer and former intelligence officer who served as Director General of MI5 from 2013 to 2020. He served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household from 2021 to 2024, and is a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
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.
The order of precedence in Ireland was fixed by Royal Warrant on 2 January 1897 during Ireland's ties to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
