Search results
The British nobility in the narrow sense consists of members of the immediate families of peers who bear courtesy titles or honorifics. [1] Members of the peerage carry the titles of duke, marquess, earl, viscount or baron.
British nobility, in the United Kingdom, members of the upper social class, who usually possess a hereditary title. The titled nobility are part of the peerage, which shares the responsibility of government.
British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm. The peerage's fundamental roles are ones of law making and governance, with peers being eligible (although formerly entitled ) to a seat in the House of Lords and having eligibility to serve in a ministerial role in the government if invited to do so by the Prime Minister.
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 (the last creation was the Barony of Curzon of Kedleston )
The British nobility is divided into tiers or ranks, known as the peerage. The roots of this hierarchical system date back around a thousand years; it began to gain a defined structure (as with many things in British history) after William I conquered England in 1066.
The five titles of the peerage, in descending order of precedence, or rank, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron. The highest rank of the peerage, duke, is the most exclusive.
Learn about the origins and evolution of the British peerage, the five ranks of nobility in the UK: duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron. Find out how to address and distinguish different titles and their holders.
