Though the UK is today a constitutional monarchy with strong democratic elements, historically the British Isles were more predisposed towards aristocratic governance in which power was largely inherited and shared amongst a noble class.
All ranks and titles of nobility in the British Isles are strictly personal and limited to the lifetime of the holder, though many can be transmitted by primogeniture, usually to heirs male of the body of the original recipient.
Male-line descendants of members of the royal family, peers, baronets, knights and esquires do not sink below the rank of Gentleman as long as they are armigerous.
Members of the peerage carry the titles of duke, marquess, earl, viscount or baron (in Scotland historically lord of parliament).
All modern British peerage dignities are created directly by the Crown and take effect when letters patent are issued, affixed with the Great Seal of the Realm.
For example, in the early Stuart period, King James I sold peerages, adding sixty-two peers to a body that had included just fifty-nine members at the commencement of his reign.
In a more modern sense it served as a category indicating "candidates for knighthood", and was therefore typically associated with certain professions (such as judges, justices of the peace, and sheriffs).
A rare hereditary variety of English esquire is found in the West Country, primarily in Devonshire, called White Spur.
[4] CILANE[1] and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta[5] both consider armorial bearings as the main, if not sole, mark of gentility (untitled nobility) in Britain.
Lyon Innes of Learney introduced the term Noblesse referring specifically to the Scottish armigerous gentry, but it is unpopular with some modern heraldic enthusiasts.
A grant of arms made to a person who is not a subject of the King, i.e. not a citizen of a Commonwealth realm, does not constitute the recipient a member of the British gentry.
In theory for example, a Lord of the Manor holds the rank of Esquire, but would only be considered noble if they also held a coat of arms, and the possession of such a title does not always guarantee eligibility.
However, a significant proportion of them has been acquired by individuals characterised as social climbers, often with no connection whatsoever to the area or estate corresponding to the title's territorial designation.
The Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act has turned Scottish baronies into incorporeal hereditaments no longer bound to land.
[1] Descendants in the male line of peers and children of women who are peeresses in their own right, as well as of baronets, knights, dames, and of non-armigerous landowning families are typically considered members of the gentry informally but must apply for a grant of arms to join a formal nobility association.
The Monarch grants Peerages, Baronetcies and Knighthoods to citizens of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms at the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Late Antique Little Ice Age and the Plague of Justinian may have caused famine and other societal disruptions that compelled previously independent farmers to submit to the rule of strong lords.
[17] In the 11th century, while England was ruled by a Danish dynasty, the office changed from ealdorman to earl (related to Old English eorl and Scandinavian jarl).
Secular government depended on educated clergy to function, and prelates were important politicians and royal advisers in the witan (the king's council).
[34] The lower ranks of the aristocracy included the landless younger sons of important families and wealthier knights (men who held substantial land by knight-service).
[note 1] The baronage (including barons, earls, and high-ranking churchmen) had a duty as tenants-in-chief to provide the king with advice when summoned to great councils.
This is only a convention, and was not observed by prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who asked the Queen to create three hereditary peerages (two of them, to men who had no heirs).
Until changes in the twentieth century, only a proportion of those holding Scottish and Irish peerages were entitled by that title to sit in the House of Lords; these were nominated by their peers.
The two exceptions are the Earl Marshal (a position held by the Dukes of Norfolk), who is responsible for certain ceremonial functions on state occasions, and the Lord Great Chamberlain (a position held in gross and one of a number of persons can hold it), who serves as the monarch's representative in Parliament and accompanies them on certain state occasions; both are automatically entitled to sit in the House.
Typically, those due to inherit a peerage—or indeed have done so, in recent times—have been educated at one of the major public schools, such as Eton, Radley, Oundle, Winchester or Harrow.
He fought and won the ensuing by-election, but was disqualified from taking his seat until the Peerage Act 1963 was passed enabling hereditary peers to renounce their titles.
Both Captain Mark Phillips and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, the respective first and second husbands of Princess Anne, do not hold peerages.
Modern life peers do not generally own large estates, from which to name their title, so more imagination is required, unless the simple option of using the surname is selected.
It is heritable by primogeniture under male preference, just like most old Scottish dignities in absence of a different disposition by the holder; all daughters but only the eldest son may use it by courtesy.
The Prince of Thomond is one of three remaining claimants to the non-existent, since the 12th century, High Kingship of Ireland, the others being The O'Neill, MacCarthy Mor dynasty and the O'Conor Don.