Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom

A courtesy title is a form of address and/or reference in the British system of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry.

The children (either male or female) of holders of courtesy titles bear the styles as would be theirs if their fathers actually held the peerages by which they were known; for example, Serena Stanhope, daughter of Viscount Petersham (heir to the Earl of Harrington), had the style of the Honourable, which is reserved for daughters of viscounts and barons, a title which her father held by courtesy only.

The courtesy style of "Lord" before the given name is accorded to younger sons of dukes and marquesses.

Because it is merely a courtesy with no legal implications, the honorific persists after the death of the holder's father, but it is not inherited by her children.

A daughter of a duke, marquess or earl who marries an untitled man becomes "Lady [given name] [husband's surname]"; an example from fiction is Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice, who married the untitled knight (or baronet) Sir Louis de Bourgh and, therefore, retains her courtesy style.

The daughter of a viscount or baron who marries a commoner is styled "the Honourable [given name] [husband's surname]".

If a woman marries a younger son of a duke or marquess, she becomes "Lady [husband's full name]".

Regardless of what she chooses, she loses all precedence acquired from marriage and, because of the former option, there can be multiple Ladies John Smith at any one time.

Pursuant to a Royal Warrant dated 30 April 2004,[5] these children are now automatically entitled to the same styles and courtesy titles as their siblings.

For example, actress Nimmy March, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, was immediately elevated to Lady Naomi Gordon-Lennox on 30 April 2004.

For instance, Rupert Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley succeeded his childless uncle in 2002.

The wife of a substantive peer is legally entitled to the privileges of peerage: she is said to have a "life estate" in her husband's dignity.

The wives of eldest sons of peers hold their titles on the same basis as their husbands – that is, by courtesy.

[8] In the case of a woman who is a substantive peer in her own right, by succession or by first creation (that is, ennoblement, most commonly in recent times under the Life Peerages Act 1958), her husband acquires no distinction in right of his wife.

In 2012, Conservative MP Oliver Colvile put forward a Ten Minute Rule bill to allow the spouse of a woman who holds an honour, if he or she enters civil partnership or marriage, to assume the style the Honourable.

If a widowed peeress's son predeceases her, her daughter-in-law does not use the title of Dowager, but is styled, for instance, "The Most Hon.

As Lord Macnaughten put it, in the case of Earl Cowley v Countess Cowley [1901] AC 450: "...everybody knows that it is a very common practice for peeresses (not being peeresses in their own right) after marrying commoners to retain the title lost by such marriage.

A prominent example was Catherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII, who continued to be known as Queen Catherine even after her marriage to Thomas, Baron Seymour of Sudeley (and, indeed, she disputed precedence with Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset on this basis).

This usage died out later in the twentieth century, and women who remarry now ordinarily take a new married name and do not retain their former title.

Traditionally, a laird is formally styled in the manner evident on the 1730 tombstone in a Scottish kirkyard (churchyard).

The section titled Scottish Feudal Baronies in Debrett's states that the use of the prefix "The Much Hon."

[24][25][26] The courtesy prefix of "Maid" is granted to the eldest daughter of a Scottish baron.

The title is placed at the end of the name (for example, Miss Alice Joy, Maid of Newcastle).

There is, however, official precedence accorded at the Court of St James's that results from being the wife or child of a peer, and to which social styles are attached.

On creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009, the first Justices already held life peerages as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, and continued to hold them.

The first non-peer appointed to the Supreme Court was Sir John Dyson, who took office on 19 April 2010.

By royal warrant dated 10 December 2010, all Justices of the Supreme Court who are not already peers are granted the style Lord or Lady followed by a surname, territorial designation or a combination of both, for life.

[32] The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons also allows the use of "Doctor" as a courtesy title by its members, though they must make clear in writing that they are vets and not physicians of human medicine or holders of academic doctorates to ensure the public are not misled.

[35] It is also used in oral address for naval officers below the rank of captain who are in command of a ship.