Lord-lieutenant

A lord-lieutenant (UK: /lɛfˈtɛnənt/ lef-TEN-ənt)[1] is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom.

[2] Lord-lieutenant is now an honorary titular position usually awarded to a retired notable person in the county, and despite the name, may be either male or female.

Lieutenants were first appointed to a number of English counties by King Henry VIII in the 1540s, when the military functions of the sheriffs were handed over to them.

Each lieutenant raised and was responsible for the efficiency of the local militia units of his county, and afterwards of the yeomanry and volunteers.

[3] These commissions were originally of temporary duration, and only when the situation required the local militia to be specially supervised and well prepared, often when invasion by Scotland or France might be expected.

Lieutenancies soon became more organised, probably in the reign of Henry's successor King Edward VI, their establishment being approved by the English parliament in 1550.

Although some counties were left without lieutenants during the 1590s, following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the office continued to exist, and was retained by King James I even after the end of the Anglo-Spanish War.

The office of lieutenant was abolished under the Commonwealth, but was re-established following the Restoration under the City of London Militia Act 1662, which declared that: [T]he King's most Excellent Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall and may from Time to Time, as Occasion shall require, issue forth several Commissions of Lieutenancy to such Persons as his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall think fit to be his Majesty's Lieutenants for the several and respective Counties, Cities and Places of England and Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed.Although not explicitly stated, from that date lieutenants were appointed to "counties at large", with their jurisdiction including the counties corporate within the parent county.

[4] The official title of the office at this time was His or Her Majesty's "Lieutenant for the county of x", but, as almost all office-holders were peers of the realm, they were referred to as "Lord-Lieutenant".

[8] In the Republic of Ireland no Lord Lieutenants have been appointed since the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, and all relevant statutes have been repealed.

The Lord Provosts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee are, by virtue of office, also the lord-lieutenants of their respective city.

The creation of the Irish Free State in the following year saw the remaining county lieutenancies in Ireland abolished.

A more fundamental reform of local government throughout England and Wales (outside Greater London) created a new structure of metropolitan, non-metropolitan and Welsh counties in 1974.

[22] The areas to which they were appointed approximated to the counties and were based and were defined in terms of the new local government districts.

[23] Partial reform of local government in England since 1995 has led to the creation of so-called "ceremonial counties" to which Lord-Lieutenants are now appointed.

It is their foremost duty to uphold the dignity of the Crown, and in so doing they seek to promote a spirit of co-operation and good atmosphere through the time they give to voluntary and benevolent organisations and through the interest they take in the business and social life of their counties.

The badge used on the uniform varies depending on where the lieutenant's county is situated – a rose is worn in England, shamrocks in Northern Ireland, a thistle in Scotland and Prince-of-Wales feathers in Wales.

[29][30] The uniform for a vice lord-lieutenant and for deputy lieutenants is of a similar style, but with features to distinguish it from that of a lord-lieutenant – on shoulder boards, no crown above the national symbol (rose, shamrocks, or thistle); blue cord instead of silver on the red collar patches (deputy lieutenants have a simple grey stripe); and only a single row of gold braid around the peak of the cap (deputy lieutenants have no oak leaf but simple gold tape).

In addition, deputy lieutenants wear narrower shoulder boards than their superiors, and the red cap band is horizontally divided by a small grey stripe.

If not in uniform, female appointees wear a Badge of Office featuring their national symbol (rose, shamrocks, or thistle) on a bow of white and magenta – the Lieutenancy colours.

In the English colonies, and subsequently the British Empire, the duties of a Lord-Lieutenant were generally performed by the Commander-in-Chief or the Governor.

Bermuda became an Imperial fortress (along with Halifax in Nova Scotia, Gibraltar, and Malta), a large regular army garrison was built up after 1794, and the reserve forces faded away following the conclusion of the American War of 1812 as the local government lost interest in paying for their upkeep.

In the Netherlands, King's commissioners (Commissaris van de Koning in Dutch) are appointed by the monarch, but unlike a lord-lieutenant, belong to a political party.

The Lord-lieutenant (UK) and Governor (Indian states) are ceremonial representatives appointed by central authorities.