108-621: Bligh may refer to: Members of the family of the Earl of Darnley , an English aristocratic family associated with cricket in Kent : Earl of Darnley Earl of Darnley is a hereditary title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of Ireland . The first creation in the Scots Peerage came in 1580 in favour of Esme Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox , who
216-584: A British peerage from being held by a foreign citizen (although such peers cannot sit in the House of Lords, while the term foreign does not include Irish or Commonwealth citizens). Several descendants of George III were British peers and German subjects; the Lords Fairfax of Cameron were American citizens for several generations. A peer may also disclaim an hereditary peerage under the Peerage Act 1963 . To do so,
324-425: A child born legitimate, not legitimated by a later marriage. An example of this can be seen in the film director Christopher Guest , who bypassed his older half-brother Anthony to became the 5th Baron Haden-Guest as the 4th Baron Haden-Guest was not married to Anthony's mother at the time of his birth. Normally, a peerage passes to the next holder on the death of the previous holder. However, Edward IV introduced
432-417: A course of descent are invalid, though the same is not true for the letters patent creating peers in the Peerage of Scotland . The House of Lords has ruled in certain cases that when the course of descent is not specified, or when the letters patent are lost, the title descends to heirs-male. It is generally necessary for English patents to include limitation to heirs "of the body", unless a special remainder
540-630: A golf course. He sat in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer from 1905 to 1927. On his death in 1927 the titles passed to his only son, the ninth Earl. Esme Ivo Bligh, 9th Earl of Darnley (1886–1955), eldest son of the 8th Earl. In 1937 he succeeded his first cousin Baroness Clifton of Leighton Bromswold (who died unmarried) in her ancient English barony, being her heir-general, as 18th Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold. Peter Stuart Bligh, 10th Earl of Darnley (1915–1980) eldest son of
648-476: A hundred Irish peers left). In the early 19th century, Irish creations were as frequent as this allowed; but only three have been created since 1863, and none since 1898. As of 2011, only 66 "only-Irish" peers remain. The law applicable to a British hereditary peerage depends on which Kingdom it belongs to. Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom follow English law; the difference between them
756-558: A limitation on the Crown's power. It sought to permit no more than six new creations, and thereafter one new creation for each other title that became extinct. But it did allow the Crown to bestow titles on members of the Royal Family without any such limitation. The Bill was rejected in its final stage in the Lords, but it was passed in the Lords when it was reintroduced in the next year. Nonetheless,
864-649: A month after the death of his father Frederick, Prince of Wales . The Dukedom of Cornwall is associated with the Duchy of Cornwall ; the former is a peerage dignity, while the latter is an estate held by the Duke of Cornwall. Income from the Duchy goes to the Duke of Cornwall, or, when there is no duke, to the sovereign (but the money is then paid to the heir to the throne under the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 ). The only other duchy in
972-470: A peerage. The last instance of a man being summoned by writ without already holding a peerage was under the early Tudors; the first clear decision that a single writ (as opposed to a long succession of writs) created a peerage was in Lord Abergavenny 's case of 1610. The House of Lords Act 1999 also renders it doubtful that such a writ would now create a peer if one were now issued; however, this doctrine
1080-513: A porte-cochere, to the design of James Wyatt. He added some Gothic details to the interior and added decorative detail to the hall. In 1817–18 he employed George and John Repton to effect some Tudor-style alterations. Edward Bligh, 5th Earl of Darnley (1795–1835); second, and eldest surviving son of the 4th Earl, who served as a Member of Parliament for Canterbury and served as Lord Lieutenant of County Meath . His daughter Lady Elizabeth Bligh (1830-1914) (wife of Sir Reginald Cust and mother of
1188-436: A procedure known as a writ of acceleration , whereby it was possible for the eldest son of a peer holding more than one peerage to sit in the House of Lords by virtue of one of his father's subsidiary dignities. A person who is a possible heir to a peerage is said to be "in remainder". A title becomes extinct (an opposite to extant , alive) when all possible heirs (as provided by the letters patent) have died out; i.e., there
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#17328475013291296-502: A prosperous Plymouth merchant. John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley, married Theodosia Hyde , 10th Baroness Clifton (of Leighton Bromswold ), great-granddaughter of Lord George Stuart , younger son of Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox, also 3rd Earl of Darnley (see the Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold and the Duke of Lennox for earlier history of these titles). He represented Athboy in
1404-543: A rank something more than an earl and something less than an earl, respectively. When Henry III or Edward I wanted money or advice from his subjects, he would order great churchmen, earls, and other great men to come to his Great Council (some of these are now considered the first parliaments ); he would generally order lesser men from towns and counties to gather and pick some men to represent them. The English Order of Barons evolved from those men who were individually ordered to attend Parliament, but held no other title;
1512-497: A request from the king for a personal loan ( benevolence ). Which men were ordered to council varied from council to council; a man might be so ordered once and never again, or all his life, but his son and heir might never go. Under Henry VI of England , in the 15th century, just before the Wars of the Roses , attendance at Parliament became more valuable. The first claim of hereditary right to
1620-468: A school. In 1875 he paid for the restoration of the magnificent monument in Westminster Abbey of Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1574–1624), Seigneur d'Aubigny, the childless uncle of James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, the first Stewart owner of Cobham Hall. He served as a deputy lieutenant of Kent from 1847 and in 1848 was commissioned a Captain in
1728-611: A seat in the House of Lords. Since the start of the Labour government of Harold Wilson in 1964 , the practice of granting hereditary peerages has largely ceased except for members of the royal family . Only seven hereditary peers have been created since 1965: four in the royal family (the Duke of York , the Earl of Wessex , the Duke of Cambridge , and the Duke of Sussex ) and three additional creations under Margaret Thatcher 's government (the Viscount Whitelaw [had four daughters],
1836-512: A square building with a "prominent pyramid" and surrounded by a dry moat, possibly having been inspired by the Pyramid of Cestius (12 BC) in Rome which he would have seen on his grand tour during his youth. Although the work was duly completed in 1786, to the design of the architect James Wyatt , it never received the approval of the local Bishop of Rochester to become a consecrated building and thus
1944-410: A writ comes from this reign; so does the first patent , or charter declaring a man to be a baron. The five orders began to be called peers. Holders of older peerages also began to receive greater honour than peers of the same rank just created. If a man held a peerage, his son would succeed to it; if he had no children, his brother would succeed. If he had a single daughter, his son-in-law would inherit
2052-404: A writ, what constituted proof of sitting, and which 13th-century assemblages were actually parliaments. Even a writ issued in error is held to create a peerage unless the writ was cancelled before the recipient took his seat; the cancellation was performed by the now obsolete writ of supersedeas . Peerages created by writ of summons are presumed to be inheritable only by the recipient's heirs of
2160-481: Is applied retrospectively: if it can be shown that a writ was issued, that the recipient sat and that the council in question was a parliament, the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords determines who is now entitled to the peerage as though modern law had always applied. Several such long-lost baronies were claimed in the 19th and 20th centuries, though the committee was not consistent on what constituted proof of
2268-417: Is by the rules of male primogeniture , a mechanism whereby normally, male descendants of the peer take precedence over female descendants, with children representing their deceased ancestors, and wherein the senior line of descent always takes precedence over the junior line per each gender. These rules, however, are amended by the proviso whereby sisters (and their heirs) are considered co-heirs ; seniority of
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#17328475013292376-399: Is created Prince of Wales ; at the same time as the principality is created, the duke is also created Earl of Chester . The earldom is a special case, because it is not hereditary, instead revesting or merging in the Crown if the prince succeeds to the Crown or predeceases the monarch: thus George III (then the grandson of the reigning monarch) was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester
2484-420: Is determined by the method of its creation. Titles may be created by writ of summons or by letters patent . The former is merely a summons of an individual to Parliament and does not explicitly confer a peerage; descent is always to the heirs of the body , male and female. The latter method explicitly creates a peerage and names the dignity in question. Letters patent may state the course of descent; usually, this
2592-402: Is nobody in remainder at the death of the holder. A title becomes dormant if nobody has claimed the title, or if no claim has been satisfactorily proven. A title goes into abeyance if there is more than one person equally entitled to be the holder. In the past, peerages were sometimes forfeit or attainted under Acts of Parliament, most often as the result of treason on the part of
2700-547: Is only to male heirs, but by a special remainder other descents can be specified. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 regulates acquired gender and provides that acquiring a new gender under the Act does not affect the descent of any peerage. A child is deemed to be legitimate if its parents are married at the time of its birth or marry later; only legitimate children may succeed to a title, and furthermore, an English, Irish, or British (but not Scottish) peerage can only be inherited by
2808-450: Is similarly affected. No further hereditary peerages may be conferred upon the person, but life peerages may be. The peerage remains without a holder until the death of the peer making the disclaimer, when it descends normally. A title held by someone who becomes monarch is said to merge in the Crown and therefore ceases to exist, because the sovereign cannot hold a dignity from himself. The Dukedoms of Cornwall and of Rothesay , and
2916-465: Is specified (see below). The limitation indicates that only lineal descendants of the original peer may succeed to the peerage. In some very rare instances, the limitation was left out. In the Devon Peerage Case (1831) 2 Dow & Cl 200 , the House of Lords permitted an heir who was a collateral descendant of the original peer to take his seat. The precedent, however, was reversed in 1859, when
3024-664: Is that peerages of England were created before the Act of Union 1707 , peerages of Great Britain between 1707 and the Union with Ireland in 1800, and peerages of the United Kingdom since 1800. Irish peerages follow the law of the Kingdom of Ireland , which is very much similar to English law, except in referring to the Irish Parliament and Irish officials, generally no longer appointed; no Irish peers have been created since 1898, and they have no part in
3132-430: Is their eldest son Harry Robert Stuart Bligh, Lord Clifton (b. 1999). Hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom . As of November 2024, there are 801 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses , 189 earls , 109 viscounts , and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary titles ). As a result of the Peerage Act 1963 , all peers except those in
3240-572: Is through the male line only. Some very old titles, like the Earldom of Arlington , may pass to heirs of the body (not just heirs-male), these follow the same rules of descent as do baronies by writ and seem able to fall into abeyance as well. Many Scottish titles allow for passage to heirs general of the body , in which case the rules of male primogeniture apply; they do not fall into abeyance, as under Scots law, sisters are not treated as equal co-heirs. English and British letters patent that do not specify
3348-522: The Cobham Troop of the West Kent Yeomanry . He was an administrator, then president of Kent MCC , playing one match for the 'Gentlemen of Kent' but starting a family association with the club. Edward Henry Stuart Bligh, 7th Earl of Darnley (1851–1900); eldest son of the 6th Earl. As "Lord Clifton" he played first-class cricket for Kent 1871-9 and "spent money like water", greatly reducing
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3456-565: The Cust family of Pinchbeck, Stamford and Belton in Lincolnshire, 1479-1700, 3 vols, 1898 . He died aged 39 of lockjaw after an axe injury when felling timber on the Cobham Hall estate and was buried at Cobham. John Stuart Bligh, 6th Earl of Darnley (1827–1896); eldest son of the 5th Earl, who in about 1840 altered the dining room, the last significant alteration until the house was converted into
3564-786: The Dukedom of Albany (together with its subsidiary peerages, the Earldom of Clarence and the Barony of Arklow ), the Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale (along with the Earldom of Armagh ) and the Viscountcy of Taaffe (along with the Barony of Ballymote ). Under the Titles Deprivation Act, the successors to the peerages may petition the Crown for a reinstatement of the titles; so far, none of them has chosen to do so (the Taaffe and Ballymote peerages would have become extinct in 1967). Nothing prevents
3672-593: The Earldom of Carrick , are special cases, which when not in use are said to lapse to the Crown : they are construed as existing, but held by no one, during such periods. These peerages are also special in that they are never directly inherited. The Dukedom of Cornwall was held formerly by the eldest son of the King of England, and the Dukedom of Rothesay, the Earldom of Carrick, and certain non-peerage titles ( Baron of Renfrew , Lord of
3780-501: The Earldom of Roberts (to a daughter and her heirs-male), the Barony of Amherst (to a nephew and his heirs-male) and the Dukedom of Dover (to a younger son and his heirs-male while the eldest son is still alive). In many cases, at the time of the grant the proposed peer in question had no sons, nor any prospect of producing any, and the special remainder was made to allow remembrance of his personal honour to continue after his death and to preclude an otherwise certain rapid extinction of
3888-587: The Empress Matilda , nine earls were created in three years. William the Conqueror and his great-grandson Henry II did not make dukes; they were themselves only Dukes of Normandy or Aquitaine . But when Edward III of England declared himself King of France, he made his sons dukes, to distinguish them from other noblemen, much as royal dukes are now distinguished from other dukes. Later kings created marquesses and viscounts to make finer gradations of honour:
3996-787: The Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust, as well as chair of Governors of Hereford Cathedral School. Ivo Donald Bligh, 12th Earl of Darnley (born 17 April 1968) is the son of the 11th Earl and his wife Susan Elaine Anderson. Formally styled as Lord Clifton of Rathmore from 1980, he was educated at Marlborough College and the University of Edinburgh . On 18 June 2017 he succeeded as Baron Clifton (E., 1608), Earl of Darnley (I., 1725), Viscount Darnley of Athboy (I., 1723), and Baron Clifton of Rathmore (I., 1721). On 13 September 1997, he married Peta Martine Beard, daughter of A. Robert Beard, and they have three sons. The heir apparent
4104-422: The House of Lords Act 1999 it was possible for one of the peer's subsidiary titles to be passed to his heir before his death by means of a writ of acceleration , in which case the peer and his heir would have one vote each. Where this is not done, the heir may still use one of the father's subsidiary titles as a " courtesy title ", but he is not considered a peer. The mode of inheritance of an hereditary peerage
4212-613: The Irish House of Commons from 1709 to 1721. In 1721 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Clifton of Rathmore , in the County of Meath. In 1723 the Darnley title held by his wife's ancestors (which had become extinct on the death of Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox and 6th Earl of Darnley in 1672) was revived when he was created Viscount Darnley , of Athboy in the County of Meath, in
4320-666: The Marquess of Salisbury . (Viscount Cranborne succeeded to the marquessate on the death of his father in 2003.) There are no Scottish peerages created by writ; neither can Scottish baronies go into abeyance, for Scots law does not hold sisters as equal heirs regardless of age. Furthermore, there is only one extant barony by writ in the Peerage of Ireland , that of La Poer , now held by the Marquess of Waterford . (Certain other baronies were originally created by writ but later confirmed by letters patent.) More often, letters patent are used to create peerages. Letters patent must explicitly name
4428-528: The Peerage of Ireland was in 1725 to John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley , descended from a prominent Devon family via a cadet branch which had settled in County Meath , Ireland ; he was the son of the Rt Hon Thomas Bligh who was in turn the son of John Bligh, of Plymouth, a Commissioner of Customs and Excise despatched to Ireland in search of forfeited estates, and in turn his father was William Bligh,
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4536-428: The Peerage of Ireland . He was the son of Thomas Bligh, the son of John Bligh of Plymouth (son of William Bligh, a prosperous Plymouth merchant), a Commissioner of Customs and Excise despatched to Ireland in search of forfeited estates. He represented Athboy in the Irish House of Commons from 1709 to 1721. In 1721 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Clifton of Rathmore , in the County of Meath. In 1723
4644-473: The Viscount Tonypandy [had no issue] and the Earl of Stockton [with issue]). The two viscounts died without male heirs, extinguishing their titles. Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton received the earldom customarily bestowed on former prime ministers after he retired from the House of Commons . As for the practice of granting hereditary titles (usually earldoms) to male commoners who married into
4752-465: The peerage of Ireland were entitled to sit in the House of Lords . Since the House of Lords Act 1999 came into force only 92 hereditary peers, elected from all hereditary peers, are permitted to do so, unless they are also life peers. Peers are called to the House of Lords with a writ of summons . Not all hereditary titles are titles of the peerage. For instance, baronets and baronetesses may pass on their titles, but they are not peers. Conversely,
4860-541: The 13th century, and Irish parliaments began later in the same century; until Henry VIII declared himself King of Ireland, these parliaments were small bodies, representing only the Irish Pale . A writ does not create a peerage in Ireland; all Irish peerages are by patent or charter, although some early patents have been lost. After James II left England, he was King of Ireland alone for a time; three creations he ordered then are in
4968-474: The 1st Earl. He served as a Member of Parliament for Maidstone and in the Irish House of Commons for Athboy. He carried out various building works at Cobham, between 1768 and 1770 he added an extra floor to the west front, to the design of Sir William Chambers. Between 1771 and 1773 he added a 2-storey corridor to the north side of the central block and began building the east court (or "kitchen court") to match
5076-479: The 9th Earl. In 1959 following the death of his father and facing heavy inheritance tax demands, he sold the house, gardens and part of the park to the "Land Fund", which sold them on in 1963 to the Westwood Educational Trust Limited (a charity in the form of a private company limited by guarantee without share capital, formed in 1961 ) which established and operates the school which still occupies
5184-404: The Crown. A writ of acceleration is a type of writ of summons that enables the eldest son of a peer to attend the House of Lords using one of his father's subsidiary titles. The title is strictly not inherited by the eldest son, however; it remains vested in the father. A writ may be granted only if the title being accelerated is a subsidiary one, and not the main title, and if the beneficiary of
5292-428: The Darnley title held by his wife's ancestors (which had become extinct on the death of Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox and 6th Earl of Darnley in 1672) was revived when he was created Viscount Darnley , of Athboy in the County of Meath, in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1725 Bligh was further honoured when he was advanced as Earl of Darnley, in the County of Meath, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He died in 1728 and
5400-621: The English Test team , he met his Australian wife Florence Morphy when touring Australia with the English team in 1882–83 . During the First World War he and his wife set aside the state apartments of Cobham Hall to accommodate 50 Australian officers. After the War in the 1920s he let Cobham Hall and in 1925 sold the collection of paintings and the outlying estate and converted the eastern deer park into
5508-569: The Hon. Edward Bligh (1769–1840), second son of the third Earl, was a general in the British Army. The Hon. William Bligh (1775–1845), third son of the third Earl, was a colonel in the Army. The Hon. Sir John Bligh (1798–1872), fourth son of the fourth Earl, was a diplomat and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Hanover . Susan Bligh, Countess of Darnley , the eleventh Earl's wife
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#17328475013295616-519: The House of Commons rejected the Peerage Bill by 269 to 177. George III was especially profuse with the creation of titles, mainly due to the desire of some of his Prime Ministers to obtain a majority in the House of Lords. During his 12 years in power, Lord North had about 30 new peerages created. During William Pitt the Younger 's 17-year tenure, over 140 new peerages were awarded. A restriction on
5724-426: The House of Commons. Prior to the House of Lords Act 1999, a hereditary peer could not disclaim a peerage after having applied for a writ of summons to Parliament; now, however, hereditary peers do not have the automatic right to a writ of summons to the House. Irish peerages may not be disclaimed. A peer who disclaims the peerage loses all titles, rights and privileges associated with the peerage; his wife or her husband
5832-465: The House of Lords decided in the Wiltes Peerage Case (1869) LR 4 HL 126 that a patent that did not include the words "of the body" would be held void . It is possible for a patent to allow for succession by someone other than an heir-male or heir of the body, under a so-called special remainder . Several instances may be cited: the Barony of Nelson (to an elder brother and his heirs-male),
5940-564: The House of Lords deemed invalid the clause intended to keep the Barony of Buckhurst separate from the Earldom of De La Warr (the invalidation of clause may not affect the validity of the letters patent itself). The patent stipulated that if the holder of the barony should ever inherit the earldom, then he would be deprived of the barony, which would instead pass to the next successor as if the deprived holder had died without issue. Letters patent are not absolute; they may be amended or revoked by Act of Parliament . For example, Parliament amended
6048-633: The Irish Government. Scotland evolved a similar system, differing in points of detail. The first Scottish earldoms derive from the seven mormaers , of immemorial antiquity; they were named earls by Queen Margaret. The Parliament of Scotland is as old as the English; the Scottish equivalent of baronies are called lordships of Parliament . The Act of Union 1707 , between England and Scotland, provided that future peerages should be peers of Great Britain , and
6156-566: The Irish Patent Roll, although the patents were never issued; but these are treated as valid. The Irish peers were in a peculiar political position: because they were subjects of the King of England, but peers in a different kingdom, they could sit in the English House of Commons, and many did. In the 18th century, Irish peerages became rewards for English politicians, limited only by the concern that they might go to Dublin and interfere with
6264-494: The Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland ) by the eldest son of the King of Scotland . Since those titles have been united, the dukedoms and associated subsidiary titles are held by the eldest son of the monarch. In Scotland, the title Duke of Rothesay is used for life or until ascension. In England and Northern Ireland , the title Duke of Cornwall is used until the heir apparent
6372-513: The Peerage of Ireland. In 1725 Bligh was further honoured when he was advanced as Earl of Darnley , in the County of Meath, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He had already succeeded his mother in 1722 as eleventh Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold in the Peerage of England . Lord Darnley served as a Lord of the Bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales , but died unmarried in 1747, aged 31. He
6480-456: The Sovereign create one new Irish peerage for each extinction. There were no restrictions on creations in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . The Peerage continued to swell through the 19th century. In the 20th century, there were even more creations, as Prime Ministers were again eager to secure majorities in the House of Lords. Peerages were handed out not to honour the recipient but to give him
6588-460: The United Kingdom is the Duchy of Lancaster , which is also an estate rather than a peerage dignity. The Dukedom of Lancaster merged in the Crown when Henry of Monmouth, Duke of Lancaster became King Henry V. Nonetheless, the Duchy of Lancaster continues to exist, theoretically run by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (which is normally a sinecure position with no actual duties related to
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#17328475013296696-618: The aim of "protecting the gardens, grounds and garden buildings of the Cobham Hall estate and to educating the public in their historical significance". From 1991 he served as vice-chairman of the governors of Cobham Hall School, where his sister Lady Harriet was educated. He moved to Herefordshire with his family in October 1984 to farm the Netherwood Estate. He was chairman of the Herefordshire Historic Churches Trust,
6804-458: The beginning of each new parliament, each peer who has established his or her right to attend Parliament is issued a writ of summons. Without the writ, no peer may sit or vote in Parliament. The form of writs of summons has changed little over the centuries. It is established precedent that the sovereign may not deny writs of summons to qualified peers. By modern English law, if a writ of summons
6912-657: The body. The House of Lords has settled such a presumption in several cases, including Lord Grey's Case (1640) Cro Cas 601 , the Clifton Barony Case (1673), the Vaux Peerage Case (1837) 5 Cl & Fin 526, the Braye Peerage Case (1839) 6 Cl & Fin 757 and the Hastings Peerage Case (1841) 8 Cl & Fin 144. The meaning of heir of the body is determined by common law. Essentially, descent
7020-461: The chosen representatives, on the other hand, became the House of Commons . This order, called a writ , was not originally hereditary, or even a privilege; the recipient had to come to the Great Council at his own expense, vote on taxes on himself and his neighbours, acknowledge that he was the king's tenant-in-chief (which might cost him special taxes), and risk involvement in royal politics – or
7128-457: The county; they gradually became honours, with a stipend of £ 20 a year. Like most feudal offices, earldoms were inherited, but the kings frequently asked earls to resign or exchange earldoms. Usually there were few earls in England, and they were men of great wealth in the shire from which they held title, or an adjacent one, but it depended on circumstances: during the civil war between Stephen and
7236-679: The courtier Sir Lionel Cust ) was a historian and genealogist, who (as "Lady Elizabeth Cust") was the author of Some Account of the Stuarts of Aubigny , in France , London, 1891, dedicated by permission to Queen Victoria and intended "to preserve from oblivion the gallant deeds of the Stewarts of Aubigny who commanded the Scots Guards and Scots Men-at-Arms in the great wars of France from the time of Charles VII to that of Henri IV" . She also wrote Records of
7344-582: The creation of new peerages, the Royal Warrant of 2004 , explicitly apply to both hereditary and life peers. However, successive governments have largely disowned the practice, and the Royal Household website currently describes the King as the fount of honour for "life peerages, knighthoods and gallantry awards", with no mention of hereditary titles. In 2024, the Starmer Labour government announced in
7452-440: The creation of peerages, but only in the Peerage of Ireland, was enacted under the Acts of Union 1800 that combined Ireland and Great Britain into the United Kingdom in 1801. New creations were restricted to a maximum of one new Irish peerage for every three existing Irish peerages that became extinct, excluding those held concurrently with an English or British peerage; only if the total number of Irish peers dropped below 100 could
7560-403: The duchy and is used to appoint a minister without portfolio ). The Duchy of Lancaster is the inherited property that belongs personally to the monarch, rather than to the Crown . Thus, while income from the Crown Estate is turned over to the Exchequer in return for a Sovereign grant payment, the income from the duchy forms a part of the Privy Purse , the personal funds of the Sovereign. At
7668-399: The dukedom was allowed to pass to the Duke's daughters; Lady Henrietta , the Countess of Sunderland , the Countess of Bridgewater and Lady Mary and their heirs-male – and thereafter "to all and every other the issue male and female, lineally descending of or from the said Duke of Marlborough, in such manner and for such estate as the same are before limited to the before-mentioned issue of
7776-492: The earldom reverted to the Crown, who might re-grant it (often to the eldest son-in-law); in the 17th century, it would not be inherited by anybody unless all but one of the daughters died and left no descendants, in which case the remaining daughter (or her heir) would inherit. After Henry II became the Lord of Ireland , he and his successors began to imitate the English system as it was in their time. Irish earls were first created in
7884-530: The end of the Wars of the Roses , which killed many peers, and degraded or attainted many others, there were only 29 Lords Temporal; but the population of England was also much smaller then. The Tudors doubled the number of Peers, creating many but executing others; at the death of Queen Elizabeth I, there were 59. The number of peers then grew under the Stuarts and all later monarchs. By the time of Queen Anne's death in 1714, there were 168 peers. In 1712, Queen Anne
7992-402: The family lands, and usually the same peerage; more complex cases were decided depending on circumstances. Customs changed with time; earldoms were the first to be hereditary, and three different rules can be traced for the case of an earl who left no sons and several married daughters. In the 13th century, the husband of the eldest daughter inherited the earldom automatically; in the 15th century,
8100-545: The first Earl, represented County Meath as its MP in the Irish Parliament and was sworn of the Irish Privy Council . Thomas Bligh , younger brother of the first Earl, was a general in the British Army and represented Athboy in the Irish House of Commons for sixty years. The Very Reverend Robert Bligh (c. 1704–1778), another brother of the first Earl, was an Anglican clergyman who became Dean of Elphin . General
8208-492: The holder of a non-hereditary title may belong to the peerage, as with life peers . Peerages may be created by means of letters patent , but the granting of new hereditary peerages has largely dwindled; only seven hereditary peerages have been created since 1965, four of them for members of the British royal family . The most recent grant of a hereditary peerage was in 2019 for the youngest child of Elizabeth II , Prince Edward , who
8316-470: The holder. The blood of an attainted peer was considered "corrupted", consequently his or her descendants could not inherit the title. If all descendants of the attainted peer were to die out, however, then an heir from another branch of the family not affected by the attainder could take the title. The Forfeiture Act 1870 abolished corruption of blood; instead of losing the peerage, a peer convicted of treason would be disqualified from sitting in Parliament for
8424-411: The letters patent creating the Dukedom of Marlborough in 1706. The patent originally provided that the dukedom could be inherited by the heirs-male of the body of the first duke, Captain-General Sir John Churchill . One son had died in infancy and the other died in 1703 from smallpox . Under Parliament's amendment to the patent, designed to allow the famous general's honour to survive after his death,
8532-406: The line is irrelevant when succession is through a female line. In other words, no woman inherits because she is older than her sisters. If all of the co-heirs but one die, then the surviving co-heir succeeds to the title. Otherwise, the title remains abeyant until the sovereign "terminates" the abeyance in favour of one of the co-heirs. The termination of an abeyance is entirely at the discretion of
8640-466: The matter. He was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the fifth Earl. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Canterbury and served as Lord Lieutenant of County Meath . On the death of his grandson, the seventh Earl (who had succeeded his father in 1896), the barony of Clifford of Leighton Bromswold separated from the Irish titles when it devolved upon the late Earl's daughter and only child,
8748-467: The peer must deliver an instrument of disclaimer to the Lord Chancellor within 12 months of succeeding to the peerage, or, if under the age of 21 at the time of succession, within 12 months of becoming 21 years old. If, at the time of succession, the peer is a member of the House of Commons , then the instrument must be delivered within one month of succession; meanwhile, the peer may not sit or vote in
8856-400: The peerage in most of the United Kingdom are, in descending order of rank, duke , marquess , earl , viscount and baron ; the female equivalents are duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess and baroness respectively. Women typically do not hold hereditary titles in their own right, except for certain peerages in the peerage of Scotland. One significant change to the status quo in England
8964-492: The peerage. However, in all cases the course of descent specified in the patent must be known in common law. For instance, the Crown may not make a "shifting limitation" in the letters patent; in other words, the patent may not vest the peerage in an individual and then, before that person's death, shift the title to another person. The doctrine was established in the Buckhurst Peerage Case (1876) 2 App Cas 1 , in which
9072-525: The period of imprisonment. The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 permitted the Crown to suspend peerages if their holders had fought against the United Kingdom during the First World War . Guilt was to be determined by a committee of the Privy Council ; either House of Parliament could reject the committee's report within 40 days of its presentation. In 1919, King George V issued an Order in Council suspending
9180-412: The possible exception of those given to members of the royal family, would be created if not upon the advice of the prime minister . Many peers hold more than one hereditary title; for example, the same individual may be a duke, a marquess, an earl, a viscount, and a baron by virtue of different peerages. If such a person is entitled to sit in the House of Lords, he still only has one vote. However, until
9288-415: The present governance of the United Kingdom. Scottish peerage law is generally similar to English law, but differs in innumerable points of detail, often being more similar to medieval practice. Women are ineligible to succeed to the majority of English, Irish, and British hereditary peerages, but may inherit certain English baronies by writ and Scottish peerages in the absence of a male heir. The ranks of
9396-457: The recipient of the title and specify the course of descent; the exact meaning of the term is determined by common law . For remainders in the Peerage of the United Kingdom , the most common wording is "to have and to hold unto him and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten". Where the letters patent specifies the peer's heirs male of the body as successors, the rules of agnatic succession apply, meaning that succession
9504-536: The royal family, the latest offer of such peerage was in 1973 to Captain Mark Phillips (husband of The Princess Anne ) who declined, and the most recent to accept was the Earl of Snowdon (husband of The Princess Margaret ) in 1961. There is no statute that prevents the creation of new hereditary peerages; they may technically be created at any time, and the government continues to maintain pro forma letters patent for their creation. The most recent policies outlining
9612-595: The rules covering the peers should follow the English model; because there were proportionately many more Scottish peers, they chose a number of representatives to sit in the British House of Lords. The Acts of Union 1800 changed this to peers of the United Kingdom , but provided that Irish peerages could still be created; but the Irish peers were concerned that their honours would be diluted as cheap prizes, and insisted that an Irish peerage could be created only when three Irish peerages had gone extinct (until there were only
9720-425: The said Duke, it being intended that the said honours shall continue, remain, and be invested in all the issue of the said Duke, so long as any such issue male or female shall continue, and be held by them severally and successively in manner and form aforesaid, the elder and the descendants of every elder issue to be preferred before the younger of such issue." The number of peers has varied considerably with time. At
9828-448: The site today. In 1968 the 10th Earl resided nearby at Puckle Hill, Shorne, near Gravesend, Kent, "a large, robust Arts and Crafts house constructed in 1923". Adam Bligh, 11th Earl of Darnley (1941–2017), half-brother and heir of the 10th Earl (2nd son of the 9th Earl by his 3rd wife). In 1968 he resided at Meadow House in Cobham. In 1985 he founded the "Cobham Hall Heritage Trust" with
9936-668: The ten-month-old Lady Elizabeth Bligh, who became the seventeenth holder of the barony by writ of summons . Lord Darnley was succeeded in the Irish titles by his younger brother, the eighth Earl. A talented and successful cricketer who captained MCC , he sat in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer from 1905 to 1927. On his death the titles passed to his only son, the ninth Earl. In 1937 he succeeded his first cousin The Lady Clifton (who died unmarried) in her ancient English barony by writ of summons being her heir-general, as eighteenth Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold . He
10044-519: The two Tudor wings. He redecorated several rooms in the classical style. By his will he left instructions for the building of the Darnley Mausoluem within the deer park , to house the embalmed corpses of his descendants, the "Hyde Vault" in Westminster Abbey (in the north ambulatory, near the steps leading up to Henry VII's Lady Chapel ) having become full. He required it to be in the form of
10152-519: The wealth of his family. On his death without male issue the barony of Clifford of Leighton Bromswold separated from the Irish titles when it devolved upon his only child and sole heiress, the ten-month-old Lady Elizabeth Bligh, who became the seventeenth holder of the barony by writ of summons . He was succeeded in the Irish titles by his younger brother the 8th Earl. Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley (1859–1927), younger brother of 7th Earl. A talented and successful cricketer who captained
10260-413: The writ is the heir-apparent of the actual holder of the title. A total of ninety-four writs of acceleration have been issued since Edward IV issued the first one, including four writs issued in the twentieth century. The only individual who recently sat in the House of Lords by writ of acceleration is Viscount Cranborne in 1992, through the Barony of Cecil which was actually being held by his father,
10368-420: Was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire in 2008. The family seat is Netherwood Manor at Thornbury, Herefordshire , near Tenbury Wells , Worcestershire . The former was Cobham Hall , near Gravesend , Kent , from the 18th century until 1957, and the family still retains some property in the village . John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley (1687–1728), who married, in 1713, Lady Theodosia Hyde . He
10476-529: Was buried with his wife in the "Hyde Vault" in Westminster Abbey, in the north ambulatory, near the steps up to Henry VII's chapel. Edward Bligh, 2nd Earl of Darnley (1715–1747); second, and eldest surviving son of the 1st Earl. He had already succeeded his mother in 1722 as eleventh Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold in the Peerage of England . He served as a Lord of the Bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales , but died unmarried in 1747, aged 31. John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley (1719–1781); third son of
10584-498: Was by his only son from his third marriage with Rosemary, Dowager Countess of Darnley ( née Potter , died 2005), the eleventh Earl, who succeeded his half-brother (the only son from the first marriage of the ninth Earl), in 1980. As of 2017 the title is held by his only son, the twelfth earl, who succeeded his father in that year. Several other members of the Bligh family have also attained distinction. Thomas Bligh (1654–1710), father of
10692-406: Was called upon to create 12 peers in one day in order to pass a government measure, more than Queen Elizabeth I had created during a 45-year reign. Several peers were alarmed at the rapid increase in the size of the Peerage, fearing that their individual importance and power would decrease as the number of peers increased. Therefore, in 1719, a bill was introduced in the House of Lords to place
10800-439: Was created Duke of Lennox at the same time. The title of Lord Darnley had previously been held by John Stewart, head of the house of Stewart of Darnley and first Earl of Lennox (1488). The second creation in the Peerage of Scotland came in 1675 in favour of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond . He was made Duke of Lennox at the same time. For more information on this creation, see the Duke of Richmond . The only creation in
10908-439: Was created Earl of Forfar ; the most recent grant of a hereditary peerage to a non-royal was in 1984 for former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan , who was created Earl of Stockton with the subsidiary title of Viscount Macmillan. The hereditary peerage, as it now exists, combines several different English institutions with analogues from Scotland and Ireland. English earls are an Anglo-Saxon institution. Around 1014, England
11016-400: Was descended from a prominent Devon family via a cadet branch which had settled in County Meath , Ireland . Following his marriage in 1713 to Theodosia Hyde , 10th Baroness Clifton (of Leighton Bromswold ), a descendant of Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox, also 3rd Earl of Darnley , he was in 1725 created Earl of Darnley (a reference to his ancestors the Stewarts of Darnley of Cobham) in
11124-508: Was divided into shires or counties, largely to defend against the Danes ; each shire was led by a local great man, called an earl; the same man could be earl of several shires. When the Normans invaded England , they continued to appoint earls, but not for all counties; the administrative head of the county became the sheriff . Earldoms began as offices, with a perquisite of a share of the legal fees in
11232-466: Was in 1532 when Henry VIII created the Marquess of Pembroke title for his soon-to-be wife, Anne Boleyn ; she held this title in her own right and was therefore ennobled with the same rank as a male. In the Scottish peerage, the lowest rank is lordship of Parliament , the male holder thereof being known as a lord of Parliament . A Scottish barony is a feudal rank, and not of the Peerage. The barony by tenure or feudal barony in England and Wales
11340-455: Was issued to a person who was not a peer, that person took his seat in Parliament, and the parliament was a parliament in the modern sense (including representatives of the Commons), that single writ created a barony , a perpetual peerage inheritable by male-preference primogeniture . This was not medieval practice, and it is doubtful whether any writ was ever issued with the intent of creating such
11448-416: Was never used for its intended purpose. John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley (1767–1831); eldest son of the 3rd Earl. In 1828 he presented a claim as heir-general to the dukedom of Lennox, but the House of Lords did not come to any decision on the matter. He was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the fifth Earl. He built a bridge connecting the north front to the terrace forming an entrance under
11556-446: Was similar to a Scottish feudal barony , in being hereditary, but is long obsolete, the last full summons of the English feudal barons to military service having occurred in 1327. The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 finally quashed any remaining doubt as to their continued status. Peerage dignities are created by the sovereign by either writs of summons or letters patent . Under modern constitutional conventions, no peerage dignity, with
11664-514: Was succeeded by his younger brother, the third Earl. He had earlier represented Athboy in the Irish House of Commons and Maidstone in the British House of Commons . On his death the titles passed to his eldest son, the fourth Earl. In 1828 he presented a claim as heir-general to the dukedom of Lennox, challenged by the Countess Nugent , but the House of Lords did not come to any decision on
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