The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

s created in the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

between the

Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

and the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

, but was itself replaced by the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801. The ranks of the Peerage of Great Britain are

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

and

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

. Until the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, all peers of Great Britain could sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Some peerages of Great Britain were created for peers in the

and

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as they did not have an automatic seat in the

until the Peerage Act 1963 which gave Scottish Peers an automatic right to sit in the Lords. In the following table of peers of Great Britain, holders of higher or equal titles in the other peerages are listed. Those peers who are known by a higher title in one of the other peerages are listed in ''italics''.

Ranks

The ranks of the peerage are

, and

Titles

Marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons are all addressed as 'Lord X', where 'X' represents either their territory or surname pertaining to their title. Marchionesses, countesses, viscountesses and baronesses are all addressed as 'Lady X'. Dukes and duchesses are addressed just as 'Duke' or 'Duchess' or, in a non-social context, 'Your Grace'.

Creation of peers

The last non-royal dukedom of Great Britain was created in 1766, and the last marquessate of Great Britain was created in 1796. Creation of the remaining ranks ceased when the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

was formed; subsequent creations of peers were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The last 8 (6 non-royal and two royal) people who were created hereditary peers (from 1798 to 1800) were:

Lists of peers

* 30 dukes: see '' List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland'' * 34 marquesses: see '' List of marquesses in the peerages of Britain and Ireland'' * 191 earls and countesses: see '' List of earls in the peerages of Britain and Ireland'' * 111 viscounts: see '' List of viscounts in the peerages of Britain and Ireland'' * 1,187 barons: see '' List of barons in the peerages of Britain and Ireland'' * Women: see '' List of peerages created for women'' and '' List of peerages inherited by women''

Lists of extant peerages

Extant dukedoms

* *

Extant marquessates

* *

Extant earldoms

* *

Extant viscountcies

* *

Extant baronies

* *

Extinct peerages since the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999

Extinct baronies

Current titles without heirs

Current peers of Great Britain

Current Scottish and Irish peers with British titles

''Currently none''

Notes

References

The Roll of the Peerage
The Crown Office, Ministry of Justice {{Kingdom of Great Britain

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...