Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

s are a rank in the British

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain.

Baronetage of England (1611–1705)

Arms of the Martin Baronets of Long Melford

King James I created the hereditary Order of Baronets in England on 22 May 1611, for the settlement of Ireland. He offered the dignity to 200 gentlemen of good birth, with a clear estate of £1,000 a year, on condition that each one should pay a sum equivalent to three years' pay to 30 soldiers at 8d per day per man (total – £1,095) into the King's Exchequer. The

age of England comprises all baronetcies created in the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...

before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Baronetage of England and the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

were replaced by the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

. The extant baronetcies are listed below in order of precedence (i.e. date). All other baronetcies, including extinct, dormant (D), unproven (U), under review (R) or forfeit, are on a separate list of baronetcies. The baronetcy lists include any

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

titles which are held by the baronet. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary to prove a claim of succession. When this has been done, the name is entered on The Official Roll. This was ordained by Royal Warrant in February 1910. Those who have not so proven are shown below as unproven or under review or dormant. A baronetcy is considered dormant if, five years after the death of the previous incumbent, no heir has come forward to claim it.

Baronets in the Baronetage of England

.* as of 17 July 2016 (heirs are known to exist)

Baronetage of Nova Scotia (1625–1706)

The Baronetage of Nova Scotia was devised in 1624 as a means of settling the plantation of that

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

(now a province of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

announced his intention of creating 100

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

s, each of whom was to support six colonists for two years (or pay 2,000

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly o ...

in lieu thereof) and also to pay 1,000 merks to Sir William Alexander, to whom the province had been granted by

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...

in 1621.Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "BARONET" § 2 James died before this scheme could be implemented, but it was carried out by his son

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, who created the first Scottish baronet on 28 May 1625, covenanting in the creation charter that the baronets of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

or of Nova Scotia should never exceed 150, that their

heirs apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

should be knighted on coming of age (21), and that no one should receive the honour who had not fulfilled the conditions, viz, paid 3,000 merks (£166, 13s. 4d.) towards the plantation of the colony. Four years later (17 November 1629) the king wrote to the contractors for baronets, recognising that they had advanced large sums to Sir William Alexander for the plantation on the security of the payments to be made by future baronets, and empowering them to offer a further inducement to applicants; and on the same day he granted to all Nova Scotia baronets the right to wear about their necks, suspended by an orange tawny ribbon, a badge bearing an azure saltire with a crowned inescutcheon of the arms of Scotland and the motto ''Fax mentis honestae gloria'' (Glory is the torch that leads on the honourable mind). As the required number, however, could not be completed, Charles announced in 1633 that English and Irish gentlemen might receive the honour, and in 1634 they began to do so. Yet even so, he was only able to create a few more than 120 in all. In 1638 the creation ceased to carry with it the grant of lands in Nova Scotia, and on the union with England (1707) the Scottish creations ceased, English and Scotsmen alike receiving thenceforth Baronetcies of Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary to prove a claim of succession. When this has been done, the name is entered on the Official Roll. This was ordained by royal warrant in 1910. Many baronets also hold

titles; these have been listed below. The baronetcies below are listed in order of precedence (i.e. date order). For a complete list of all baronetcies, see List of Baronetcies.

Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia

.* as of 25 July 2016 (heirs are known to exist)

Baronetage of Ireland (1619–1800)

This is a list of extant, dormant, unproven and under review baronetcies in the Baronetage of Ireland. They were first created in 1619, and were replaced by the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1800. To be recognised as a Baronet, it is necessary to prove a claim of succession. When this has been done, the name is entered on The Official Roll. This was ordained by Royal Warrant in 1910. Those who hav
not so proven
are shown below as unproven or under review or dormant. The baronetcies are listed in order of precedence (i.e. date order).

Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland

Baronetage of Great Britain (1707–1800)

The below is a list of all extant, dormant, unrecognized, and under review

baronetcies A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the Baronetage of Great Britain, which replaced the Baronetages of Nova Scotia and of England in 1707. In 1801 it was succeeded by the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. To be recognized as a Baronet, it is necessary to prove a claim of succession to one previously recognized. Once this has been done, the new Baronet's name is entered on the Official Roll, a procedure laid down by Royal Warrant in 1910. Those who have not proved their claim are shown below as unproven, under review, or dormant. These baronetcies are listed in order of precedence, which is established by the date of the creation. For a complete list of baronetcies see List of baronetcies.

Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain

Baronetage of the United Kingdom (1801–present)

The Baronetage of the United Kingdom started with the formation of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1801, replacing the

. (For a complete list of baronetcies see List of Baronetcies – which includes extinct baronetcies.) As ordained by the Royal Warrant in 1910, it is necessary t
prove a claim of succession
to be recognised as a

and have a name entered on The Official Roll. Those who hav
not so proven
are shown below as unproven, under review or dormant. The baronetcies are listed below in order of precedence (date order). (For ease in editing, we have created a fresh table every 25 years.) The last baronet to be created was

Sir Denis Thatcher Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1915 – 26 June 2003) was an English businessman and the husband of Margaret Thatcher, who served as the first female British prime minister from 1979 to 1990; in turn, he became the first male prime ...

in 1990.

1801

1825

1850

1875

1900

1925

1950

1975

Notes

References

* *

External links

Baronetcies to which no Succession has been proved
{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2014 *