The Lords Commissioners are

privy counsellors The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

appointed by the

monarch of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

to exercise, on his or her behalf, certain functions relating to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

which would otherwise require the monarch's attendance at the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. These include the

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

and

prorogation Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the period ...

of Parliament, the confirmation of a newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons and the granting of

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

. The Lords Commissioners are collectively known as the Royal Commission. The Royal Commission includes at least three—and usually five—Lords Commissioners. In current practice, the Lords Commissioners usually include the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

(who is named but usually does not participate), the leaders of the three major parties in the House of Lords, the convenor of the House of Lords

Crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

s and (since 2007) the

Lord Speaker The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the membe ...

. Occasionally there are substitutions (such as deputy party leaders) if the normal commissioners are unavailable. The Lord Chancellor serves as the most senior Lord Commissioner after the Archbishop of Canterbury, who in modern times never participates in the Commission. Traditionally the Lord Chancellor took part in the ceremony and presided over the Royal Commission. However, since the 2007 appointment of

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

, a member of the House of Commons, as Lord Chancellor the person in that office does not participate in Royal Commissions, much like the Archbishop of Canterbury. In this case, the

Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the governing party in the House of Lords who acts ...

performs the duties of the Lord Chancellor, with the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords serving as a Lord Commissioner. Exceptions to this procedure were seen in 2009 and 2019, when royal approbation was declared to the elections of

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

and

Lindsay Hoyle Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957) is a British politician who has served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019 and as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliamen ...

as Commons speaker. On these occasions the lord chancellor, respectively Jack Straw and

Robert Buckland Sir Robert James Buckland (born 22 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2019 to 2021, and as Secretary of State for Wales from July to October 2022. A member of the Conse ...

, performed this function personally and the Lord Speaker did not serve as a Lord Commissioner. The Lords Commissioners enter the chamber of 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 ...

at the appointed time, and take seats on a structure temporarily placed for the duration of the ceremony. The Lord Chancellor or Leader of the House of Lords, as the most senior Lord Commissioner, commands the gentleman/lady usher of the

Black Rod The usher of the Black Rod is an official in the parliaments of several countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. The title is often shortened to Black Rod, and in some countries, formally known as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod or Lady Usher ...

to summon the House of Commons. Representatives of the House of Commons arrive at the Bar of the House of Lords, and bow thrice, but do not actually enter the Lords Chamber. After each bow, male Lords Commissioners doff their hats to the members of Parliament while female Lords Commissioners bow their heads in return. The reading clerk of the House of Lords then reads the Monarch's Commission, which authorises the Lords Commissioners. After the appropriate business has been transacted, the Commons again bow thrice and depart.

List of Lords commissioners

The following people are usually appointed and Lords Commissioners: {, class="wikitable" , - ! Image ! Officeholder ! Office(s) ! Since , - , , {{small, Vacant , Lord Archbishop of Canterbury , 6 January 2025 , -{{no , , {{small,

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

Shabana Mahmood Shabana Mahmood (born 17 September 1980) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice since 2024. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010, and is ...

, MP ,

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, 5 July 2024 , -{{yes , , {{small,

The Lord McFall of Alcluith ,

Lord Speaker of the House of Lords The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the member ...

, 1 May 2021 , -{{yes , Official portrait of Baroness Smith of Basildon 2020 crop 2

, {{small,

The Baroness Smith of Basildon , {{ubl,

, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, item_style=text-align:center;
Leader of the Labour Party in the House of Lords , 5 July 2024 , -{{yes , Official portrait of Lord True crop 2

, {{small,

The Lord True CBE , Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords , 8 July 2024 , -{{yes , , {{small,

The Lord Newby OBE , Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords , 13 September 2016 , -{{yes , , The Earl of Kinnoull DL , Convenor of the Crossbench Peers , 28 April 2023 , -

References

{{reflist

External links

Royal Commissions
at the UK Parliament website
Royal Assent by Commission
at the UK Parliament website
Original letters patent appointing Lords Commissioners
to give royal assent to

His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 ( 1 Edw. 8. & 1 Geo. 6. c. 3) is the act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that recognised and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and passed succession to his brother King George ...

(UK Parliamentary Archives) Parliament of the United Kingdom Constitution of the United Kingdom Representatives of the British monarch