A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various

hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...

s (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted

noble ranks Traditional rank amongst European imperiality, royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to anothe ...

. Peerages include:

Australia

Australian peers Peers of the Realm have been associated with Australia since early in its history as a British settlement. Many peers served as governors of the Australian colonies (states following Federation), and in the days when the practice of appointing B ...

Belgium

Belgian nobility The Belgian nobility comprises Belgian individuals or families recognized as noble with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of Belgium. The Belgian constitution states that no specific privileges are attached to the nobility. History ...

Canada

* British peerage titles granted to Canadian subjects of the Crown * Canadian nobility in the aristocracy of France

China

Chinese nobility The nobility of China represented the upper strata of aristocracy in premodern China, acting as the ruling class until , and remaining a significant feature of the traditional social structure until the end of the imperial period. The concepts ...

France

Peerage of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

List of French peerages For an explanation of the French peerage, see the article Peerage of France. Note that peerages and titles were distinct, and the date given for the extinction of the peerage is not necessarily the same as that of the extinction of the title. Fo ...

* Peerage of Jerusalem

Japan

* Peerage of the Empire of Japan *

House of Peers (Japan) The was the upper house of the National Diet#History, Imperial Diet as mandated under the Meiji Constitution, Constitution of the Empire of Japan (in effect from 11 February 1889 to 3 May 1947). Background In 1869, under the new Meiji gover ...

Portugal

Chamber of Most Worthy Peers The Chamber of Peers of Portugal, alternatively translatable as the House of Lords and formally styled the Chamber of the Most Worthy Peers of the Realm (Portuguese: ''Câmara dos Pares'' or ''Câmara dos Digníssimos Pares do Reino''), was the u ...

Spain

Chamber of Peers (Spain) The House of Peers (Spanish: ''Estamento de Próceres'') was the upper house in the Spanish ''Cortes'' between 1834 and 1836. The House was created by the Royal Statue of 1834 which created a bicameral parliament with two houses: the House of P ...

List of dukes in the peerage of Spain This is a list of the 149 present and extant royal and non-royal dukes in the peerage of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain. The oldest six titles – created between 1380 and 1476 – were Duke of Medina Sidonia (1380), Duke of Alburquerque (1464), D ...

List of viscounts in the peerage of Spain This is a list of present and extant viscounts in the peerage of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain hold by people with Spanish citizenship. Note that some of the titles are only used as subsidiary titles. This list does not include extinct, dormant ...

* List of barons in the peerage of Spain *

List of lords in the peerage of Spain This is a list of the present and extant Lord (title), lords in the peerage of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain. Lords in the peerage of Spain See also *Spanish nobility *List of dukes in the peerage of Spain *List of viscounts in the peerage of S ...

United Kingdom

: : : Coronet of a British Duke

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, ...

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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 ...

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Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award: *Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement a ...

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List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom) Post-nominal letters are used in the United Kingdom after a person's name in order to indicate their positions, qualifications, memberships, or other status. There are various established orders for giving these, e.g. from the Ministry of Justice ...

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College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

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Garter Principal King of Arms Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior king of arms and officer of arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The position has ...

: King of Arms :

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

Arms_of_the_Most_Noble_Order_of_the_Garter

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

List of people who have declined a British honour The following is a non-exhaustive list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or other grade of honour. In most cases, the offer of an honour was rejected privately. Nowadays, potential recipients are contacted befo ...

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

Baronage of Scotland In Scotland, "baron" or "baroness" is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, a hereditary Imperial, royal and noble ranks, title of honour, and refers to the holder of a barony, erected into a free barony by Crown Charter, ...

Substantive title A substantive title, in the United Kingdom, is a title of nobility which is owned in its own right, as opposed to titles shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. Current monarchies * ...

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Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

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Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

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Herm Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, ...

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Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

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Australian peers and baronets Peers of the Realm have been associated with Australia since early in its history as a British settlement. Many peers served as governors of the Australian colonies (states following Federation), and in the days when the practice of appointing B ...

Australian knights and dames This is an incomplete list of Australians who have been appointed a knight or a dame, being entitled to be known as "sir" or "dame" respectively. It includes living Australian knights and dames as well as dead appointees. The list excludes Austra ...

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

Table of precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia The following is the order of precedence for Australia: #King of Australia: King Charles III # Governor-General of Australia: Sam Mostyn #Governor of the State when within their own State. #Governors of the other (or all) States in order of app ...

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

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Canadian peers and baronets Canadian peers and baronets () exist in both the peerage of France recognized by the Monarch of Canada (the same as the Monarch of the United Kingdom) and the peerage of the United Kingdom. In 1627, French Cardinal Richelieu introduced the sei ...

Canadian titles debate The Canadian titles debate originated with the presentation to the House of Commons of Canada of the Nickle Resolution in 1917. This resolution marked the earliest attempt to establish a federal government policy requesting the sovereign, in the r ...

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Order of precedence in British Columbia The British Columbia order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of British Columbia. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a provincial nature. ...

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Order of precedence in Newfoundland and Labrador The Newfoundland and Labrador order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a pr ...

New Zealand royal honours system The New Zealand royal honours system, a system of orders, decorations and medals, recognises achievements of, or service by, New Zealanders or others in connection with New Zealand. Until 1975, New Zealand used the British honours system. Sin ...

Orders, decorations, and medals of New Zealand The New Zealand royal honours system, a system of orders, decorations and medals, recognises achievements of, or service by, New Zealanders or others in connection with New Zealand. Until 1975, New Zealand used the British honours system. S ...

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

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Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom In the British peerage, a royal duke is a member of the British royal family, entitled to the titular dignity of prince and the style of ''His Royal Highness'', who holds a dukedom. Dukedoms are the highest titles in the British roll of peerage, a ...

Dukes in the United Kingdom Duke, in the United Kingdom, is the highest-ranking hereditary title in all five peerages of the British Isles. A duke thus outranks all other holders of titles of nobility (marquess, earl, viscount and baron or lord of parliament). The wife of ...

List of dukes in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This is a list of the 30 present dukes in the peerages of the Peerage of England, Kingdom of England, Peerage of Scotland, Kingdom of Scotland, Peerage of Great Britain, Kingdom of Great Britain, Peerage of Ireland, Kingdom of Ireland, Peerage ...

List of dukedoms in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This article lists all dukedoms, extant, extinct, dormant, abeyant, or forfeit, in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Introduction of dukedoms into England Edward III of England created the first ...

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Marquesses in the United Kingdom Marquess is a rank of nobility in the peerages of the United Kingdom, ranking below a duke and above an earl. There are currently 35 marquessates. Peerage of England The first marquess in England was Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, who ...

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List of marquesses in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This is a list of the 34 present and extant Marquesses in the United Kingdom, marquesses in the peerages of the Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, Kingdom of Great Britain, Kingdom of Ireland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and I ...

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List of marquessates in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This article lists all marquessates, extant, extinct, dormant, abeyant, or forfeit, in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The title of Marquess of Dublin, which is perhaps best described as Angl ...

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List of earls in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This is a list of the 189 present earls in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It does not include extant earldoms which have become merged (either through marriage or elevation) with marquessates ...

List of earldoms This page lists all earldoms, extant, extinct, dormant, abeyant, or forfeit, in the peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Norman conquest of England introduced the continental Frankish title of "count ...

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List of viscounts in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This is a list of the 108 present and extant Viscounts in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Note that it does not include extant viscountcies which have become merged (either through marriage or ...

List of viscountcies in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This article is a list of viscountcies in the peerages of Britain and Ireland, including the England, the Scotland, the Ireland, the Great Britain and the Peerage of the United Kingdom, listed in order of creation, including extant, extinct and ...

List of barons in the peerages of Britain and Ireland This is a list of the present and extant barons (Lords of Parliament, in Scottish terms) in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Note that it does not include those extant baronies which have beco ...

List of hereditary baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom #REDIRECT List of hereditary baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom {{R from other capitalisation ...

: List of baronies in the Peerage of England :

List of baronies in the peerages of Britain and Ireland The peerage is the collective term for all those holding titles of nobility of all degrees. The term superseded the term baronage used of the feudal era. A barony is a rank or dignity of a man or a woman who is a participant of a small rank of ...

List of life peerages {{UK Peerages, barn More than 1,600 life peerages have been created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom under the Life Peerages Act 1958. * List of life peerages (1958–1979) **Created under the premierships of Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Dou ...

: List of lordships of Parliament : List of peers 1790–1799 :

List of peerages created for women This is a list of peerages created for women in the peerages of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom. It does not include peerages created for men which were later inherited by women, or life peerages created since ...

List of peerages inherited by women In the peerages of the British Isles, most titles have traditionally been created for men and with remainder to male heirs. However, some titles are created with special remainders to allow women to inherit them. Some of the oldest English baro ...

Standing Council of the Baronetage The Standing Council of the Baronetage is a United Kingdom organisation which deals with the affairs of baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a ...

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Lords in the Baronage of Scotland A Lord in the Baronage of Scotland is an ancient title of nobility, held ''in baroneum'', which Latin term means that its holder, who is a lord, is also always a baron. The holder may or may not be a Lord of Regality, which meant that the holder ...

: :Dormant peerages :

List of extinct baronetcies The following extinct baronetcies are listed by date of extinction. An alphabetical list is to be found , or via the category of extinct baronetcies. Reign of King James I of England, James I 1613 *St Paul baronets, St Paul of Snarford (cr. ...

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Peerage law The British peerage is governed by a body of law that has developed over several centuries. Much of this law has been established by a few important cases, and some of the more significant of these are addressed in this article. Peerage dispute ...

Baronies created by error Several baronies created by error exist or have existed in the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Ireland. The usual type of error was perpetrated in the Committee on Privileges of the British House of Lords, whether by the Committee itself o ...

Cash-for-Honours scandal The Cash-for-Honours scandal (also known as Cash for Peerages, Loans for Lordships, Loans for Honours or Loans for Peerages) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations an ...

False titles of nobility False titles of nobility or royal title scams are claimed titles of social rank that have been fabricated or assumed by an individual or family without recognition by the authorities of a country in which titles of nobility exist or once existed. ...

Titles Deprivation Act 1917 The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which authorised enemies of the United Kingdom during the First World War to be deprived of their British peerages and royal titles. Background The British royal fami ...

List of fictional nobility This is a list of fictional nobility that have appeared in various works of fiction. This list is organized by Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble rank and limited to well-referenced, notable examples of fictional members of nobility. Dukes a ...

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Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

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The Scots Peerage ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Rober ...

Roll of the Peerage The Roll of the Peerage is a public record registering peers in the peerages of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. It was created by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II dated 1 June 2004, is maintained by the Crown ...