User:Choess/Officers

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Peers and relatives
Peers are the nobility of the United Kingdom and its components, holding a title indicating their rank within the peerage. The UK now has both hereditary peers and life peers; the bulk of pre-20th-Century peers have been hereditary peers, and the discussion following is largely associated with them. A "peerage" may refer either to the title, rank, privileges, and so on held by a peer, or to a collection of many such associated with the UK or one of its component realms. In the latter sense, there exist Peerages of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. Within these peerages, peers may bear the titles, in descending order of rank, of Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, or Baron or Lord of Parliament. ("Lord" in the Peerage of Scotland is the equivalent of "Baron" in other Peerages; Scottish feudal barons are not peers.) Each of these ranks is then followed by a designation which once indicated a particular territory, but has long been purely formal: e.g., "Duke of Devonshire" or "Baron Hamilton". Aside from a handful of pre-20th-Century examples, life peers are always Barons. In the title of an article, the forename and surname of a peer come first, followed by a comma, an ordinal number (in the case of hereditary peers), to indicate how many peers in succession have held the title, and the rank and "territory" of the peer. See Naming conventions (royalty and nobility) for the current guidelines. Note that while the title of "Baron" is used in non-Scots peerages, such peers are generally referred to as "Lords" in text; e.g., the 15th Baron de Ros would be called "Lord de Ros". Sometimes this form is extended to holders of higher peerage ranks as well, i.e., referring to the Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister, as "Lord Aberdeen".

Peers should be categorized according to rank and peerage. See Category:Peers and subcategories. ''Editor's note: the category hierarchy is in terrible shape right now and needs repair. However, the categories of the form Category:rank in the Peerage of Kingdom are all extant and functional.'' Note that Category:Lords of Parliament does not include "in the Peerage of Scotland" because all Lords of Parliament are in that Peerage. Use only the rank and peerage associated with the highest-ranking title of the peer. ''Arguably, Peers of Scotland and Ireland who are also peers in another peerage should have two categories, because members of those peerages were automatically members of the British House of Lords pre-1999 while Irish peers were not, and Scottish peers were not pre-1963. Clarification is being sought.'' Though not automatically eligible to enter the British House of Lords, Scottish peers pre-1963 and Irish peers could be elected by their fellows to the British House of Lords as representative peers. If the peer in question was ever so elected, they should be placed in Category:Scottish representative peers or Category:Irish representative peers, as appropriate. Life peers should be placed in Category:Life peers.

Do not confuse peers with their relatives holding "courtesy titles". Many peers of higher rank hold multiple titles simultaneously, using only the highest; the lower-ranked titles are known as their subsidiary titles. The heir apparent (but not the heir presumptive!) to a Duke, Marquess, or Earl is entitled to use one of their subsidiary titles, usually the next-highest-ranking, "by courtesy". For instance, the heir apparent of the Duke of Abercorn is known as the Marquess of Hamilton. The heirs apparent of courtesy Marquesses and Earls are also entitled to a courtesy title, so that an individual may use (in theory) as many as three different courtesy titles while moving upwards in the line of succession. Individuals holding courtesy titles are not peers by virtue thereof; if they have not yet held a peerage (because they predeceased the holder of the peerage to which they were heir, or because the holder is still alive), their articles are titled in the form forename surname, courtesy title. (No number is used). The appropriate subcategory in Category:Courtesy titles, and, if they are deceased, Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded, should be applied to them. Occasionally, the holders of courtesy titles will become peers by a writ in acceleration, allowing them to sit in the House of Lords by virtue of one of the subsidiary titles to which they are heir. If the courtesy title they used and the title by which they were accelerated are the same (e.g., when the heir apparent is styled Lord Hervey and is seated in the House of Lords as Baron Hervey), they should receive a number in their article title (forname surname, nth Baron Hervey), because they are considered to have actually inherited and assumed the subsidiary title. In the case of individuals who do succeed to a peerage after bearing a courtesy title, their courtesy titles should appear in the lede with the dates during which they were known by that title. Do not jump to conclusions. Just because a son succeeded a father in a peerage does not mean that they were always heir apparent; there may have been an older brother not mentioned in the article. Doyle's Official Baronage will cover all users of courtesy titles in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom pre-1886; Balfour Paul's Scots Peerage should cover that subject through the beginning of the 20th Century. Usually the article on a given peerage (e.g., Earl of Granard) will give guidance on the courtesy titles used by various holders of the peerage.

The younger sons of Dukes and Marquesses (those not heir apparent) and the daughters of Dukes, Marquesses and Earls are entitled to be styled "Lord forename surname" and "Lady forename surname," respectively. As with other courtesy titles, these should appear in the individual's article title and in the first line of the lede. Younger sons of Earls, Viscounts, and Barons, and daughters of Viscounts and Barons, are entitled to the style of "The Honourable", abbreviated "Hon.," which should not appear in article titles or in the lede. These individuals should be placed in "Category:Younger sons of rank" or "Category:Daughters of British rank", as appropriate.

Ecclesiastical peers who have been ordained (regardless of church) should be placed in Category:Ordained peers. Peers who have been ambassadors, envoys, or otherwise diplomats should be placed in Category:Diplomatic peers.

Other hereditary honours
baronets, hereditary knights, Scots feudal barons

Offices of State
Great Officers, commissions (Lords of Admiralty and Treasury), lesser offices, political vs honourary vs court

Privy Council
membership

House of Commons
sub-classification of seats, eligibility of peers,

Orders of knighthood
Garter, Thistle, St Patrick, Bath, St Michael & St George, Royal Victorian, knights bachelor

Military service
Rank and categories Regimental categories Categories by war VC, MC, DSO, TD, VD, and so on

Local office
Lord-lieutenancies, high shrievalties, deputy lieutenancies, commission of the peace, county councils

Education
categories for various public schools, Oxbridge & Trinity, etc. + Fellows

Societies
FRS, FSA

Families and children
connections to peers, MPs, etc.