User:MaximusWikipedian/Forms of address in the United Kingdom

The forms of address used in the United Kingdom are extensive. The tables below represent the most commons cases.

Terminology
Some titles or positions grant styles, such as 'The Right Honourable'. The punctuation of each abbreviated style depends on the source. For example, the punctuation of 'The Rt Hon' is not consistent throughout sources. The Gazette favours 'The Rt. Hon.', while the government usually prefers 'The Rt Hon.' or simply 'The Rt Hon'.

The definite article "the" in the middle of two or more titles is sometimes capitalized, as in these tables. However this is controversial: traditional British guides use the lower-case 'the'. As a single example, Debrett's gives 'Major-General the Lord …', and Pears' Cyclopaedia in the section on Modes of Address gives several examples where the definite article interior to a list of honours is lower case.

Names and territorial designations

 * "London" represents the territorial designation of any peerage.
 * "Edinburgh" represents any territorial designation in Scotland.
 * Three dots (…) on a peerage refer to either any form of surname or territorial designation.
 * "William" and "Mary" represent any members of the royal family, male and female respectively.
 * "John" and "Jane" represent any peer and peeress, respectively.
 * "Edward" and "Rose" represent any heirs to peers, male and female respectively.
 * "Jamie" represents any name, male or female.
 * For males, "Smith" represents any surname.
 * For women, "Smith" represents their family name at birth, and "Brown" their husband's surname.
 * "Windsor" represents the name of the Royal House.

Titled members of the Royal Family
Notes:

Exceptions to the rules
The current wife of the Prince of Wales, Camilla Parker Bowles, adopted the femenine form of her husband's highest-ranking subsidiary title, Duchess of Cornwall, upon her marriage to the Prince in 2005, to avoid confusion with the previous Princess of Wales, Diana Spencer, and as such is styled as the wife of a royal peer. Nonetheless, she is still legally the Princess of Wales. She is known as the Duchess of Rothesay in Scotland.

The children of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, are, by their parents' choice, styled as the children of an Earl. They are thus known as Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, and not accorded the style of 'Royal Highness' nor the titles of 'Prince' or 'Princess'.

Great-grandchildren of the Sovereign
The great-grandchildren of a Sovereign do not, under current Letters Patent, hold any styles or titles, nor are they official members of the Royal Family. The children of the Duke of Kent (grandson of George V) are styled as the children of a Duke, and thus their children bear no style, though the children of Prince Michael of Kent, also a grandson of George V, are also styled as the children of a Duke, despite their father not being a Duke. This in turn grants, in courtesy, the styles of 'Lord' and 'Lady' to Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Gabriella Kingston.

Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron
Notes:

Styles and forms of address
Dukes and Duchesses are accorded the style of 'Grace', but are also entitled to the use of 'The Most Noble' (which is an abbreviation of "The Most High, Potent, and Noble") though it is rarely used; when used, the forenames of the peer or peeress can be used after 'His Grace but before 'The Duke of …'. This style is also sometimes used without 'His Grace'. The four other levels of the peerage also possess such styles, though only used in the most formal documents.

Earls, Viscounts, Barons and their female equivalents are entitled to the style of 'The Right Honourable', though the House of Lords, the College of Arms and the Home Office have discontinued its unless the person is a Privy Counsellor. Instead, the post-nominal letters of 'P.C.' are used.

Viscounts and Barons are always referred to, both verbally and in correspondence, with 'Lord' substituting their rank. The titles of Viscount and Baron are rarely used, mainly in formal or legal documents, such as Letters Patent. The same is true for Viscountesses and Baronesses, who use 'Lady' instead. Baronesses in their own right use 'Baroness' instead of 'Lady', to differenciate themselves from Baronesses in their husband's right, though they are free to choose their preferred style. Countesses often use 'Lady' instead of Countess, much like a Baroness would.

Territorial designations
Dukes always include a territorial designation indicated by the preposition 'of' in their title (e.g. Duke of Westminster). Marquesses, Earls and Viscounts likewise include a territorial designation, though some marquessates may rather include a family name, and may exist without 'of' as part of the title, or may even include a a family name followed by a territorial designation (separated by 'of', e.g. Earl Temple of Stowe). The same is true for Barons, though there is no barony with a family name with 'of' as part of the title. All said forms are included in the tables below, though there are other forms with rare ocurrances (like titles with two territorial designations, e.g. Marquess of Graham and Buchanan) which are omitted. When addressing a peer in the form 'Lord …', the whole title is used, omitting the 'of' preposition, though in cases where both a family name and a territorial designation are part of the title, it is customary to only use the family name.

Titles by courtesy
Eldest sons of Dukes, Marquesses and Earls use their father's most senior subsidiary title as courtesy titles: note the absence of "The" before the title. If applicable, eldest sons of courtesy Marquesses or courtesy Earl also use a subsidiary title from their grandfather (great-grandfather in the case of the courtesy Earl), which is lower ranking than the one used by their father. Eldest daughters do not have courtesy titles; all courtesy peeresses are wives of courtesy peers, and bear their husband's title in the femenine.

The children of courtesy peers may bear the styles that would normally be entitled to them as if their father actually held the peerages in question (e.g. the daughter of a courtesy Marquess is accorded the style of 'Lady', while the son of a courtesy Earl is 'The Honourable').

Notes:

Heirs of Scottish peers
Heirs apparent or presumptive of Scottish peers use the titles 'Master' or 'Mistress'; these are substantive, not courtesy titles. If, however, the individual is the eldest son of a Duke, Marquess or Earl, then he uses the appropriate courtesy title, as noted above (except in the case of women), and their son receives the title of 'Master' by courtesy, except when a courtesy title is also due upon him. Wives of Masters receive the style of the wife of a peer (according to rank).

Daughters of peers
If a daughter of a peer or courtesy peer marries another peer or courtesy peer, she takes her husband's rank. If she marries anyone else, she keeps her rank and title, using her husband's surname instead of her maiden name.

Widows and former wives of peers
Widowed peeress add 'Dowager' before their title, to distinguish themselves from the wife of the successor to the title, though, when there is no such wife, they maintain their title. When there is already a Dowager, they use their forename in place of 'Dowager'. In practice, many widows prefer to use their forename in place of 'Dowager', though they would never assume the style 'Lady Jane, (Duchess) of …', as that would wrongly indicate they are the daughters of Duke, Marquess or Earl. In any case, their legal style continues to be the same, without 'Dowager', even if her formal style is otherwise.

The former wife of a peer may continue to use her title as a peer's wife, preceded by her forename, unless she remarries. Former wives of Dukes lose the style of 'Her Grace', while former wives of other peers lose the style of 'The Most Honourable' (for Marquesses) and 'The Right Honourable'. Former wives of royal peers also lose entitlement to the style of 'Royal Highness' (e.g. Sarah, Duchess of York, Diana Princess of Wales).

==Gentry and minor nobility ==

Baronetage
Knights and Baronets are distinguished by the use of "Bt" (or, archaically, "Bart") after the latter's names (and by the use of the appropriate post-nominal letters if the former are members of an Order of Chivalry).

Church of England
Similar styles are also applied to clergy of equivalent status in other religious organisations. The words clergy and cleric/clerk are derived from the proper term for bishops, priests and deacons still used in legal documents: Clerk in Holy Orders (e.g. "Vivienne Frances Faull, Clerk in Holy Orders").

Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, as a Presbyterian church, recognizes state-awarded titles only as courtesy. In court (assembly, presbytery and session) a person may only be addressed as Mr, Mrs, Miss, Dr, Prof, etc. depending on academic achievement. Thus ministers are correctly addressed as, for example, Mr Smith or Mrs Smith unless they have a higher degree or academic appointment e.g. Dr Smith or Prof. Smith. It is 'infra dig' to use the style 'Rev' and even the use of 'the Rev Mr' requires sensitivity to official style.

United Kingdom
Justices of the Supreme Court are accorded the style of 'Lord' or 'Lady' by Warrant for life. Justices who are peers distinguish themselves by adding the preposition 'The' before their title. If their rank in the peerage is higher than that of a Baron, then the appropiate title is used instead.

England and Wales
A judge's first name only forms part of their judicial style if, at the time of their appointment, there is a senior judge with the same or a similar surname. Thus, if there is a "Mr Justice Smith", subsequent judges will be "Mr Justice John Smith", "Mrs Justice Jane Smith", etc. High Court Judges and above who are Queen's Counsels do not use the post-nominal letters following appointment or after retirement, though all other judicial officers attach the corresponding letters after their name. 'Mrs' is used whether married or single, though some High Court justices have chosen to style themselves as 'Ms Justice'.

Academics
The forms of address used for academics can, in most cases, be either formal or social.