Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bolga bam here. Much of the world is fascinated by the British royals, but those of us who grew up outside of the United Kingdom may have a difficult time deciphering the Brits peerage system or system of titles, which is a complex overlapping web of duke's, earls, barons, et cetera. Britain's peerage system, which dates to Anglo Saxon times, consists of five ranks Duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron.
Over the centuries, peerages were inherited, created or conferred by the British King or Queen, originally two landowners who advised him or her as a sort of royal council. The older your peerage, the more status within your rank. In nineteen fifty eight, the government passed the Life Peerages Act, which allowed for the creation of life peerages or honorary titles granted by the government. Those receiving a life peerage which cannot be inherited also received the title of baron
or barrenness. Under the modern monarchy, one of the biggest privileges of being a peer, whether hereditary or life, is that it gives you the right to sit in Britain's House of Lords, which is the upper chamber of Britain's legislature. Meanwhile, elected officials make up the House of Commons, which is the government's lower chamber. During more recent times, the number of eligible peers has ranged from six hundred and fifty to more than eight hundred, mostly life peers created by
whichever government has been in power. There have been multiple movements to limit the size of this chamber without much success. About of those sitting in the House of Lords as were life peers. Today, there are no new hereditary peerages being created, with one exception those the monarch creates from members of the royal family. Here are the basics about
the five peerage ranks in order of rank. The feminine versions of titles usually designate the wife of a peer, because women are not eligible to succeed to most hereditary peerages. The highest ranking title of duke or Duchess was created in thirteen thirty seven by King Edward the Third, who conferred the title Duke of Cornwall upon his oldest son. Before thirteen thirty seven, the title of duke was used to denote someone with sovereign status, although it wasn't an
official peerage title. Princes in the Royal family typically become dukes shortly after coming of age or on their wedding day. For example, Prince Andrew Queen Elizabeth the second second son was dubbed Duke of York when he married in ninety six, but there are plenty of non royal dukes as well. As of twenty there were twenty four. Interestingly, the business of selecting dukedoms for the royals is a fraud process.
Many dukedoms are unavailable if the current dukes are still living, for one, but any open dukedom must have a clean past in order to be considered. The dukedom of Cumberland, for example, was once held by George the second son Prince William Augustus, but the prince brutally crushed a Scottish rebellion in seventeen forty five, killing thousands, and subsequently became known as the Butcher of Cumberland, so that dukedom is
permanently out for the royals. The highest ranking royal dukedoms are Lancaster, which is held by the sovereign, and Cornwall, which is awarded to the sovereign's eldest son. Currently, Prince Charles is also known as the Duke of Cornwall. Next up, although marquess or the feminine marchioness, is the second highest peerage rank, you don't hear much about it. The term was brought to England in five by King Richard the Second,
who learned of its usage in other countries. Richard wedged it in above in status, which was a controversial move. Today there are thirty four marquesses. Meanwhile, Earl is the oldest title in the British peerage, dating back to the eleventh century. Originally, an earl administered a province or a shire for the king. There are currently a hundred and ninety one earls. The title for their wives is countess, though there are currently also four countesses in their own right.
In a break with tradition, Elizabeth's third son, Prince Edward, became the Earl of Wessex on his wedding day in why the lesser title Supposedly Edward is holding out for the title Duke of Edinburgh, currently held by his father, Prince Philip, in order to carry on Philip's work after he dies. Fourth in rank is viscount or viscountess, which originally signified a deputy or lieutenant of account during the
Holy Roman Empire. It entered the British peerage system in fourteen forty during the Hundred Years War, when Henry, the sixth King of both England and France bestowed the title on one John Beaumont in an effort to merge the two countries ranks. Thus Beaumont became Viscount Beaumont in both countries. Today there are a hundred and fifteen viscounts. The lowest
peerage rank is baron or baroness. In the thirteenth century, barons were important landholders whom the monarch occasionally summoned to attend the council or Parliament. Initially, a baron's successors weren't necessarily afforded the same honors and privileges, but eventually the rank and all its privileges were passed on. Baron is the most populous rank today, with four hundred and twenty
six hereditary barons and nine hereditary baronesses. And by the way, all hereditary peers are formally addressed as lord or lady so and so, except for dukes or duchesses who are addressed as Your Grace, which is good to know just in case you get that invite to stay at some nobleman's country estate. Today's episode was written by Melanie rad Zekie McManus and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other topics that are a royal something,
visits how stuff works dot com. The brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.