How Do You Understand The English Peerage System?
To anyone not born in England, figuring out the differences among Lords, Earls, Barons and the like–not to mention what it means to be called “Sir”–can be more confusing than a postgraduate course in number theory. Here’s a quick guide to how these confusing titles are distributed in Great Britain, and what they mean. There are five hereditary orders of rank below the King or Queen. In descending order of importance, these are: Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron (historically, many Dukes have been sons or brothers of the reigning King or Queen). These titles are hereditary, and can be passed on to children–but the estate is liable to revert to the Crown if there are no heirs. Assuming a hereditary peerage allows you to change your name. Here’s the confusing part for non-English people: once, say, the reigning Marquess of Worcester has died, his son–who may previously have been known simply as John Dudley–can be inscribed thereafter in the history books (if he so chooses) as
