In the United Kingdom, the Great Officers of State are officers who either inherit their positions or are appointed by the Crown, and exercise certain ceremonial functions. Separate Great Officers exist for England and Scotland, and formerly for Ireland.

England

The Great Officers of England are:

1. Lord High Steward
2. Lord High Chancellor
3. Lord High Treasurer
4. Lord President of the Council
5. Lord Privy Seal
6. Lord Great Chamberlain
7. Lord High Constable
8. Earl Marshal
9. Lord High Admiral

Some officers are appointed, while others inherit their positions. The Lord High Stewardship was held by the Earls of Leicester until 1399 when the holder became the Sovereign; and since 1421, a Lord High Steward has generally only been appointed temporarily either for the day of a coronation or for the trials of peers (before 1948). The office of Lord Great Chamberlain is also hereditary, originally being held by the Earls of Oxford. Later, however, the Chamberlainship came to be inherited by multiple heirs, each holding a fraction of the office. One of the holders, chosen by rotation, exercises the office as a Deputy. The post of Lord High Constable was originally inherited by the Earls of Hereford, but when one holder was attainted and executed in 1521, the office reverted to the Crown, only to be reinstated for the day of a coronation. The final inheritable office is that of Earl Marshal, held by the Dukes of Norfolk. During the many periods in which the Dukes were attainted, another individual was appointed to the post. Furthermore, prior to 1824, the Earl Marshal had to appoint a Protestant Deputy if he was a Roman Catholic. The position of Lord High Steward of England, not to be confused with the Lord Steward, a court functionary, is the first of the Great Officers of State. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and in former times Chancellor of England, is one of the most senior and important functionaries in the government of the United Kingdom. ... The Lord High Treasurer bears a white staff as his symbol of office. ... The Office of Lord President of the Council is a British cabinet position, the holder of which acts as Presiding officer of the Privy Council. ... The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is one of the traditional sinecure offices in the British Cabinet. ... The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable. ... The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. ... Earl Marschal (or Marischal) is an ancient chivalric title used separately in England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... The Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century as a title in the Peerage of England (title now extinct), and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837. ... British coronations are held in Westminster Abbey. ... The Peerage is a system of titles of nobility which exists in the United Kingdom and is one part of the British honours system. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Earl of Oxford was one of the oldest titles in the English peerage, and was held for several centuries by the de Vere family. ... The title of Earl of Hereford was created several times in the Peerage of England. ... The Duke of Norfolk is the Premier Duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the Premier Earl. ...

Some offices are put into "commission"; that is, multiple commissioners are appointed to collectively exercise the office. The office of Lord High Treasurer has been in commission since 1714. The office of Lord High Admiral was for many years also in commission, and is now vested in the Sovereign. The remaining officers — Lord Chancellor, Lord President and Lord Privy Seal — are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister. The posts of Lord President and Lord Privy Seal are normally combined with that of Leader of the House of Commons and Leader of the House of Lords, respectively, though the current Government has the posts reversed. // Events August 1 - George, elector of Hanover becomes King George I of Great Britain. ... The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. ... Leader of the House of Lords is a function in the British government that is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, most often Lord President of the Council, Lord Privy Seal or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. ...

The Great Officers had and have varying duties. The Lord High Steward was originally a holder of significant political power, but gradually became a ceremonial officer, as have become the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal. The Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable, and Lord High Admiral were originally responsible for monetary, military, and naval matters respectively. The Lord President of the Council is responsible for presiding over the meetings of the Privy Council. The Lord Privy Seal is a sinecure office, though he is technically the Keeper of the Privy Seal. The Lord Chancellor has the greatest range of functions: he is the Keeper of the Great Seal, the Speaker of the House of Lords, the most senior judge in England and Wales, and a cabinet minister responsible for the Lord Chancellor's Department (now the Department for Constitutional Affairs). A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... A sinecure (from Latin sine, without, and cura, care) means an office which requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... The Lord Chancellors Department was a United Kingdom government department. ... The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) is a United Kingdom government department. ...

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, but the Act provided that the Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal be exempt from such a rule, so that they may continue to carry out their ceremonial functions in the House of Lords. The House of Lords Act 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament, was a major constitutional enactment as it completely reformed one of the chambers of Parliament, the House of Lords. ...

The current Great Officers are:

• Lord High Chancellor - The Lord Falconer of Thoroton
• Lord President of the Council - The Lady Amos
• Lord Privy Seal - The Rt Hon. Geoffrey William Hoon
• Lord Great Chamberlain (Deputy) - The Marquess of Cholmondeley
• Earl Marshal - The Duke of Norfolk

Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC (born November 19, 1951), is a British lawyer and Labour Party politician. ... Valerie Ann Amos, Baroness Amos, PC (born 13 March 1954), is a British Labour Party politician and life peer, currently serving as Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council. ... Geoff Hoon (right) at Pentagon briefing The Right Honourable Geoffrey William Hoon (born December 6, 1953), the Member of Parliament for Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, was British Secretary of State for Defence from October 1999 until May 6, 2005. ... David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley (born 27 June 1960) is the current Lord Great Chamberlain of England, technically as a partial holder of that office. ... Edward William Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk (born 2 December 1956) is the premier duke and earl of England, and currently holds the hereditary title of Earl Marshal, given to successive Dukes of Norfolk since 1672. ...

Scotland

The term "officer of state" is sometimes used loosely of any great office under the Crown. A number of historical offices ended at or soon after the Union. There are also a number of Officers of the Crown and Great Officers of the Royal Household.

Scotland's present Officers of State are:

1. Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland
2. Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
3. Lord Clerk Register
4. Lord Advocate
5. Lord Justice Clerk
6. Lord Justice General
7. Lord Lyon King of Arms

Officers of the Crown are: The Great Seal of Scotland allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. ... The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal, one of the Great Offices of State first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. ... The Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Office of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. ... Her Majestys Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (Morair Tagraidh in Scots Gaelic), was the chief legal adviser of the United Kingdom Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters until the passing of the Scotland Act 1998. ... The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior Judge in Scotland. ... The Lord Justice General of Scotland is head of the High Court of Justiciary, Lord President of the Court of Session and head of the judiciary in Scotland. ... Arms of the Office of the Lord Lyon The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that kingdom, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the oldest Heraldic court in the world that...

1. The Great Chamberlain
2. The Lord High Constable
3. Earl Marischal
4. Lord High Admiral
5. The Knight Marischal
6. Lord Lyon King of Arms

The Great Officers of the Royal Household are: Holders of the office of Chamberlain are known from about 1124, though by the seventeenth century it enjoyed high status but few actual powers, having lost its financial functions after 1425 to the Treasurer and its supervision of the royal burghs. ... Edward, who served under Alexander I and David I is called chief of Davids knights (princeps militae), but the exact nature of the Constables military role in the 12th century is unclear. ... In Scotland, the office of Great Marischal of Scotland, which was granted to the Keith family as Knight Marischal and later on changed to Lord Marischal and later on again to Earl Marischal of Scotland, died out when a member of the family of Keith forfeited it by being part... For the international law of the sea, see Admiralty law. ... The office of Knight Marischal was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633. ... Arms of the Office of the Lord Lyon The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that kingdom, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the oldest Heraldic court in the world that...

1. The Lord High Constable
2. The Master of the Household
3. The Keeper of Holyroodhouse
4. The Armour-Bearer
5. The Bearer of the Royal Banner
6. The Bearer of the National Flag of Scotland
7. Lord Justice General
8. Great Steward of Scotland

A number of offices ended at or soon after the Union of 1707. These include the Lord Chancellor, the Treasurer, the Treasurer-depute, the Secretary of State, the Master of Requests and the President of the Privy Council. Edward, who served under Alexander I and David I is called chief of Davids knights (princeps militae), but the exact nature of the Constables military role in the 12th century is unclear. ... The office of Master of the Household is one of the Great Offices of the Royal Household in Scotland. ... Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse, more commonly known as Holyrood Palace, originally founded as a monastery by David I of Scotland in 1128, has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 15th century. ... James IV granted the office of Armour-Bearer and Squire of HM Body to Sir Alexander Seton of Tullibody. ... In 1298 Alexander Scrymgeour was granted the office of Constable of Dundee for the service of carrying the royal banner in the army of Scotland, and in 1324 Robert I granted Alexanders son, Nicholas Scrymgeour, and his heirs the heritable office of Banner-Bearer. ... By charter of novodamus of 1676, later ratified by the Scottish Parliament, Charles II granted Charles Maitland the office of bearing our insignia within our said realm of Scotland. Maitlands descendant, James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale, matriculated arms in the character of Hereditary Standard Bearer of Scotland. ... The Lord Justice General of Scotland is head of the High Court of Justiciary, Lord President of the Court of Session and head of the judiciary in Scotland. ... The position of Lord High Steward of England, not to be confused with the Lord Steward, a court functionary, is the first of the Great Officers of State. ... The Acts of Union were twin Acts of Parliament passed in 1707 (taking effect on 26 March) in the Scottish and the English Parliaments. ... The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a senior pre-Union officer in Scotland. ... The Treasurer was was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland. ... The Treasurer-depute was was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland. ... The Secretary of State was a senior post in the pre-Union government of Scotland. ... The Master of Requests was a Great Officer of State in Scotland. ... The Privy Council of Scotland was a body which formerly advised the King. ...

As in England, many offices are hereditary. The post of High Constable is held by the Earls of Erroll. Originally, the heads of the Keith family held the office of Earl Marischal, but in 1716, the holder was attainted for treason, and the office has not been regranted. The Dukes of Argyll are the Hereditary Masters of the Household. All other officers are Crown appointees. Many of these offices, though originally associated with political power, are only ceremonial now. The title Earl of Erroll is an ancient one in the Peerage of Scotland. ... Arms of the Duke of Argyll since 1406 The title Duke of Argyll was created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. ...

The remaining officers are related to Scotland's judiciary. The Lord Justice General was originally an important noble, though in the nineteenth century, the office was combined with that of Lord President of the Court of Session. Now, the Lord Justice General is the head of Scotland's judiciary. The Lord Clerk Register is an officer with miscellaneous functions that included conducting the elections of representative peers and registering births and deaths. The Lord Advocate is at the head of the law offices of Scotland; all prosecutors act in his name. The Lord Justice Clerk serves as a deputy of the Lord Justice General. Finally, the Lord Lyon King of Arms is the sole judge in the Lyon Court, which determines cases relating to heraldry. The Lord Justice General of Scotland is head of the High Court of Justiciary, Lord President of the Court of Session and head of the judiciary in Scotland. ... The Court of Session is the supreme civil court in Scotland. ... In the United Kingdom, representative peers were individuals elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to represent them in the British House of Lords. ... Her Majestys Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (Morair Tagraidh in Scots Gaelic), was the chief legal adviser of the United Kingdom Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters until the passing of the Scotland Act 1998. ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ...

The current Great Officers are:

• Keeper of the Great Seal - The Rt Hon. Jack McConnell
• Keeper of the Privy Seal - office unfilled since death of Marquess of Breadalbane in 1922
• Lord Clerk Register - Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss
• Lord Advocate - The Rt Hon. Colin Boyd
• Lord Justice Clerk - The Rt Hon. Lord Gill
• Lord Justice General - The Lord Cullen of Whitekirk
• Lord Lyon King of Arms - The Rt Hon. Robin Orr Blair

• Lord High Constable - Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Moncreiffe, 24th Earl of Erroll
• Hereditary Master of the Household in Scotland - The Duke of Argyll

The Royal Household in Scotland also includes a number of other hereditary and non-hereditary offices, now including The Master Carver, Hereditary Keepers of Palaces and Castles, the Lord Lyon and his heralds and pursuivants, the Governor of Edinburgh Castle, the Queen's Bodyguard, the Dean of the Thistle, the Dean of the Chapel Royal, chaplains, physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, the Historiographer Royal, the Botanist, the Painter and Limner, the Sculptor and the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Jack McConnell The Right Honourable Jack Wilson McConnell (born June 30, 1960 in Irvine, Scotland) is a Scottish politician, leader of the Labour Party in Scotland and the current First Minister of Scotland. ... The title Earl of Breadalbane and Holland was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1681 for John Campbell, 1st Earl of Caithness, who resigned the Earldom of Caithness in favour of George Sinclair in exchange for the new Earldom. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Francis David Charteris, 12th Earl of Wemyss and 8th Earl of March (b 19 January 1912) succeeded his grandfather in 1937, and was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1966. ... The Rt Hon Colin Boyd QC (b. ... Brian Gill, Lord Gill, is Scotlands second most senior judge. ... William Douglas Cullen, Baron Cullen of Whitekirk, PC (born 18 November 1935), is a cross bench member of the House of Lords. ... Official Arms of Robin Orr Blair as Lord Lyon Robin Orr Blair, Lord Lyon, is a retired solicitor, was a partner with Dundas and Wilson WS and with Turcan Connell. ... Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll, (b 20 April 1948) is a cross-bench member of the House of Lords. ... Torquhil Ian Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll (born 29 May 1968) is a Scottish peer; he is also the 6th Duke of Argyll in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... The Master Carver is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. ... The Scottish Royal Household includes the Hereditary Keepers of various palaces and castles, as follows- Palace of Holyroodhouse - the Duke of Hamilton Falkland Palace - Ninian Crichton-Stuart Stirling Castle - the Earl of Mar and Kellie Dunstaffnage Castle - the Duke of Argyll Dunconnel Castle - formerly Sir Fitzroy Maclean The Keeper of... Arms of the Office of the Lord Lyon The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that kingdom, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the oldest Heraldic court in the world that... A herald was originally a messenger sent by a king or nobleman to convey a message or proclamation. ... A Pursuivant is a minor herald. ... Edinburgh Castle and NorLoch, around 1780 by Alexander Nasmyth Edinburgh Castle, an ancient stronghold on the Castle Rock in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, has been in use by assorted military forces since prehistoric times and only transferred from the Ministry of Defence recently. ... The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereigns Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. ... James VII ordained the modern Order. ... The Dean of the Chapel Royal is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. ... The Historiographer Royal is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. ... Her Majestys Botanist is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. ... The Painter and Limner is a member of the Royal Household in Scotland. ... The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland is a member of the Royal household in Scotland. ... Astronomer Royal for Scotland was originally the title of the director of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, but since 1995 it has simply been an honorary title. ...

The most senior cabinet posts, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Prime Minister are also collectively known as great offices of state. The title of Foreign Secretary has been traditionally used to refer to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. ... The Home Secretary (official full title Secretary of State for the Home Department) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... The Right Honourable Gordon Brown, PC, MP, current Chancellor of the Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the ancient title held by the British cabinet minister whose responsibilities are akin to the posts of Minister for Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other jurisdictions. ... In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... The Great Offices of State in the United Kingdom are the four most senior and prestigious posts in the British government. ...