The Order of precedence in the United Kingdom is different in each of its four constituent member nations. See: An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of people; it is used by many organizations and governments. ...

• Order of precedence in England and Wales
• Order of precedence in Scotland
• Order of precedence in Northern Ireland

Separate orders exist for males and females. Precedence was a matter of great weight at least up until the Second World War, but it is a much less significant aspect of British life in modern times. The Order of precedence in England and Wales as of 12 April 2006: Names in italics indicate higher precedence elsewhere in the table: e. ... Denmark France Germany India Isle of Man Italy Jamaica New Zealand Norway Poland Romania Switzerland Spain United Kingdom United States The order of precedence in Scotland was fixed by Royal Warrant in 1905. ... The order of precedence in Northern Ireland is an esoteric sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of people under British law: Gentlemen The monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH Prince William of... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Determination of precedence

The Order of Precedence is determined by various methods. The Precedence Act (which technically applies only to determine seating in the House of Lords Chamber) and the Acts of Union with Scotland and Ireland generally set precedence for members of the nobility. The statutes of the various Orders of Chivalry set precedence for their members. In other cases, precedence may be decided by the sovereign's order, by a Royal Warrant of Precedence, by letters patent, by Acts of Parliament, or by custom. A Royal Warrant of Precedence is a warrant issued by the Monarch of the United Kingdom to determine precedence amongst individuals or organisations. ... Letters Patent by Queen Victoria creating the office of Governor-General of Australia Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting an office, a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as...

Source of precedence

One may acquire precedence for various reasons. Firstly, one may be an office-holder. Secondly, one may be of a particular degree such as duke. Thirdly, in the case of women, one may be the wife of a title-holder. (Note that wives acquire precedence due to their husbands, but husbands do not gain any special precedence due to their wives). Finally, one may be the son or daughter of a title-holder. One does not gain precedence as a daughter of a lady, unless that lady is a member of the Royal Family or a peeress in her own right. Furthermore, if a daughter of a peer marries a commoner, then she retains her precedence as a daughter of a peer. However, if she marries a peer, then her precedence is based on her husband's status, and not on her father's. This article is about the nobility title. ...

British royal family

The sovereign, whether a king or queen, is first in the order of precedence. If the sovereign is male, then his wife, the queen consort, is first in the order of precedence for women. The reverse, however, is not always true. There is no solid law of precedence for a prince consort, so he is usually specially granted precedence above all other males by letters patent. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A prince consort, generally speaking, is the husband of a Queen regnant, unless he himself is a king. ... Letters Patent by Queen Victoria creating the office of Governor-General of Australia Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting an office, a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as...

The order of precedence for males royal is:

1. The king (or prince consort)
2. The sovereign's sons
3. The sovereign's sons' sons
4. The sovereign's brothers
5. The sovereign's father's brothers
6. The sovereign's brothers' sons
7. The sovereign's father's brothers' sons

The order of precedence for female members of the royal family is:

1. The queen (regnant or consort)
2. Queens dowager (most recent first)
3. The sovereign's daughters-in-law
4. The sovereign's daughters
5. The sovereign's sons' daughters-in-law
6. The sovereign's sons' daughters
7. The sovereign's sisters-in-law
8. The sovereign's sisters
9. The sovereign's father's sisters-in-law
10. The sovereign's father's sisters
11. The sovereign's brothers' daughters-in-law
12. The sovereign's brothers' daughters
13. The sovereign's father's brothers' daughters-in-law
14. The sovereign's father's brothers' daughters

Cleopatra is one of the most well-known queens regnant A queen regnant (plural queens regnant) is a woman monarch possessing and exercising all of the monarchal powers of a king, in contrast with a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king, and in and of her... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A Queen Dowager or Dowager Queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. ...

Current practice

• The Queen recently changed the order of precedence for private occasions, putting the Duchess of Cornwall fourth in the order of precedence, after herself, Princess Anne, and Princess Alexandra, contrary to the usual position of the heir's consort.[1] The queen has stated that this was done because Anne and Alexandra are princesses of the blood royal (i.e., royal by birth), and to reinforce Camilla's status as a royal duchess and not a princess. The Duchess of Cornwall continues to rank second in the order of precedence at official occasions, such as state dinners.

• The Court Circular also lists Prince William of Wales above his uncles, Andrew, Duke of York, and Edward, Earl of Wessex, suggesting he takes precedence over them.

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla Rosemary; formerly Parker Bowles; née Shand, born 17 July 1947) is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the thrones of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth Realms. ... Princess Anne redirects here. ... HRH Princess Alexandra Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel Ogilvy, née Windsor), formerly Princess Alexandra of Kent, is a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of King George V. She was married to the late Sir Angus Ogilvy. ... The Court Circular is the official record of all the engagements carried out by the British Royal Family, as well as appointments to their staff and to the court. ... Prince William redirects here. ... HRH The Duke of York His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Windsor), styled HRH The Duke of York (born February 19, 1960), is a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II... HRH The Earl of Wessex His Royal Highness The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (Edward Antony Richard Louis Mountbatten-Windsor), styled HRH The Earl of Wessex (born March 10, 1964), is a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has held the title...

Officers

In England and Wales, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the highest in precedence following the royal family. Then come the Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of York. Next come certain officers: the prime minister, the Lord President of the Privy Council, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords (since July 2006), the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (since Nov. 2007) and the Lord Privy Seal. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader and senior clergyman of the Church of England, recognized by convention as the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... Arms of the Archbishop of York The Archbishop of York, Primate of England, is the metropolitan bishop of the Province of York, and is the junior of the two archbishops of the Church of England, after the Archbishop of Canterbury. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... 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. ... In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. ... The Lord Speaker (or Lady Speaker) will be a new position in the British Parliament created once the Constitutional Reform Acts provisions about the Speakership of the House of Lords comes into effect. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was, historically, the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor. ... The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is one of the traditional sinecure offices in the British Cabinet. ...

The precedence of other officers—the Lord Great Chamberlain, Earl Marshal, Lord Steward, and Lord Chamberlain—is based on the degree of their peerage. These officers rank above all other peers of their rank. Thus, if the Lord Steward were a duke, he would outrank other dukes; and if a marquess, would outrank other marquesses; and so forth. The precedence of the Master of the Horse is linked directly to that of the Lord Chamberlain, for the Master follows immediately after the Lord Chamberlain. However, if the Master is of a higher degree of peerage than the Lord Chamberlain, he would rank among his fellow peers of that degree, and not below the Lord Chamberlain. 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. ... Earl Marshal (alternatively Marschal or Marischal) is an ancient chivalric title used separately in England, Ireland and the United Kingdom. ... almLord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household, in England, an important official of the Royal Household. ... The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom, and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State. ... The Master of the Horse was (and in some cases, is) a historical position of varying importance in several European nations. ...

In Scotland, the officers of state are different. The Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and the Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, if they are peers, rank after the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. If not, they rank after younger sons of dukes. The Hereditary High Constable of Scotland and the Master of the Household in Scotland rank above dukes. If the Keepers of the Seals are peers, then the Keepers precede the High Constable and Master. 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. ...

Nobles

Nobles rank in the following order: dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. Within each degree, peers rank according to the seniority of the creation of their peerages, but peers of England (created prior to 1707) precede peers of Scotland (prior to 1707), who together precede peers of Great Britain (prior to 1801), who together precede peers of Ireland (prior to 1801), who together precede peers of Ireland or of the United Kingdom (after 1801). However, the rules regarding the country of peerage apply only within particular ranks; an earl of the United Kingdom, for instance, would outrank a viscount of England.

Wives of peers rank along with peeresses in their own right according to the ancientcy of the peerage (subject to the rules regarding countries mentioned above), whether it is the ancientcy of the peeress' own peerage or of her husband's peerage. However, a dowager peeress (the wife of a former holder of that title and usually an ancestress of the present title-holder) would always precede the present peeress. Thus, the Dowager Duchess of X would come before the present Duchess of X.

Clergy

As has been noted, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the highest non-royal, and the Archbishop of York is the third-highest. Bishops of the Church of England rank immediately above barons. First come the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, followed by the other diocesan bishops in order of seniority, and then the suffragan bishops in order of seniority. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[3] in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communions thirty-eight independent national churches. ...

In Scotland, the established church, the Church of Scotland, has neither archbishops nor bishops. The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ranks immediately below the sovereign or consort (depending on their respective genders), but only when the General Assembly is in session. The Moderator of the General Assembly, regardless of whether it is in session or not, ranks immediately after the Lord Chancellor. The Church of Scotland (CofS; Scottish Gaelic: ), known informally by its pre-Union Scots name, The Kirk, is the national church of Scotland. ...

In Northern Ireland, due to sensitivities regarding the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, no distinction is made between Catholic and Anglican archbishops and bishops. The archbishops of Armagh and Dublin, whether of the Catholic Church or of the Anglican Church of Ireland, all rank above the Lord Chancellor, in the order of seniority. Bishops rank above barons, as in England and Wales.

Baronets and knights

The three highest orders of chivalry in England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, are the Orders of the Garter, the Thistle, and St. Patrick, respectively. Knights of these orders precede baronets. After the baronets come the members of all the other orders of chivalry in the following order of their ranks: Knight or Dame Grand Cross, Knight or Dame Commander, Commander or Companion, Lieutenant or Officer, and Member. For individual members with equivalent ranks but of different orders, precedence is accorded based on the seniority of the orders of chivalry: the Order of the Bath, the Order of the Star of India, the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Order of the Indian Empire, the Royal Victorian Order, and the Order of the British Empire. For equivalent ranks and orders, those appointed earlier precede those appointed later. See also Orders of Chivalry in the British honours system After the failure of the crusades, the crusading military orders became idealized and romanticized, resulting in the late medieval notion of chivalry, as reflected in the Arthurian romances of the time. ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... James VII ordained the modern Order. ... The Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick is an order of chivalry associated with Ireland. ... A baronet (traditional abbreviation Bart, modern abbreviation Bt) is the holder of a species of knighthood known as a baronetcy. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) Ribbon of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on May 18, 1725. ... Insignia of a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India. ... On the Orders insignia, St Michael is often depicted subduing Satan. ... The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Victoria in 1877. ... Queen Victoria founded the Royal Victorian Order. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander...

Wives of Knights of the Garter, Knights of the Thistle, Knights of St. Patrick, Knights Grand Cross, Knights Commanders, and Commanders or Companions receive precedence based on their husbands' positions. Wives of individuals of a certain rank follow in precedence after female holders of the same rank. Thus, wives of Knights Grand Cross follow Dames Grand Cross.

Wives of baronets go immediately above all Dames Grand Cross, but are below (though not immediately below) Ladies and Wives of Knights of the Garter, the Thistle, and St. Patrick. Baronets' widows follow rules similar to dowager peeresses; a widow of a previous baronet comes immediately before the wife of the present baronet.

See also

• Line of succession to the British Throne