30-659: The Life Peerages Act 1958 ( 6 & 7 Eliz. 2 . c. 21) established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom . This Act was passed during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964 , when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister. Elizabeth II had ascended to the throne just over five years before the Act. The Conservatives tried to introduce life peerages to modernise
60-517: A male-line grandson of King George I of Greece and male-line great-grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark ) along with his rights to the Greek throne. In 1957, Philip became a prince of the United Kingdom . Upon Philip's death on 9 April 2021, his eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales , succeeded to all of his hereditary titles. Upon Charles's accession to the throne on 8 September 2022,
90-431: A prestigious title was "a pipe dream of my father's". In July, The Times reported that Charles had decided not to give the title to his brother. Clarence House did not deny the reports, which were met with disapproval by commentators in light of Edward and Sophie's increased role in the monarchy after Andrew withdrew from public life and Charles's son Prince Harry and daughter-in-law Meghan quit royal duties. It
120-491: Is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1957 . Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland . For acts passed up until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see
150-468: Is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800 is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that
180-609: The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893, he retained his British titles. His only son that survived birth, Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , committed suicide in 1899, so the Dukedom of Edinburgh and subsidiary titles became extinct upon the elder Alfred's death in 1900. The title was created for a third time on 19 November 1947 by King George VI , who bestowed it on his future son-in-law Philip Mountbatten , when he married Princess Elizabeth . Subsequently, Elizabeth
210-641: The House of Lords for life, but their titles and membership in the House of Lords cannot be inherited by their children. Judicial life peers already sat in the House under the terms of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 . The Life Peerages Act greatly increased the ability of prime ministers to change the composition of the House of Lords by permitting the creation of groups of life peers rather than hereditary peerages. This gradually diminished
240-460: The House of Lords , give it more legitimacy, and respond to a decline in its numbers and attendance. The Life Peerages Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 21 November 1957, and its second reading took place on 3 and 5 December 1957. Committee stage was taken on 17 and 18 December 1957. The bill was reported without amendment and given a third reading on 30 January 1958. In the Commons,
270-606: The list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title
300-737: The County of Caernarvon, all of which were also in the Peerage of Great Britain. The marquessate was gazetted as Marquess of the Isle of Wight , apparently erroneously. In later editions of the London Gazette the Duke is referred to as the Marquess of the Isle of Ely . Upon Frederick's death, the titles were inherited by his son Prince George. When Prince George became King George III in 1760,
330-530: The Lords or a wholly elected house. At the end of the debate, an opposition amendment declining a second reading to the bill was defeated by 305 votes to 251. The bill was given a third reading on 2 April 1958 by 292 votes to 241 and received royal assent on 30 April 1958. The first batch of 14 life peers was announced on 24 July 1958. Prior to the Life Peerages Act 1958, membership in the House of Lords
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#1732764761608360-410: The United Kingdom . Titles mandated for use by the heir apparent ( Duke of Rothesay and the 1337 creation of the Duke of Cornwall ) are also not included, see Princes of Wales family tree . Here are the achievements of the various Dukes of Edinburgh: A fictional Duke of Edinburgh appears in the 1983 sitcom The Black Adder . Rowan Atkinson plays the title character, Prince Edmund , who
390-555: The United Kingdom , which met from 6 November 1956 until 1 November 1957. The third session of the 41st Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 5 November 1957 until 23 October 1958. Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh , named after the capital city of Scotland , Edinburgh , is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family . It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produce any revenue for
420-563: The advice of the Prime Minister. Before the Act was enacted, former prime ministers were usually created hereditary viscounts or earls in recognition of their public service in high office, as were the Viceroys of India and exceptional military or front bench figures, for example the former Secretary of State for India and earlier for Air, Viscount Stansgate , and retired Speakers of the House of Commons. The last prime minister and
450-517: The debate which secured the removal of the constitutional functions of most hereditary peers , the Minister for Constitutional Affairs , Geoff Hoon stated: The difference is, of course, that the Labour party lost the argument in 1958. The reform provided by the Life Peerages Act 1958 was a successful single-stage reform of the operation of the second Chamber. History has proved that the Labour party
480-622: The dukedom to be granted to Prince Andrew , his older brother. Prince Philip died in April 2021. His dukedom was inherited by his eldest son, Prince Charles, before it 'merged in the Crown' when Charles became King. The dukedom was then recreated for Prince Edward, in accordance with Prince Philip's wishes. Edward, who had by then dropped to the 14th place in the line of succession because of births of those higher in line, said in June that him getting such
510-1040: The effect that "giv(ing) the Edinburgh dukedom to someone descending fast down the royal ranking" would have on the Scottish independence debate. She proposes that "the prospect of Scottish independence now looking less likely" in the light of Nicola Sturgeon 's resignation made the conferral less of a risk. Also: Marquess of the Isle of Ely , Earl of Eltham , Viscount Launceston and Baron Snowdon . Also: Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster . Also: Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich . Includes dukes of: Albany , Albemarle , Bedford , Cambridge , Clarence , Connaught and Strathearn , Cumberland , Edinburgh , Gloucester , Gloucester and Edinburgh , Hereford , Kent , Kintyre and Lorne , Norfolk , Ross , Somerset , Sussex , Windsor , and York , but only when royally. Non-royal dukes are not included; see Royal dukedoms in
540-469: The last non-royal to be created an earl was coincidentally one of the 1958 Act's proponents, Harold Macmillan , on Margaret Thatcher 's advice, in the 1980s. Since her time, only members of the Royal Family have been granted new hereditary peerages. In 2023, Prince Edward , already hereditary Earl of Wessex and Forfar, was made Duke of Edinburgh for life, though not under the Act. In 1999, during
570-405: The modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Acts passed from 1963 onwards are simply cited by calendar year and chapter number. Continuing the second session of the 41st Parliament of
600-467: The numerical dominance of hereditary peers. The Act allowed for the creation of female peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords. The first four such women peers were: Barbara Wootton and Stella Isaacs , who were sworn in on 21 October 1958, and Katharine Elliot and Irene Curzon , who took office the next day. A life peer is created by the sovereign by letters patent under the Great Seal on
630-479: The peerages merged in the Crown and ceased to exist. It was announced in 1999, at the time of his wedding , that Prince Edward would eventually be granted the Dukedom of Edinburgh. The idea came from Prince Philip, who unexpectedly conveyed his wish to Edward and his fiancée, Sophie Rhys-Jones , only days before their wedding. Edward, then seventh in the line of succession to the British throne , had expected
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#1732764761608660-509: The second reading took place on 12 and 13 February 1958. The second reading debate was lengthy; the first day of second reading saw 21 speeches and 29 interruptions, while the second day contained 18 speeches, with 46 interruptions. The Labour Party opposed the Life Peerages Bill on Second Reading: Hugh Gaitskell made an impassioned speech against the proposals, arguing for a far more fundamental reform such as total dismantling of
690-481: The title reverted to the Crown . The title was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain on 26 July 1726 by King George I , who bestowed it on his grandson Prince Frederick , who subsequently became Prince of Wales in 1728. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, in the County of Kent, Viscount of Launceston, in the County of Cornwall, and Baron of Snowdon, in
720-449: The title-holder. The current holder, Prince Edward , was created duke in 2023 on his 59th birthday by his eldest brother, King Charles III . The dukedom had previously been granted to their father, then Philip Mountbatten , on the day of his marriage to then-Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II . Upon Philip's death, the title was inherited by Charles and held by him until Elizabeth died and Charles became king, at which time
750-417: The titles merged in the Crown and ceased to exist. Queen Victoria re-created the title, this time in the Peerage of the United Kingdom , on 24 May 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred , instead of Duke of York , the traditional title of the second son of the monarch. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. When Alfred became
780-547: Was bestowed on Prince Edward on the occasion of his 59th birthday on 10 March 2023. This fourth creation of the title is, however, a life peerage , meaning that Edward's son, James , will not inherit the dukedom (unlike with Edward's other peerages). This allows Charles to honour his father's wish and reward his brother and sister-in-law while making it possible for Charles's heir-apparent, Prince William , to confer it on one of his children. According to Camilla Tominey of The Daily Telegraph , there had been concerns regarding
810-660: Was strictly male and overwhelmingly based on possession of a hereditary title. There existed a few exceptions to the hereditary principle, such as for the Lords Spiritual . The Act made it possible for life peers of both sexes to be members of the Lords. Life peers are either barons (a title in existence since the Middle Ages; holders are usually known as Lord for all but the most formal documents) or baronesses (where female; conventionally they choose to be known as "Lady X" or "Baroness X" as preferred) and are members of
840-404: Was styled "HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh " until her accession in 1952. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich , of Greenwich in the County of London; all these titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . Earlier that year, Philip had renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles (he was born a prince of Greece and Denmark, being
870-470: Was suggested in November 2022, shortly after Charles III ascended the throne, that Buckingham Palace was considering saving the dukedom for the new king's granddaughter Princess Charlotte of Wales in recognition of her high place in the line of succession and her being the first female member of the royal family whose place in the line of succession cannot be superseded by a younger brother. The dukedom
900-598: Was wrong and Conservative Ministers were right in 1958. After this agreed with a question from fellow Labour MP, Mark Fisher which stated: The White Paper—and all that I have heard from my right hon. Friend the President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons —gave an absolute and clear commitment to a second stage [of Lords Reform], presaged by the Royal Commission 6 %26 7 Eliz. 2 This
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