Courtesy title

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A courtesy title is a form of address in the British peerage system used for wives, children, and other close relatives of a peer. These styles may mislead those unacquainted with the system into thinking that they have substantive titles.

If a peer of the rank of Duke, Marquess or Earl has more than one title, his eldest son, not himself a peer, uses one of the lesser titles. (The eldest sons of Barons and Viscounts do not receive such a privilege - they are styled 'The Honourable'.) If that eldest son has an eldest son, and there are additional titles available, he too may use a lesser title. For example, the Duke of Norfolk is also the Earl of Arundel and the Lord Maltravers, and so his son may be styled Earl of Arundel, and the grandson styled Lord Maltravers. However, only the grandfather is a peer: the other two remain 'commoners' until they actually acquire a substantive title. Also, such courtesy titles are only used by the peer's eldest son, and the eldest son's eldest son, and so forth. Other descendants are not permitted to use the peer's subsidiary titles. In other words, only the Heir Apparent (and Heir Apparent to the Heir Apparent and so on) can use the titles. An Heir Presumptive has no right to use the courtesy title, since it is not certain that he will in time inherit the substantive title.

The actual title used is a matter of family tradition. For instance, the eldest son of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry is the Earl of Dalkeith, even though the Duke is also the Marquess of Dumfriesshire, a senior title to the Earldom of Dalkeith. Similarly, the eldest son of the Marquess of Londonderry is Viscount Castlereagh, even though the Marquess is also the Earl Vane. Titles with the same name as a peer's main title are also not used as courtesy titles. For instance, the Duke of Westminster is also the Marquess of Westminster and the Earl Grosvenor (amongst other things). The Duke's son is not the Marquess of Westminster (which would cause confusion between the son and the father), and so is styled Earl Grosvenor instead. The title used does not have to be exactly equivalent to the actual peerage: the eldest son of the current Duke of Wellington uses the title "Marquess of Douro", even though the actual peerage possessed by his father is "Marquess Douro". If a peer of the rank of Earl or above does not have any subsidiary titles of a different name to his main title, his eldest son usually uses an invented courtesy title of "Lord Surname". For instance, the eldest son of the Earl of Devon is Lord Courtenay, even though the Earl has no barony of that name, and similarly the eldest son of the Earl of Guilford is Lord North. The eldest son of the Earl of Huntingdon, who has no subsidiary titles, is styled Viscount Hastings to avoid confusion with the substantive peer Lord Hastings.

Courtesy titles of children of peers are social, not legal. For this reason, in official documents, Lord John Smith is often referred to as John Smith, Esq., commonly Lord John Smith; The Hon. Mrs. Smith would be called Mary Jane, Mrs. Smith, commonly called The Honourable Mrs. Smith.

A peer's wife takes her courtesy title based on her husband's rank, unless she herself has a higher title. Thus a baron's wife is called "baroness", an earl's wife is called a "countess", a duke's wife a "duchess", etc. Despite being referred to as a "peeress", she does not, however, become a peer "in her own right": these are 'styles', not substantive titles.

Another form of courtesy title, in the form of an honorific prefix, is granted to younger sons, and all daughters of peers. The rules differ for different ranks of peers: the children of a baron, for example, get the prefix "Hon.", the daughters of an earl are called "Lady", and so on. These titles persist after the death of the father and the descent of the peerage to the elder son.

A peer's daughter who marries a commoner either becomes "The Lady Firstname Husbandslastname" or "The Honourable Mrs. Husbandslastname", depending on what her birth style is. If she marries a peer, she gains the courtesy title as that peer's wife. Also note that the children of a peeress in her own right (a peeress that holds a substantive title, and is not merely a wife of a peer) gain courtesy titles as usual, but the husband receives no special distinction.

If a woman marries an Honourable, and holds no higher title, she will become "The Honourable Mrs. Husbandsfirstname Husbandslastname." If a woman marries a Lord, she will become "The Lady Husbandsfirstname Husbandslastname." In case of a divorce, she will keep the same style as during her marriage, or she may choose to assume the style "Mrs. Firstname Husbandslastname." Regardless of what she chooses, she loses all precedence she attained from marriage. Because of the former option, there can be multiple Lady John Smiths.

Occasionally a peer has inherited the title upon the death of a relative who is not one of his parents. (Some say it is incorrect in this case to say the title is inherited from the relative, merely on the death of the relative - since when a peer has no direct descendents, the peerage moves to the second heir of the previous holder (or his heirs), failing that to the second heir of the holder before that (or his heirs), and so in a recursive fashion). When this happens, the siblings of the new peer may be allowed to use courtesy titles as if they were the children of that peer. For instance, Rupert Charles Ponsonby, 7th Baron de Mauley inherited the Barony of de Mauley from his uncle in 2002. His brother Ashley had no title, as their father was only an Honourable and was never actually Baron de Mauley. However, in 2003, Ashley was granted the style and precedence of the son of a baron, becoming The Honourable Ashley Ponsonby.

Divorced wives

The divorced wife of a peer will put her Christian name before her husband's title, and lose any style she gained from marriage, and loses any address she gains from that style. So, "Her Grace The Duchess of London" becomes "Mary, Duchess of London," and should be addressed as "Duchess," but no longer "Your Grace." "The Rt. Hon. The Lady London" becomes "Mary, Lady London" and should be addressed as "Lady London," but not "My Lady" (an address gained from the style of Ladyship).

Widows

If a peer dies, his wife's style does not change unless the new peer is married. If he is married, traditionally the widowed peeress puts "Dowager" in her style, i.e. "The Most Hon. The Marchioness of London" becomes "The Most Hon. The Dowager Marchioness of London." However, in more recent times, due to negative connotations of the word "Dowager," many widows choose to be styled as a divorcee, except keeping their style. So, "The Rt. Hon. The Viscountess London" becomes "The Rt. Hon. Mary, Viscountess London."

If a widowed peeresses son predeceases her, her daughter-in-law may not use the Dowager styling and must use the Christian name designation until her mother-in-law dies, at which point she may use the Dowager title.

Courtesy Titles for Heirs of Dukes

Courtesy Titles for Heirs of Marquesses

Courtesy Titles for Heirs of Earls