How to Address Someone With a British Title

The British are renowned for their complex and sometimes confusing system of nobility and peerage. Essentially, a member of the nobility is someone who has inherited or has been given a title by the Crown or Monarch. A peer is someone who has the right to sit in the House of Lords, but there is an entire hierarchy of different honours, all of which require formal address and recognise a different service to the country.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Observe the British precedence of honours when choosing how to address someone with a title. The monarch or sovereign is the head, being regarded as the "fount of honour," through which all other honours are bestowed. The Queen of England should be addressed firstly as
   Your Majesty," and then as "Ma'am" in conversation thereafter.

2. Address Royal Princes and Princesses, such as Prince Harry, firstly as "Your Royal Highness," and subsequently as "Sir" or "Ma'am."

3. Note the order of the ranks of the British peers. In order of importance they are Duke and Duchess, Marquess and Marchioness, Earl and Countess, Viscount and Viscountess and Baron and Baroness. When greeting a Duke or Duchess, use "Your Grace."

4. Use "The Most Honourable the Marquess/Marchioness of..." when speaking about a Marquess or Marchioness (whether she is a peer herself or simply a wife of a peer). "The Right Honourable..." should be used instead when speaking about an Earl, Viscount, Baron and Lord Mayor and their female counterparts. When speaking to them, you should say, "Lord" or "Lady." The wife of a peer becomes "The Dowager Lady..." when her husband dies.

5. Remember that although you should use "Your Grace" when addressing an archbishop, you should call a bishop "My Lord" instead.

6. Call a knight "Sir" and his wife "Lady." There are five ranks of knighthood (known officially as The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), but only the highest two - Knight Grand Cross and Knight Commander or men, and Dame Grand Cross and Dame Commander for women - allow the holder to use a title before their name. A female knight should be known as "Dame."

7. Consider that the sons and daughters of peers, while themselves commoners, do hold courtesy titles. Sons and daughters of Dukes, Marquesses and Earls prefix "Lord" or "Lady" to their names. Use "The Right Honourable" for sons and daughters of Viscounts and Barons

Tips & Warnings

• If it seems appropriate, ask the person how they prefer to be addressed. Personal preference overrides any formal rules.

• If the peer or noble falls into an informal style of conversing with you, it they probably no longer require you to continue addressing them with "Sir" or "Ma'am."

• Note that if a holder of a knighthood is not a subject of a country where the British monarch is head of state, he or she is not allowed to use the title "Sir" or "Lady" before his or her name.

• Don't assume a person with a British title is allowed to sit in the House of Lords. Until 1999, all hereditary peers were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but, due to changes in the law, they've lost this right. At present, some 92 hereditary peers sit in the House of Lords, but this is expected to change in the future.

• Never turn your back on the Queen, and never leave the room before she does. You should also remove your gloves and hat if you are wearing them. UK citizens are expected to bow or curtsy out of respect when greeting the Queen, although Americans and other nationalities are not obliged to do so.