XXX. LORD HIGH CONSTABLE, when of the rank of a marquis; vide No. xix. antea.

XXXI. EARL MARSHAL, when of the rank of a marquis; vide No. xx. antea.

XXXII. LORD STEWARD OF THE HOUSEHOLD, when of the rank of a marquis; vide No. XXII. antea.

XXXIII. LORD CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOUSEHOLD, when of the rank of a marquis; vide No. XXIII.

antea.

XXXIV. MARQUISES OF ENGLAND created before the Scottish Union.-Of this class there is only one now in existence, viz. the Marquisate of Winchester.

XXXV. MARQuises of ScotlAND.-Of these the Marquis of Huntley is the senior, and the Marquis of Lothian the junior. In conformity with the 23rd article of the Treaty of Union, all Scottish marquises whose patents are dated antecedently to that event (1707) take precedence of all others of like degree, excepting those English marquises whose patents are of earlier date.

XXXVI. MARQUISES OF GREAT BRITAIN.-This class of peers enjoy titles which are dated between the years 1707 and 1801; and the oldest marquisate, viz. that of Lansdowne, follows the last of the Scottish marquises.

XXXVII. MARQUISES OF IRELAND.-The Act of Union (passed in 1800) between Great Britain and Ireland declares that all peers of Ireland shall thenceforward be peers of Great Britain, and take precedence next after those of a like degree. The Marquis of Bute is the junior of those British marquises whose patents were granted before the Irish

union, he therefore precedes the senior Irish marquis; there then follow eight Irish marquises, of whom Lord Ely is the last.

XXXVIII. MARQUISES OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. -The several peers of this degree whose titles were created subsequent to that of the Marquis of Ely, viz. after the Irish union, constitute the marquises of the United Kingdom; and they occupy this position in the general scale, while inter se they rank according to the dates of their respective patents, whether their peerages belong to Great Britain or to Ireland; the Act of Union declares that all peers of Ireland, whose titles shall be created after the statute came into force, shall take rank and precedence as if they were peers of the United Kingdom, and had seats in the hereditary branch of the legislature.

XXXIX. DUKES' ELDEST SONS.-This class of nobles rank above earls, and take precedence amongst each other according to the dates of their fathers' patent. The place thus assigned is not granted in conformity with the provisions of any act of parliament, but in compliance with established usage, which has remained for centuries unquestioned. All the complex relations which subsist between dukes of England, of Scotland, of Great Britain, of Ireland, and of the United Kingdom, are equally in force as regards their issue; and in order to ascertain the exact position of an individual member of No. xxxix. it is only necessary to fix the position of his father among dukes; and then it will be seen that the eldest son of any given duke will follow all eldest sons of such other dukes as his father himself follows.

Thus the paternal rank is the regulating influence among the different members of this class, and has already been detailed, while as a body they occupy the position which the number at the head of this article denotes. The scale of precedence which places a duke's eldest son after all marquises is in strict analogy with the limitations affecting the assumption of courtesy titles; for the former usually enjoys by courtesy the title of marquis, which the latter possesses in his own right, and even when there exists in the duke's family no marquisate for the son to assume, nevertheless (although perhaps only a titular baron) he is a courtesy marquis as far as precedence is concerned, and uses the coronet belonging to that rank. XL. LORD GREAT CHAMBERLAIN, when of the rank of an earl; vide No. xvIII.

XLI. LORD HIGH CONSTABLE, when of the rank of an earl; vide No. xix.

XLII. EARL MARSHAL, when of the rank of an earl; vide No. xx.

XLIII. LORD STEWARD OF THE HOUSEHOLD, when of the rank of an earl; vide No. xxii.

XLIV. LORD CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOUSEHOLD, when of the rank of an earl; vide No. xxIII.

XLV. EARLS OF ENGLAND.-This class includes all earls whose patents are dated antecedently to 1707, the period of the union with Scotland. Of these the Earl of Shrewsbury is the first, and Earl Poulett the last.

XLVI. EARLS OF SCOTLAND.-By the treaty of union between England and Scotland, all Scottish peers became peers of Great Britain, with rank next after English peers of the like degree, but taking

nephews, his uncles, &c. Thus the next brother to the king might be at one time the first subject in the realm; but if the king should marry and have seven sons, the brother then would take the eighth place: he might also live to follow fifteen or sixteen of his grand-nephews; but one of these might succeed to the throne, marry, have sons, and so remove his grand-uncle still further from the highest point: it frequently happens, therefore, that as a royal duke grows older he sinks in the scale of precedence.

VII. NEPHEWS OF THE SOVEREIGN.-The children of the monarch form the highest rank in the royal family; his brothers and sisters come next, and next their children. They proceed in the following order :-1st, such of his nephews as are the sons of his next brother; 2ndly, the sons of his second brother; then those of his third brother, and so on according to the seniority of their respective fathers; the sons of each father, of course, taking precedence amongst each other according to priority of birth. The sons of the eldest sister of the sovereign follow those of his youngest brother, taking rank amongst each other according to the usual rule of priority of birth; the sons of each sister enjoying precedence according to the seniority of their respective mothers.

VIII. UNCLES of the Sovereign.-A royal duke may be in one reign the son of the king; in the next reigu he may become brother to the sovereign; in the next, uncle to the monarch; and in the following reign, grand-uncle. In the first of these cases he belongs to the highest rank, in the next he falls into the

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second grade, and finally into the third. Every member of the royal family capable of succeeding to the throne retains an acknowledged superiority over other subjects, but the rank that he holds amongst his own relatives is altered every time a new reign

commences.

IX. OTHER Descendants of THE ELECTRESS SoPHIA Occupy this position before the Archbishop of Canterbury, under the 10th of Anne, cap. 4; and their propinquity to the throne regulates their rank. In compiling tables of precedence this act has been too frequently overlooked; it is, therefore, often stated that the eldest sons of dukes of the blood royal take rank immediately before marquises. This view of the matter is in conformity with the 31st of Henry VIII.; but the statute of Anne virtually repeals that portion of the enactment. It is to be observed, that at present there is no duke of the blood royal, nor any descendant of such duke, who is not also a descendant of the Electress Sophia of Hanover; and the statute of Anne declares that all her descendants shall precede the Archbishop of Canterbury, "any law, statute, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding:" it is, therefore, a palpable error to place them immediately before marquises.

X. ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, PRIMATE of all ENGLAND. After many contests between the Archbishops of Canterbury and of York, it was decided by King Edward III. in 1352, that the former should always enjoy precedence over the latter; and this decision has ever since remained in force. Both

were

always entitled to go before dukes. It may be