Definition

1. Noun:
   • A member of the British nobility holding a hereditary title that grants the right to sit in the House of Lords: A "peer of the realm" is a person who holds one of the five hereditary ranks of the British peerage—duke, marquess, earl, viscount, or baron—and, historically, this status conferred the right to be summoned to the House of Lords, the upper chamber of Parliament.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • As a peer of the realm, the Duke was automatically entitled to a seat in the House of Lords before the reforms.
  • The ceremony was attended by several peers of the realm in their ceremonial robes.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in historical or formal constitutional contexts to distinguish those peers with a right to sit in the legislature from other nobles or honorific title holders.
  • The Act sought to limit the political power of the peers of the realm.

Variants and Related Words

• Peerage (n): The collective term for peers of the realm; the system of hereditary titles.
  • He was elevated to the peerage last year.
• Life Peer (n): A person granted a peerage title that is not hereditary and that also confers the right to sit in the House of Lords. This is a related but distinct modern concept.
  • Unlike a hereditary peer of the realm, a life peer cannot pass the title to an heir.

Synonyms

• Lord: A general term for a peer, especially one who is a member of the House of Lords.
• Nobleman/Noblewoman: A person belonging to the aristocracy by birth or title.

Notes on Meaning

• The meaning and privileges associated with being a "peer of the realm" have evolved, especially following the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic right of most hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The term now often refers to the historical institution or to those remaining hereditary peers elected to sit in the Lords.

Noun

1. a peer who is entitled to sit in the House of Lords