List of peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom

This article lists all peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom, whether created or inherited before or after their premiership. Extant titles are in bold.

Peerages created for prime ministers

 Created after their respective Premierships
Peerage Title(s) Created Prime Minister Current status Notes

Reign of King George I, 1714–1727

Kingdom of Great Britain Earl of Clare
Viscount Haughton
19 October 1714 Thomas Pelham-Holles 2nd Baron Pelham Extinct 17 November 1768 Created Before Premiership
Created with a special remainder
Kingdom of Great Britain Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Marquess of Clare
11 August 1715 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Earl of Clare Extinct 17 November 1768 Created Before Premiership
Created with a special remainder

Reign of King George II, 1727–1760

Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Wilmington 8 January 1728 Sir Spencer Compton Extinct 2 July 1743 Created Before Premiership
Kingdom of Great Britain Earl of Wilmington
Viscount Pevensey
14 May 1730 Spencer Compton, 1st Baron Wilmington Extinct 2 July 1743 Created Before Premiership
Kingdom of Great Britain Earl of Orford
Viscount Walpole
Baron Walpole of Houghton
6 February 1742 Sir Robert Walpole Extinct 2 March 1797 During Premiership
Kingdom of Great Britain Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne 17 November 1756 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Extinct 25 December 1988 Created with a special remainder

Reign of King George III, 1760–1820

Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Pelham of Stanmer 4 May 1762 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Extant During Premiership
Created with a special remainder
Kingdom of Great Britain Earl of Chatham
Viscount Pitt
4 August 1766 William Pitt the Elder Extinct 24 September 1835 During Premiership
Kingdom of Great Britain Marquess of Lansdowne
Earl of Wycombe
Viscount Calne and Calston
6 December 1784 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne Extant
Kingdom of Great Britain Baron Grenville 25 November 1790 William Grenville Extinct 12 January 1834 Created Before Premiership
United Kingdom Viscount Sidmouth 12 January 1805 Henry Addington Extant
United Kingdom Viscount Wellington
Baron Douro
4 September 1809 Sir Arthur Wellesley Extant Created Before Premiership
On 5 February 1811, George Prince of Wales became the Prince Regent
United Kingdom Earl of Wellington 28 February 1812 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Viscount Wellington Extant Created Before Premiership
United Kingdom Marquess of Wellington 3 October 1812 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Earl of Wellington Extant Created Before Premiership
United Kingdom Duke of Wellington
Marquess Douro
11 May 1814 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington Extant Created Before Premiership
United Kingdom Viscount Gordon 16 July 1814 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen Extant Created Before Premiership

Reign of King George IV, 1820–1830

United Kingdom Viscount Goderich 28 April 1827 F. J. Robinson Extinct 22 September 1923 Created Before Premiership

Reign of King William IV, 1830–1837

United Kingdom Earl of Ripon 13 April 1833 F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich Extinct 22 September 1923

Reign of Queen Victoria, 1837–1901

United Kingdom Earl Russell
Viscount Amberley
30 July 1861 Lord John Russell Extant
United Kingdom Earl of Beaconsfield
Viscount Hughenden
21 August 1876 Benjamin Disraeli Extinct 19 April 1881 During Premiership

Reign of King Edward VII, 1901–1910

no peerage creations for prime ministers

Reign of King George V, 1910–1936

United Kingdom Earl of Midlothian
Viscount Mentmore
Baron Epsom
3 July 1911 Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Extant
United Kingdom Earl of Balfour
Viscount Traprain
5 May 1922 Sir Arthur Balfour Extant Created with a special remainder
United Kingdom Earl of Oxford and Asquith
Viscount Asquith
9 February 1925 H. H. Asquith Extant

Reign of King Edward VIII, 1936

no peerage creations for prime ministers

Reign of King George VI, 1936–1952

United Kingdom Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
Viscount Corvedale
8 June 1937 Sir Stanley Baldwin Extant
United Kingdom Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
Viscount Gwynedd
12 February 1945 David Lloyd George Extant

Reign of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952–2022

United Kingdom Earl Attlee
Viscount Prestwood
16 December 1955 Clement Attlee Extant
United Kingdom Earl of Avon
Viscount Eden
12 July 1961 Sir Anthony Eden Extinct 17 August 1985
United Kingdom Baron Home of the Hirsel 19 December 1974 Sir Alec Douglas-Home Extinct 9 October 1995 Life peerage
Earl of Home before becoming Prime Minister
United Kingdom Baron Wilson of Rievaulx 16 September 1983 Sir Harold Wilson Extinct 24 May 1995 Life peerage
United Kingdom Earl of Stockton
Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden
24 April 1984 Harold Macmillan Extant
United Kingdom Baron Callaghan of Cardiff 5 November 1987 Sir James Callaghan Extinct 26 March 2005 Life peerage
United Kingdom Baroness Thatcher 26 June 1992 Margaret Thatcher Extinct 8 April 2013 Life peerage

Reign of King Charles III, 2022–present

no peerage creations for prime ministers

Peerages inherited before, during or after premiership

Irish and Scottish Peers did not have an automatic seat in the House of Lords unlike their English and British counterparts, until the Peerage Act 1963 which granted all Scottish Peers (those without Imperial status) to have an automatic seat in the House of Lords until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and Peers to disclaim their own peerage for the rest of their life, which Alec Douglas-Home did on the 23 October 1963.

Lord Palmerston never sat in the House of Lords as he was a holder of an Irish Peerage, but sat as a Member of Parliament for Tiverton during his two spells as Prime Minister.

Name Courtesy title
(before inheriting main title)
Writ of acceleration Inherited title When inherited
(before premiership
unless stated)
Sat in the House of Commons
Thomas Pelham(-Holles) Kingdom of England 2nd Baron Pelham of Laughton 23 February 1712 No
John Stuart Lord Mount Stuart Kingdom of Scotland 3rd Earl of Bute 28 February 1723 No
Charles Watson-Wentworth Earl of Malton Kingdom of Great Britain 2nd Marquess of Rockingham 14 December 1750 No
William Cavendish Marquess of Hartington Baron Cavendish of Hardwick Kingdom of England 4th Duke of Devonshire 5 December 1755 Yes
Augustus FitzRoy Earl of Euston Kingdom of England 3rd Duke of Grafton 6 May 1757 Yes
William Petty Viscount FitzMaurice Kingdom of Ireland 2nd Earl of Shelburne 14 May 1761 Yes
William Cavendish-Bentinck Marquess of Titchfield Kingdom of Great Britain 3rd Duke of Portland 1 May 1762 Yes
Frederick North Lord North Kingdom of Great Britain 2nd Earl of Guilford 4 August 1790 (after premiership) Yes
George Hamilton-Gordon Lord Haddo Kingdom of Scotland 3rd Earl of Aberdeen 13 August 1801 No
Henry John Temple Lord Temple Kingdom of Ireland 3rd Viscount Palmerston 17 April 1802 Yes
Charles Grey Viscount Howick United Kingdom 2nd Earl Grey 14 November 1807 Yes
Robert Jenkinson Baron Hawkesbury Baron Hawkesbury Kingdom of Great Britain 2nd Earl of Liverpool 17 December 1808 Yes
William Lamb Kingdom of Ireland 2nd Viscount Melbourne 22 July 1828 Yes
Edward Smith-Stanley Lord Stanley Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe Kingdom of England 14th Earl of Derby 30 June 1851 Yes
Archibald Primrose Lord Dalmeny Kingdom of Scotland 5th Earl of Rosebery 4 March 1868 No
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil Viscount Cranborne Kingdom of Great Britain 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 12 April 1868 Yes
Alec Douglas-Home Lord Dunglass Kingdom of Scotland 14th Earl of Home 11 July 1951 (disclaimed it in 1963) Yes

Prime ministers never raised to the peerage

 Eligible for Peerage
Prime Minister Notes Constituency Related peerage
Henry Pelham Died in Office Seaford He was in line to the Barony of Pelham of Laughton which the title was extinct in 1768.
Sussex
George Grenville Died as an MP Buckingham He and his male line descendants were in line to the Viscounty of Cobham which was extinct in 1889.
William Pitt the Younger Died in Office Appleby He was in line to the Earldom of Chatham which the title was extinct in 1835.
Cambridge University
Spencer Perceval Died in Office Northampton He and his male line descendants were in line to the Earldom of Egmont which the title was extinct in 2011.
George Canning Died in Office Newtown His widow was created Viscountess Canning in 1828, and his son Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning became Earl Canning in 1859 and the title was extinct in 1862.
Wendover
Tralee
Hastings
Petersfield
Liverpool
Harwich
Newport (Isle of Wight)
Seaford
Sir Robert Peel, Bt. Died as an MP Cashel His baronetcy merged with the Earldom of Peel in 1942.
Chippenham
Oxford University
Westbury
Tamworth
William Ewart Gladstone Declined a peerage Newark He and his male line descendants are in the line of the Gladstone Baronetcy.
Oxford University
South Lancashire
Greenwich
Midlothian
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Died as an MP Stirling Burghs
Bonar Law Died as an MP Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown His third and last surviving son Richard Law became Baron Coleraine in 1954.
Dulwich
Bootle
Glasgow Central
Ramsay MacDonald Died as an MP Leicester
Aberavon
Seaham
Combined Scottish Universities
Neville Chamberlain Died as an MP Birmingham Ladywood
Birmingham Edgbaston
Sir Winston Churchill Declined a peerage Oldham He and his male line descendants are in the line of the Dukedom of Marlborough. Twice offered and declined a Dukedom. His widow was created Baroness Spencer-Churchill for life in 1965.
Manchester North West
Dundee
Epping
Woodford
Sir Edward Heath Declined a peerage Bexley
Sidcup
Old Bexley and Sidcup
Sir John Major Declined a peerage Huntingdonshire
Huntingdon
Sir Tony Blair Declined a peerage Sedgefield
Gordon Brown Declined a peerage Dunfermline East
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
David Cameron Retired from politics Witney
Theresa May Currently serving as an MP Maidenhead
Boris Johnson Resigned as an MP in June 2023 Uxbridge and South Ruislip
Liz Truss Currently serving as an MP South West Norfolk
Rishi Sunak Currently serving as an MP Richmond (Yorks)

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-07-21 15:23 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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