For those members of the forum who are of British origin, I have yet another question. What is your take on hereditary privilege, and is there a general take on the subject for England as a whole?


Edit ~ I would definitely be referring to the House of Lords as a part of the system of government, but in a greater sense, I am also referring to all those who inherit family titles and garner some level of respect and / or authority by virtue of birth.

You mean the hereditary peers, in the House of Lords?

I was wondering the same... *confused*

Perhaps I have quoted the term incorrectly... It is me, after all, so... very possible!

I would definitely be referring to the House of Lords as a part of the system of government, but in a greater sense, I am also referring to all those who inherit family titles and garner some level of respect and / or authority by virtue of birth.

After I saw the horrid movie with horrid-er Gwyneth Paltrow (which inspired the thread concerning my question over the adjective horsie to refer to British women) the next movie in line was An Ideal Husband (it had been a very rainy day.) Much better cast for that movie! Love Minnie Driver. Anyway… nearly everyone in the movie was Lord This, and Lady That, and I’m a huge closet Anglophile, and, well, there you have it.


*I have edited the OP to reflect the revised question*

I don't see it does any harm. No one takes the upper classes seriously, and if they want to call themselves Lord this, and Lady that, the I don't care enough to stop them.

I think it is a Lord you become if you own some of your own land. Like if you own a house with a acre of land, you can give yourself the title Lord.

In all honesty, I do think this whole "upper-cless" British thing is something that is not bothered about often in todays society, it is more going back into Victorian times when there was obviouslt bigger differences between people because of money. Now, whether you earn £15,000 a year, or £400,000 a year, many people ahve the same things, computers, cars, holidays etc, so the boundries between people because of money and class has became closer and is not really moticed any more.

I hope this answers your question.

I think it is a Lord you become if you own some of your own land. Like if you own a house with a acre of land, you can give yourself the title Lord.

Actually Heather, the titles Lord, Lady, Duke, Duchess, ect, are inherited, and are throwbacks to the noble families of Britain. You cannot simply give yourself a title. That said, non-hereditary peerages are given out by the government and the queen for large loans of money to the governing party- I mean, for contributions to the good of the country :rolleyes: :p

What is it that you can call yourself if you own some land then, cos you can do it with one title ?? I remeber 'cos I wanted to buy some land to have a title. :D

And what, are they just the names people get when they are members of the royal family ??

I dunno heather. It might be esquire, which a lot of land owners use. But it really just means mister :p

And not just the royal family. Any noble family, stretching back (well, some families claim they do) to the Norman conquest.

What is it that you can call yourself if you own some land then, cos you can do it with one title ?? I remeber 'cos I wanted to buy some land to have a title. :D

And what, are they just the names people get when they are members of the royal family ??

I believe the title is Lord of the Mannor. I also found a website concerning the subject at one time. Having the title Lord of the Mannor does not entitle one to refer to oneself as Lord Soandso, but instead, Mr. Soandso, Lord of Blankity Blank Mannor.

Oddly enough, even though on the face of it, to have an unelected representative, able vote on matters of policy, might seem terribly unfair, in practice it doesn't seem to work out that way. Often the House of Lords is more of a steadying hand on the tiller than the democratically elected House of Commons.

Bereft of such bullying tactics as a three-line whip and other block voting methodologies (except in extremely rare circumstances), there is also the matter of the members of the House of Lords usually being a lot older, and presumably wiser. That might not be the reason, but it does seem to be the result.

Al

Oddly enough, even though on the face of it, to have an unelected representative, able vote on matters of policy, might seem terribly unfair, in practice it doesn't seem to work out that way. Often the House of Lords is more of a steadying hand on the tiller than the democratically elected House of Commons.

Bereft of such bullying tactics as a three-line whip and other block voting methodologies (except in extremely rare circumstances), there is also the matter of the members of the House of Lords usually being a lot older, and presumably wiser. That might not be the reason, but it does seem to be the result.

Al


Oooo…. New terms for Wrey-Wrey. Can they be explained in a paragraph or less?

I believe the title is Lord of the Mannor. I also found a website concerning the subject at one time. Having the title Lord of the Mannor does not entitle one to refer to oneself as Lord Soandso, but instead, Mr. Soandso, Lord of Blankity Blank Mannor. Thanks for explaining that one. :) My dad was telling me about it a while ago, he must have thought you could call yourself a Lord.