Just knows it

"Well, there's King, Prince, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron and Life Peer," explained B , after I asked a simple question.  He just knows all about the British Peerage and does not have to refer to Debrett's (pronounced 'Debray's') at all.  (He also speaks Latin, by the way.  Impressive to someone such as I, who almost failed this mandatory subject in high school.) 

When I looked into the Debrett's website, he was (of course) right.

"A peer of the realm is someone who holds one of five possible titles (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron) inherited from a direct ancestor or bestowed upon him by the monarch, " reads the site. 

"Historically the peerage formed a tightly-knit group of powerful nobles, inter-related through blood and marriage in successive generations, and highly protective of their lands and rights. Their fortunes rose and fell according to the stability of the kingdom and their favour with the Sovereign. The Tudors, for example, executed, imprisoned or suppressed almost every nobleman who had any Plantagenet blood in his veins, and instead created a new aristocracy from the lesser branches of old families, and from the gentry and knightly classes.

"Subsequent changes made by the royal houses of Stuart, Hanover and Windsor have similarly brought new blood and new titles to the peerage. The ranks of the peerage were further enlarged by the passing of the Life Peerages Act of 1958.

"The last three hereditary peerages (excluding royal peerages) were created in 1984, when Harold Macmillan was created Earl of Stockton, and William Whitelaw and George Thomas were created Viscounts. Of these three, only Macmillan had an heir."

What a facinating website it is!  There is so much to learn, such as how to address the wives, daughters and younger sons of the titled.  Complicated.  Who is awarded honorary titles, who is called "Lord" and why.....it just goes on and on.  I loved it.  Should The Queen ever dine at our place, I now know all about table settings and protocol.

Ah, the English.  But scratch the surface of the civilized Brits and you will find cold-blooded warriors.  None are more fierce.