How to Address Your Peers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Your Grace

Henry VIII decided that the form of address for the reigning sovereign should become "Your Majesty" after it had been adopted by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. The style had formerly been used to refer to God. However, although it became the most commonly used form of address in England, it was not exclusively used. "Your Highness" and "Your Grace" were both used in official documents after the new style was adopted. It wasn't until the reign of James I that "Majesty" became the exclusive style.

Henry was keen on creating new adopted styles: at the commencement of his reign the style of the sovereign was "By the Grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland"; by his death, through several changes, his precise style had become, "By the Grace of God, King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth, under Jesus Christ, Supreme Head".

Your Grace was still used as the only form of address of the Kings and Queens of Scotland up until the Act of Union in 1707 when the royal houses of England and Scotland were merged. After the Act of Union the full official style of office of the sovereign combined the two styles and became "His/Her Most Gracious Majesty".

Answer: The Venerable

Bede was a Benedictine monk and scholar who worshipped at the monastery of St Peter in what would now be Sunderland in the North East of England. The title "Venerable" was awarded shortly after Bede's death in 735, supposedly by descending angels. The epithet represents that the person lived a life that was "heroic in virtue". Bede was venerated due to his ecclesiastical studies, most notably "The Ecclesiastical History of the English People".

In the modern Catholic church, when a person's life is being examined as part of the process of canonisation, the giving of the title "Venerable" is the second stage towards becoming a saint. Should a person be considered to have lived a life "heroic in virtue" (the virtues of faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance) then the epithet is bestowed upon them. The next stage is beatification whereby the person is referred to as "Blessed", with the next and final stage being canonisation whereupon the person becomes recognised as a saint.

St Bede is still commonly known as "The Venerable Bede" even though he has since been canonised.

Answer: A Member of the House of Commons

Whilst MPs in the House of Commons refer to each other as "the honourable member", they have no entitlement to the title. It is used merely as a courtesy. Some MPs are entitled to the style "The Right Honourable"; if so, they use this title above "The Honourable".

Whilst all of the others would be addressed as "The Honourable" in a letter, in conversation it would not be used.

Answer: All of these

Addressed in conversation as "My Lord", both viscounts / viscountesses and earls (there is no female equivalent in England) are entitled to the style "The Right Honourable". Sons of both ranks are referred to as "The Honourable" and daughters as "The Lady".

Anybody who is made a member of the Privy Council is entitled to the style of office "The Right Honourable" although if they already hold a higher office then it will not be used. Peers who are also members of the Council are entitled to place the letters "PC" after their name to indicate their membership.

The Privy Council was set up in the time of the Norman rule over England to advise the sovereign in matters of law. Initially it was part of the Royal Court but it became a body in its own right in the fourteenth century. In 1688 its role was supplanted by that of the UK Cabinet (a body made up of MPs and Lords appointed by the sitting Prime Minister), which is itself a sub-committee of the Council.

The function of the Council nowadays is to act as the formal machinery by which the sovereign exercises prerogative powers: giving assent to government legislation and making government appointments. The Council can also act without the assent of the sovereign in the form of Acts of Parliament. All matters discussed by the Privy Council are bound to be kept secret as part of the oath of office sworn by all of its members, hence the naming of the body.

As the Cabinet is a committee of the Privy Council, all members appointed by the Prime Minister are automatically made Privy Counsellors. The leader of the opposition, the Speaker of the House of Commons, British ambassadors and senior judges are also Privy Counsellors. All Privy Counsellors retain membership for life unless they are removed for criminal acts or resign their position: both are extremely rare occurrences.

The Privy Council holds its own honorific style, which is higher than that of its members. The Council's full title is "Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council".

Answer: The Much Honoured

Though the word "Laird" derives from the same etymological root that gives us the English word "Lord", it is not a rank of nobility. The title refers specifically to the ownership of land and is tied to that land. The title can only be passed on with the land.

To distinguish Lairds from nobility their style of office contains the word "of", e.g. "The Much Honoured The Laird of McGregor". When speaking to a Laird, the speaker should use only their designation, e.g. "McGregor". Laird is not gender specific but should the Laird be a man, his wife would be Lady McGregor. The eldest son of a Laird would be The Younger of McGregor and the eldest daughter, The Maid of McGregor.

The title of baron is, along with earl, the oldest in Scotland, having existed since the early medieval period. Duke, marquess and viscount were introduced later. Like lairdships, baronies were attached to an area of land and were not personal titles. A baron had jurisdiction over the lands granted by the King and was entitled to a seat in Parliament.

However, no baronies have been created in Scotland since the early 18th century and the title now refers to a personal honour, usually a life peerage equivalent to the UK Lords of Parliament.

Answer: Lord or Lady Mayor

The mayor of any city should be referred to as "The Right Worshipful" except for the Lord Mayors of London, Cardiff, Belfast and York who are styled "The Right Honourable".

Mayors of towns are styled "The Worshipful". There are a few exceptions to this, such as the cinque port towns, whose mayors are also "The Right Worshipful".

Justices of the Peace are addressed in speech as "Your Worship", Cardinals as "His Eminence" and Dukes and Duchesses as "The Most Noble" or "His/Her Grace".

Answer: Marquess or Marchioness

Marquess or Marchioness is the second highest non-royal rank of nobility in the United Kingdom after Duke or Duchess (although some Dukes and Duchesses are royal, not all are). The correct style of office is "The Most Honourable the Marquess of..." or "My Lord" in conversation.

Many eldest sons of peers in the United Kingdom are known by one of their father or mother's subsidiary titles, so many sons of marquesses will be known as "the Earl of...". Similarly, the eldest son of a duke or duchess may well be known as "The Marquess of...". Such styles are known as courtesy titles. One who is a marquess as a courtesy title is not entitled to be called "The Most Honourable".

Answer: The Most Reverend

Most Reverend is the correct term for Anglican archbishops, although in conversation one would use the address "Your Grace". Certain archbishoprics, such as Canterbury, also require the holder to be a member of the privy council and therefore they are styled as "The Most Reverend and Right Honourable".

For most other Anglican bishops of lower rank the correct style is Right Reverend (conversationally "Bishop" or "My Lord").

The Very Reverend is used for Deans or Provosts of Cathedrals and also for priests in some particular parishes.

His Excellency is the term used for Catholic archbishops in certain countries, most notably the United States.

Answer: Diana, Princess of Wales

The current wife of the Prince of Wales is entitled to the style "The Princess of Wales" (even though it was not granted to Charles's second wife Camilla). This style is only valid whilst the marriage is intact; after divorce, the "The" is dropped to indicate that the holder is a former Princess of Wales.

Similarly the style "HRH" is also dropped as this is only given automatically to current wives of royal princes (though not to husbands of current princesses). It can be granted, by The Queen, to those not entitled to it automatically; but it was not done in the case of Diana.

Though it was often used by the media and the general public, Diana was never entitled to be called "Princess Diana"; this style is only applied to people who were born to the title and not to those who gained it through marriage. Diana was, however, still entitled to be called "Lady Diana" as she was the daughter of an earl.

Answer: The Gallant

The changes were suggested by the "Modernisation of the House of Commons Select Committee" as an attempt to rid the Commons of some of its more archaic language and forms of address. Whilst insisting that MPs should not refer to each other by name, as "Members do not sit in the House as individual citizens, they are there as representatives of their constituents", they agreed that "some of the extra embellishments which are added to the standard form of address, such as "gallant" and "learned", should be abandoned."

"Gallant" was strictly supposed to used for those Members who had won a gallantry award although it was most commonly used (if at all) for MPs who had formerly been members of the armed forces. "Learned" was dropped because its usage was misunderstood by most. It was incorrectly used for all MPs who were practicising lawyers, rather than just for those who had been appointed Queen's Counsel (an appointment usually bestowed upon barristers who had given ten years service at the bar).

Another change suggested was that if referring to a member of "the other place" (ie The House of Lords), an MP no longer had to call that person "The Noble Lord, Lord X"; merely "Lord X".