Lord-lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility over the local militia was removed. However, it was not until 1921 that they formally lost the right to call upon able-bodied men to fight when needed.
Lord-lieutenant is now an honorary titular position usually awarded to a notable person in the county, and despite the title of the office, may be either male or female, peer or not.
Origins
England and Wales
Lieutenants were first appointed to a number of English counties by King Henry VIII in the 1540s, when the military functions of the sheriffs were handed over to them. Each lieutenant raised and was responsible for the efficiency of the local militia units of his county, and afterwards of the yeomanry and volunteers. He was commander of these forces, whose officers he appointed. These commissions were originally of temporary duration, and only when the situation required the local militia to be specially supervised and well prepared, often when invasion by Scotland or France might be expected.Lieutenancies soon became more organised, probably in the reign of Henry's successor King Edward VI, their establishment being approved by the English parliament in 1550. However, it was not until the threat of invasion by the forces of Spain in 1585 that lieutenants were appointed to all counties and counties corporate and became in effect permanent. Although some counties were left without lieutenants during the 1590s, following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the office continued to exist, and was retained by King James I even after the end of the Anglo-Spanish War.
The office of lieutenant was abolished under the Commonwealth, but was re-established following the Restoration under the City of London Militia Act 1662, which declared that:
Although not explicitly stated, from that date lieutenants were appointed to "counties at large", with their jurisdiction including the counties corporate within the parent county. For example, lieutenants of Devon in the 17th and 18th centuries appointed deputy lieutenants to the City of Exeter, and were sometimes described as the "Lieutenant of Devon and Exeter". The one exception was Haverfordwest, to which a lieutenant continued to be appointed until 1974. The origin of this anomaly may have lain in the former palatine status of Pembrokeshire.
The official title of the office at this time was His or Her Majesty's "Lieutenant for the county of x", but, as almost all office-holders were peers of the realm, they were referred to as "Lord-Lieutenant". Nowadays, few office-holders are peers.
The City of London was uniquely given a commission of lieutenancy, and was exempt from the authority of the lieutenant of Middlesex. The Constable of the Tower of London and the Warden of the Cinque Ports were ex officio lieutenants for the Tower Hamlets and the Cinque Ports respectively, which were treated as counties in legislation regarding lieutenancy and militia affairs.
Ireland
In the counties of Ireland, the officer in charge of the county militia was styled "Lieutenant" until James II and "Governor" thereafter. There could be up to three Governors in one county. Responsibility for recommending County magistrates lay with the Custos Rotulorum. The Custos Rotulorum Act 1831 cancelled the commissions of the Governors, transferred the militia and county magistrate functions to the established office of Lieutenant, and empowered the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to appoint deputy lieutenants.In the Republic of Ireland the office of Lord Lieutenants has been rescinded since the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, and all relevant statutes have been repealed.
Northern Ireland
In 1921, with the establishment of Northern Ireland, lord lieutenants continued to be appointed through the Governor of Northern Ireland to the six counties and the two county boroughs of Derry and Belfast. Whereas in 1973 the counties and county boroughs were abolished as local government units, lord-lieutenants are now appointed directly by the King to "counties and county boroughs ... as defined for local government purposes immediately before 1 October 1973".Scotland
Although Colin, Earl of Balcarres was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Fife in 1688, and lieutenants were appointed to a few counties from about 1715, it was not until 1794 that permanent lieutenancies were established by royal warrant. By the Militia Act 1797, the lieutenants appointed "for the Counties, Stewartries, Cities, and Places" were given powers to raise and command county militia units.The Lord Provosts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee are, by virtue of office, also the lord-lieutenants of their respective city.
While in their lieutenancies, lord-lieutenants are among the few individuals in Scotland officially permitted to fly the banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland, or "The Lion Rampant" as it is more commonly known.
19th century
The Militia Act 1802 provided for the appointment of lieutenants to "Lieutenants for the Counties, Ridings, and Places" in England and Wales, and gave them command of the county militia. In the case of towns or cities which were counties of themselves, the "chief magistrate" had the authority to appoint deputy lieutenants in the absence of an appointment of a lieutenant by the crown.The Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 removed the lieutenant as head of the county militia, as the jurisdiction, duties and command exercised by the lieutenant were revested in the crown, but the power of recommending for first appointments was reserved to the lieutenant.
The Militia Act 1882 revested the jurisdiction of the lieutenants in the crown.
The lieutenancies were reestablished on a new basis by section 29 of the Militia Act 1882 which stated that "Her Majesty shall from time to time appoint Lieutenants for the several counties in the United Kingdom". Counties for lieutenancy purposes were also redefined as "a county at large, with the exception that each riding of the county of York shall be a separate county". The text of the letters patent appointing lieutenants under the act stated they were to be:
This was a formal recognition of the situation that had existed since 1662 that the lieutenancies for the majority of counties corporate in England were held jointly with their associated county—for example a lieutenant was now appointed for "the County of Gloucester, and the City and County of Gloucester, and the City and County of City of Bristol".
Haverfordwest was permitted to retain a lieutenant while the Tower Hamlets and Cinque Ports were to continue to be regarded as counties for lieutenancy purposes.
From 1889 lieutenancy counties in England and Wales were to correspond to groupings of administrative counties and county boroughs established by the Local Government Act 1888. The creation of a new County of London absorbed the former Tower Hamlets lieutenancy. The act also extinguished the lieutenancy of the Cinque Ports.
Section 69 of the Local Government Act 1898 realigned the lieutenancy counties with the new administrative counties created by the act. The one exception was County Tipperary, which although administered by two county councils, was to remain united for lieutenancy. In contrast to legislation in England and Wales, each county borough was to have its own lieutenant, and those counties corporate not made county boroughs were abolished. The effect of this was to create a lieutenant for the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, and to abolish those for the city of Kilkenny, borough of Drogheda and town of Galway.
The office of lieutenant was honorary and held during the royal pleasure, but often for life. Appointment to the office is by letters patent under the great seal. Usually, though not necessarily, the person appointed lieutenant was also appointed custos rotulorum or keeper of the rolls. Appointments to the county's bench of magistrates were usually made on the recommendation of the lieutenant.
20th century
The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 established county territorial force associations, of which the lieutenant was to be head, styled president of the county association. It restated the combination of counties and counties corporate as lieutenancy counties.In 1921, with the establishment of Northern Ireland, lieutenants continued to be appointed through the Governor of Northern Ireland to the six counties and two county boroughs. The creation of the Irish Free State in the following year saw the remaining county lieutenancies in Ireland abolished. In 1973 the counties and county boroughs were abolished as local government units in Northern Ireland, and lord-lieutenants are now appointed directly by the sovereign to "counties and county boroughs... as defined for local government purposes immediately before 1 October 1973". In 1975 the term lord-lieutenant officially replaced that of lieutenant.
Local government reform in England in 1965 led to the appointment of lieutenants to Greater London and Huntingdon and Peterborough, and the abolition of those of the counties of London, Middlesex and Huntingdon.
A more fundamental reform of local government throughout England and Wales created a new structure of metropolitan, non-metropolitan and Welsh counties in 1974. Section 218 of the Local Government Act 1972 that established the new system stated: "Her Majesty shall appoint a lord-lieutenant for each county in England and Wales and for Greater London..." The act appears to be the first statutory use of the term "lord-lieutenant" for lieutenants to counties.
Existing lord lieutenants were assigned to one of the corresponding new counties wherever possible. Where this could not be done, the existing office-holder became a lieutenant of a county, junior to the lord-lieutenant. For example, the Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Powys, with those of Breconshire and Radnorshire each being designated as simply "Lieutenant of Powys". This measure was temporary, and no lieutenants have been appointed in this way since 1974, although the power still exists.
In 1975 counties ceased to be used for local government purposes in Scotland. The Local Government Act 1973 replaced the counties with regions, and each region was to have one or more lord-lieutenants appointed. The areas to which they were appointed approximated to the counties and were based and were defined in terms of the new local government districts.