Terms of Address
This information is taken directly from the website Regency Lady's "Terms of Address" page. It has been put here, simply for ease of use (and the fact that I cannot access it from my ISP in Melbourne, Australia).
One of the greatest challenges in writing (or reading) a Regency is keeping track of who gets called by what title. Who gets called my lord and who your grace? And why do some ladies get addressed as Lady , some as Lady , and some as Lady ?
Take heart, apparently the Ton had trouble keeping all this straight as well. Debrett's Peerage was first published during the Regency.
Peers
The holders of these titles (with the exception of Baronet and Knight) are legally peers, and as such have certain rights in law that commoners do not have.
eg:
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
The Duke of Wellington
My lord duke (archaic), or
Your Grace, or Duke
The Duke of Wellington,
His Grace
The Marquess of Queensbury
My lord marquess, my lord
Lord Queensbury
The Earl of Chatham
My lord
Lord Chatham
Viscount Palmerston
My lord
Lord Palmerston
Baron Alvanley
My lord
Lord Alvanley
Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet
Sir Percy
Sir Percy
Sir Arthur Wellesley, Order of the Bath
Sir Arthur
Sir Arthur
Wives of Peers
Wives of peers are legally commoners - the titles are by courtesy only.
The widow of the earliest title holder is called the Dowager Countess of Chatham. Any other widows of subsequent title holders are styled Mary, Countess of Chatham. (The deciding factor is the order of succession. If Ann, age 22, is the widow of the 4th Earl, and Mary, age 45, is the widow of the 5th Earl, Ann is the Dowager Countess of Chatham and Mary is Mary, Countess of Chatham.)
eg:
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
The Duchess of Wellington
Your Grace, or Duchess
The Duchess of Wellington,
Her Grace
The Marchioness of Queensbury
My lady
Lady Queensbury
The Countess of Chatham
My lady
Lady Chatham
Viscountess Palmerston
My lady
Lady Palmerston
Baroness Alvanley
My lady
Lady Alvanley
Lady Blakeney
My lady
Lady Blakeney
Lady Wellesley
My lady
Lady Wellesley
Duke's Children
The duke's eldest son takes his next highest title as a courtesy. He is legally a commoner. The family name in this example is Wellesley.
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
eldest son
Marquess of Wellington
My lord
Lord Wellington
eldest son's wife Marchioness of Wellington
My lady
Lady Wellington
younger sons
Lord Charles Wellesley
My lord
Lord Charles
younger son's wife Lady Charles Wellesley
My lady
Lady Charles
daughters
Lady Catherine Wellesley
My lady
Lady Catherine
Marquess' Children
The marquess' eldest son takes his next highest title as a courtesy. He is legally a commoner. The family name in this example is Storey.
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
eldest son
Earl of Sandwich
My lord
Lord Sandwich
eldest son's wife Countess of Sandwich
My lady
Lady Sandwich
younger sons
Lord Michael Storey
My lord
Lord Michael
younger son's wife
Lady Michael Storey
My lady
Lady Michael
daughters
Lady Anne Storey
My lady
Lady Ann
Earl's Children
The earl's eldest son takes his next highest title as a courtesy. He is legally a commoner. The family name in this example is Gould.
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
eldest son
Viscount Maitland
My lord
Lord Maitland
eldest son's wife
Viscountess Maitland
My lady
Lady Maitland
younger sons
the Honorable John Gould
Sir
Mr. Gould
younger son's wife the Honorable Mary Gould
Ma'am
Mrs. Gould
daughters
Lady Martha Gould
My lady
Lady Martha
Viscount's Children
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
sons
the Honorable Geoffrey Blake
Sir
Mr. Blake
son's wife the Hon. Susan Blake
Ma'am
Mrs. Blake
daughters
the Hon. Sarah Blake
Ma'am
Miss Blake
Baron's Children
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
sons
the Honorable Augustus Smythe
Sir
son's wife
the Hon. Lucretia Smythe
Ma'am
Mrs. Smythe
daughters
the Hon. Letitia Smythe
Ma'am
Miss Smythe
Baronet's Children
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
sons
Jonathan Olney
Sir
Mr. Olney
son's wife Horatia Olney
Ma'am
Mrs. Olney
daughters
Aurelia Olney
Ma'am
Miss Olney
Knight's Children
eg:
child
Title
Form of address
Form of reference
sons
James Wellesley
Sir
Mr. Wellesley
son's wife
Maria Wellesley
Ma'am
Mrs. Wellesley
daughters
Hannah Wellesley
Ma'am
Miss Wellesley
One problem many people have with getting titles straight, is the matter of what happens when a peer's daughter marries a commoner. Here is an illustration which I hope will help.
Mr. Parker, a young man of talent and address and with the sponsorship of an uncle in government, achieves a diplomatic position in Vienna under the British Ambassador, the Duke of Wight. The duke has a young, lovely, and determined daughter, Lady Martha Smythe, (Smythe being the duke's family name) who falls in love with Mr. Parker.
The duke, seeing that Mr. Parker is set to rise in life (and trusting in his daughter's instincts) agrees to the match. The young couple is now Mr. Parker and Lady Martha Parker. She keeps her rank based on her father's position even after her marriage to a commoner.
Mr. Parker, after proving that the duke's trust was well placed, and having averted some diplomatic disaster, has been given a knighthood. The couple is now Sir David Parker and Lady Martha Parker. She is not Lady Parker, even though that would be correct for a knight's wife. Her rank is still derived from her father, because a knight is still a commoner.
After further adventures in the diplomatic field (and for certain reasons the safety of the realm requires silence on) Sir David has been made a baron. The couple is now Lord Parker and Lady Parker. A baron is a peer and his wife will now take her status from him.
There is also the rare (but not quite as rare in novels) situation where a lady holds a title in her own right. I need to do some more research on the finer points of this matter.
|
|