List of peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom

This article lists all peerages held by prime ministers of the United Kingdom, whether created or inherited before or after their premiership. Extant titles are in bold.

Peerages created for prime ministers by reign

Peerage Title(s) Created Prime Minister Current status NotesKing George I, 1714–1727 Earl of ClareViscount Haughton 19 October 1714 Thomas Pelham-Holles 2nd Baron Pelham Extinct 17 November 1768 Created before PremiershipCreated with a special remainder Duke of Newcastle-upon-TyneMarquess of Clare 11 August 1715 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Earl of ClareKing George II, 1727–1760 Baron Wilmington 8 January 1728 Sir Spencer Compton Extinct 2 July 1743 Created before Premiership Earl of WilmingtonViscount Pevensey 14 May 1730 Spencer Compton, 1st Baron Wilmington Earl of OrfordViscount WalpoleBaron Walpole of Houghton 6 February 1742 Sir Robert Walpole Extinct 2 March 1797 Created during Premiership Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne 17 November 1756 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Extinct 25 December 1988 Created with a special remainderKing George III, 1760–1820 Baron Pelham of Stanmer 4 May 1762 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Extant Created during PremiershipCreated with a special remainder Earl of ChathamViscount Pitt 4 August 1766 William Pitt the Elder Extinct 24 September 1835 Created during Premiership Marquess of LansdowneEarl of WycombeViscount Calne and Calston 6 December 1784 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne Extant Baron Grenville 25 November 1790 William Grenville Extinct 12 January 1834 Created before Premiership Viscount Sidmouth 12 January 1805 Henry Addington Extant Viscount WellingtonBaron Douro 4 September 1809 Sir Arthur Wellesley Extant Created before PremiershipOn 5 February 1811, George Prince of Wales became the Prince Regent Earl of Wellington 28 February 1812 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Viscount Wellington Extant Created before Premiership Marquess of Wellington 3 October 1812 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Earl of Wellington Duke of WellingtonMarquess Douro 11 May 1814 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Marquess of Wellington Viscount Gordon 16 July 1814 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of AberdeenKing George IV, 1820–1830 Viscount Goderich 28 April 1827 F. J. Robinson Extinct 22 September 1923 Created before PremiershipKing William IV, 1830–1837 Earl of Ripon 13 April 1833 F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich Extinct 22 September 1923Queen Victoria, 1837–1901 Earl RussellViscount Amberley 30 July 1861 Lord John Russell Extant Earl of BeaconsfieldViscount Hughenden 21 August 1876 Benjamin Disraeli Extinct 19 April 1881 Created during PremiershipKing Edward VII, 1901–1910no peerage creations for prime ministersKing George V, 1910–1936 Earl of MidlothianViscount MentmoreBaron Epsom 3 July 1911 Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Extant Earl of BalfourViscount Traprain 5 May 1922 Sir Arthur Balfour Created with a special remainder Earl of Oxford and AsquithViscount Asquith 9 February 1925 H. H. Asquith King Edward VIII, 1936no peerage creations for prime ministersKing George VI, 1936–1952 Earl Baldwin of BewdleyViscount Corvedale 8 June 1937 Sir Stanley Baldwin Extant Earl Lloyd-George of DwyforViscount Gwynedd 12 February 1945 David Lloyd George Queen Elizabeth II, 1952–2022 Earl AttleeViscount Prestwood 16 December 1955 Clement Attlee Extant Earl of AvonViscount Eden 12 July 1961 Sir Anthony Eden Extinct 17 August 1985 Baron Home of the Hirsel 19 December 1974 Sir Alec Douglas-Home Extinct 9 October 1995 Life peerageEarl of Home before becoming prime minister Baron Wilson of Rievaulx 16 September 1983 Sir Harold Wilson Extinct 24 May 1995 Life peerage Granted as part of the 1983 Dissolution Honours Earl of StocktonViscount Macmillan of Ovenden 24 April 1984 Harold Macmillan Extant Baron Callaghan of Cardiff 5 November 1987 Sir James Callaghan Extinct 26 March 2005 Life peerage Granted as part of the 1987 Dissolution Honours Baroness Thatcher 26 June 1992 Margaret Thatcher Extinct 8 April 2013 Life peerage Granted as part of the 1992 Dissolution HonoursKing Charles III, 2022–present Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton 17 November 2023 David Cameron Extant Life peerage Granted for his tenure as Foreign Secretary Baroness May of Maidenhead 21 August 2024 Theresa May Extant Life peerage Granted as part of the 2024 Dissolution Honours

Peerages inherited before, during or after premiership Irish and Scottish Peers did not have an automatic seat in the House of Lords unlike their English and British counterparts, until the Peerage Act 1963 which granted all Scottish Peers (those without Imperial status) to have an automatic seat in the House of Lords until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999, and Peers to disclaim their own peerage for the rest of their life, which Alec Douglas-Home did on the 23 October 1963.

Lord Palmerston never sat in the House of Lords as he was a holder of an Irish peerage, but sat as a member of Parliament for Tiverton during his two spells as prime minister. NameCourtesy title(before inheriting main title)Writ of accelerationInherited titleWhen inherited(before premiershipunless stated)Sat in the House of CommonsThomas Pelham(-Holles) 2nd Baron Pelham of Laughton23 February 1712John StuartLord Mount Stuart 3rd Earl of Bute28 February 1723Charles Watson-WentworthEarl of Malton 2nd Marquess of Rockingham14 December 1750William CavendishMarquess of HartingtonBaron Cavendish of Hardwick 4th Duke of Devonshire5 December 1755Augustus FitzRoyEarl of Euston 3rd Duke of Grafton6 May 1757William PettyViscount FitzMaurice 2nd Earl of Shelburne14 May 1761William Cavendish-BentinckMarquess of Titchfield 3rd Duke of Portland1 May 1762Frederick NorthLord North 2nd Earl of Guilford4 August 1790 (after premiership)George Hamilton-GordonLord Haddo 3rd Earl of Aberdeen13 August 1801Henry John TempleLord Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston17 April 1802Charles GreyViscount Howick 2nd Earl Grey14 November 1807Robert JenkinsonBaron HawkesburyBaron Hawkesbury 2nd Earl of Liverpool17 December 1808William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne22 July 1828Edward Smith-StanleyLord StanleyBaron Stanley of Bickerstaffe 14th Earl of Derby30 June 1851Archibald PrimroseLord Dalmeny 5th Earl of Rosebery4 March 1868Robert Gascoyne-CecilViscount Cranborne 3rd Marquess of Salisbury12 April 1868Alec Douglas-HomeLord Dunglass 14th Earl of Home11 July 1951 (disclaimed it in 1963)

Prime ministers never raised to the peerage

Prime Minister Notes Constituency Related peerageHenry PelhamDied in office SeafordHe was in line to the Barony of Pelham of Laughton which title was extinct in 1768. Sussex George Grenville Died as an MP Buckingham He and his male line descendants were in line to the Viscountcy of Cobham (title extant) and the Earldom Temple (title extinct). His son George became in 1784 the 1st Marquess of Buckingham and his grandson in 1822 the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (titles extinct in 1889). His other son William, also Prime Minister, became Baron GrenvilleWilliam Pitt the YoungerDied in office ApplebyHe was in line to the Earldom of Chatham which title was extinct in 1835. Cambridge University Spencer Perceval Died in office Northampton He and his male line descendants were in line to the Earldom of Egmont (his great-grandson became the 10th Earl in 1929) which title was extinct in 2011.George CanningDied in office NewtownHis widow was created Viscountess Canning in 1828, and his son Charles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning was created Earl Canning in 1859. The titles were extinct in 1862. Wendover Tralee Hastings Petersfield Liverpool Harwich Newport (Isle of Wight) SeafordSir Robert Peel, Bt.Died as an MP CashelHis baronetcy merged with the Earldom of Peel in 1942 (his younger son became Viscount Peel and his grandson Earl Peel). Chippenham Oxford University Westbury TamworthWilliam Ewart GladstoneDeclined a peerage NewarkHe and his male line descendants are in the line of the Gladstone Baronetcy. Two of his sons became Peers (Viscount Gladstone and Baron Gladstone of Hawarden) but their titles are extinct. Oxford University South Lancashire Greenwich Midlothian Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Died as an MP Stirling Burghs Bonar Law Glasgow Blackfriars and HutchesontownHis third and last surviving son Richard Law was created Baron Coleraine in 1954, which title is extant. Dulwich Bootle Glasgow CentralRamsay MacDonald Leicester Aberavon Seaham Combined Scottish UniversitiesNeville Chamberlain Birmingham Ladywood Birmingham EdgbastonSir Winston ChurchillDeclined a peerage OldhamHe and his male line descendants are in the line of the Dukedom of Marlborough. Twice offered and declined a Dukedom. His widow was created Baroness Spencer-Churchill for life in 1965. Manchester North West Dundee Epping WoodfordSir Edward Heath Bexley Sidcup Old Bexley and SidcupSir John MajorDeclined a peerage Huntingdonshire Accepted appointment as Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 1999 and as Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) in 2005. Huntingdon Sir Tony Blair Currently living as a commoner Sedgefield Accepted appointment as Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG) in 2022.Gordon Brown Dunfermline East Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Accepted appointment as Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2024. Boris Johnson Uxbridge and South Ruislip Liz Truss South West Norfolk Rishi Sunak Currently serving as an MP Richmond (Yorks) Sir Keir Starmer Currently living as a commoner Holborn and St Pancras Accepted appointment as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 2014, prior to becoming Prime Minister. Andy Burnham Currently serving as an MP Makerfield

See also List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom List of peerages created for lord chancellors and lord keepers List of peerages created for speakers of the House of Commons

References

External links Prime Ministers in History from the 10 Downing Street website.