Forms of address in the United Kingdom

Forms of address used in the United Kingdom are given below.

Several terms have been abbreviated in the table below. The forms used in the table are given first, followed by alternative acceptable abbreviations in parentheses.

Contents 1 Abbreviations 2 Royalty 3 Nobility 3.1 Peers and peeresses 3.2 Eldest sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of dukes, marquesses and earls 3.3 Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive of Scottish peers 3.4 Sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of peers 3.5 Daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters of peers 4 Gentry and minor nobility[4] 4.1 Baronets 4.2 Knights 4.3 Scottish feudal barons, and Chiefs, chieftains and lairds 5 Clergy 5.1 Church of England 5.2 Church of Scotland 6 Judiciary 7 Notes 8 See also 9 External links 10 References

Abbreviations

• His/Her Majesty: HM
• His/Her Royal Highness: HRH
• His/Her Grace: HG
• The Most Honourable: The Most Hon (The Most Honble)
• The Right Honourable: The Rt Hon (The Rt Honble)
• The Honourable: The Hon (The Honble)
• The Much Honoured: The Much Hon (The Much Hon'd)
• The Most Reverend: The Most Rev (The Most Revd or The Most Rev'd)
• The Right Reverend: The Rt Rev (The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev'd)
• The Very Reverend: The Very Rev (The Very Revd or The Very Rev'd)
• The Reverend: The Rev (The Revd or The Rev'd)
• The Venerable: The Ven (The Venble)

Royalty

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
King	HM The King	Your Majesty	Your Majesty, and thereafter as "Sir/Sire"
Queen	HM The Queen	Your Majesty	Your Majesty, and thereafter as "Ma'am"
Prince of Wales	HRH The Prince of Wales	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Sir"
Wife of the Prince of Wales	HRH The Princess of Wales	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Ma'am"
Princess Royal	HRH The Princess Royal	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Ma'am"
Royal Peer	HRH The Duke of London, e.g., HRH The Duke of Edinburgh	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Sir"
Royal Peeress	Currently there are none as a peeress holds the title in her own right, not by right of marriage or as a courtesy from their father.
Sovereign's son (unless a peer)	HRH The Prince John, e.g., HRH The Prince Edward	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Sir"
Sovereign's son's wife (unless a peeress)	HRH The Princess John	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Ma'am"
Sovereign's daughter (unless a peeress)	HRH The Princess Mary, e.g., HRH The Princess Margaret	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Ma'am"
Sons of the Prince of Wales (unless a peer)	HRH Prince John of Wales, e.g., HRH Prince Harry of Wales	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Sir"
Sovereign’s son’s son, (unless a peer)	HRH Prince John of London, e.g. HRH Prince Michael of Kent	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Sir"
Sovereign's son's son's wife (unless a peeress)	HRH Princess John of London, e.g., HRH Princess Michael of Kent	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness, and thereafter as "Ma'am"
Sovereign's son's daughter (unless a peeress)	HRH Princess Mary of London, e.g., HRH Princess Beatrice of York	Your Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness
Sovereign's son's son's son (unless a peer)	The Lord John Windsor, e.g., The Lord Nicholas Windsor	Dear Lord John	Lord John
Sovereign's son's son's son's wife (unless a peeress)	The Lady John Windsor, e.g., The Lady Nicholas Windsor	Dear Lady John	Lady John
Sovereign's son's son's daughter (unless a peeress)	The Lady Mary Windsor, e.g., The Lady Helen Taylor	Dear Lady Mary	Lady Mary

Nobility

Peers and peeresses

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Duke	(His Grace) The Duke of London	My Lord Duke or Dear Duke (of London)	Your Grace or Duke[1]
Duchess	(Her Grace) The Duchess of London	Madam or Dear Duchess (of London)	Your Grace or Duchess[2]
Marquess or Marquis	(The Most Hon) The Marquess of London	My Lord Marquess or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Your Lordship or Lord London
Marchioness	(The Most Hon) The Marchioness of London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady[3] or Your Ladyship or Lady London
Earl	(The Rt Hon) The Earl of London	My Lord or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Your Lordship or Lord London
Countess	(The Rt Hon) The Countess of London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady[3]or Your Ladyship or Lady London
Viscount	(The Rt Hon) The Viscount London	My Lord or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Your Lordship or Lord London
Viscountess	(The Rt Hon) The Viscountess London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady[3]or Your Ladyship or Lady London
Baron Lord of Parliament	(The Rt Hon) The Lord London	My Lord or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Your Lordship or Lord London
Baroness (in her own right)	(The Rt Hon) The Lady London or (The Rt Hon) The Baroness London	Madam or Dear Lady London or Dear Baroness London	My Lady[3]or Your Ladyship or Lady London or Baroness London
Baroness (in her husband's right) Lady of Parliament (in her or her husband's right)	(The Rt Hon) The Lady London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady[3]or Your Ladyship or Lady London

Eldest sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of dukes, marquesses and earls

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
(Eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls use their father's most senior subsidiary title as courtesy titles: note the absence of "The" before the title. If applicable, eldest sons of courtesy marquesses or courtesy earls also use a subsidiary title from their (great) grandfather, which is lower ranking than the one used by their father. Eldest daughters do not have courtesy titles; all courtesy peeresses are wives of courtesy peers.)
Courtesy Marquess	(The) Marquess of London	My Lord Marquess or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Lord London
Courtesy Marquess's wife	(The) Marchioness of London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady or Lady London
Courtesy Earl	(The) Earl of London	My Lord or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Lord London
Courtesy Earl's wife	(The) Countess of London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady or Lady London
Courtesy Viscount	(The) Viscount London	My Lord or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Lord London
Courtesy Viscount's wife	(The) Viscountess London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady or Lady London
Courtesy Baron Courtesy Lord of Parliament	(The) Lord London	My Lord or Dear Lord London	My Lord or Lord London
Courtesy Baron's wife Wife of Courtesy Lord of Parliament	(The) Lady London	Madam or Dear Lady London	My Lady or Lady London

Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive of Scottish peers

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
(Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive of Scottish peers use the titles "Master" and "Mistress"; these are substantive, not courtesy titles. If, however, the individual is the eldest son of a Duke, Marquess or Earl, then he uses the appropriate courtesy title, as noted above.)
Scottish peer's heir-apparent or heir-presumptive	The Master of Edinburgh	Sir or Dear Master of Edinburgh	Sir or Master
Scottish peer's heiress-apparent or heiress-presumptive	The Mistress of Edinburgh	Madam or Dear Mistress of Edinburgh	Madam or Mistress

Sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of peers

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Duke's younger son (Courtesy) Marquess's younger son	(The) Lord John Smith	My Lord or Dear Lord John (Smith)	My Lord or Lord John
Duke's younger son's wife (Courtesy) Marquess's younger son's wife	(The) Lady John Smith	Madam or Dear Lady John	My Lady or Lady John
(Courtesy) Earl's younger son (Courtesy) Viscount's son (Courtesy) Baron's son (Courtesy) Lord of Parliament's son	The Hon John Smith	Sir or Dear Mr Smith	Sir or Mr Smith
(Courtesy) Earl's younger son's wife (Courtesy) Viscount's son's wife (Courtesy) Baron's son's wife (Courtesy) Lord of Parliament's son's wife	The Hon Mrs John Smith	Madam or Dear Mrs Smith	Madam or Mrs Smith

Daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters of peers

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
(If a daughter of a peer or courtesy peer marries another peer or courtesy peer, she takes her husband's rank. If she marries anyone else, she keeps her rank and title, using her husband's surname instead of her maiden name.)
Duke's daughter (Courtesy) Marquess's daughter (Courtesy) Earl's daughter (unmarried or married to a commoner)	(The) Lady Mary Smith (if unmarried), (The) Lady Mary Brown (Husband Surname, if Married)	Madam or Dear Lady Mary	My Lady or Lady Mary
(Courtesy) Viscount's daughter (Courtesy) Baron's daughter (Courtesy) Lord of parliament's daughter (unmarried)	The Hon Mary Smith	Madam or Dear Miss Smith	Madam or Miss Smith
(Courtesy) Viscount's daughter (Courtesy) Baron's daughter (Courtesy) Lord of Parliament's daughter (married to a commoner)	The Hon Mrs Brown (Husband Surname)	Madam or Dear Mrs Brown	Madam or Mrs Brown

Gentry and minor nobility^[4]

Baronets

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Baronet	Sir John Smith, Bt (or Bart)	Sir or Dear Sir John (Smith)	Sir or Sir John
Baronetess in her own right	Dame Mary Smith, Btss	Madam or Dear Dame Mary (Smith)	Madam or Dame Mary
Baronet's wife	Lady Smith	Madam or Dear Lady Smith	My Lady or Lady Smith
Baronet's divorced wife	Mary, Lady Smith	Madam or Dear Lady Smith	My Lady or Lady Smith
Baronet's widow	Dowager Lady Smith or Lady Smith if the heir incumbent is unmarried	Madam or Dear Lady Smith	My Lady or Lady Smith

Knights

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Knight (of any order)	Sir John Smith	Sir or Dear Sir John (Smith)	Sir or Sir John
Lady (of the Order of the Garter or the Thistle)	Lady Mary Smith	Madam or Dear Lady Mary (Smith)	My Lady or Lady Mary
Dame (of an order other than the Garter or the Thistle)	Dame Mary Smith	Madam or Dear Dame Mary (Smith)	Madam or Dame Mary
Knight's wife	Lady Smith	Madam or Dear Lady Smith	My Lady or Lady Smith

Scottish feudal barons, and Chiefs, chieftains and lairds

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Feudal baron	John Smith of Edinburgh or John Smith, Baron of Edinburgh or The Baron of Edinburgh[5]	Sir or Dear Edinburgh or Dear Baron	Edinburgh or Baron
Female feudal baroness or Feudal baron's wife	As feudal baron, substituting "Madam" for first name and substituting "Baroness" for "Baron", or Lady Edinburgh[6]	Madam or Dear Baroness or Dear Lady Edinburgh	Madam or Baroness or Lady Edinburgh
Chief, chieftain or laird (Only lairds recognised in a territorial designation by the Lord Lyon)	John Smith of Smith or John Smith of Edinburgh or John Smith of that Ilk or The Smith of Smith or The Smith of Edinburgh or The Smith (varies according to family) (only the 2nd form of address above applies to lairds)	Sir or Dear Edinburgh (if placename in title) or Dear Smith (otherwise)	Edinburgh (if placename in title) or Smith (otherwise)
Female Chief, chieftain or laird or Chief, chieftain or laird's wife	As Chief, substituting "Madam" or "Mrs" for first name or "The" or The Lady Edinburgh[7]	Madam or as on envelope	Madam or as on envelope
Chief (etc.)'s heir-apparent	John Smith of Edinburgh, yr or John Smith, yr of Edinburgh or John Smith of Edinburgh (last only if different first name to father)	Sir or Dear Younger of Edinburgh or Dear Mr Smith of Edinburgh	Sir or Young Edinburgh or The Younger of Edinburgh
Chief (etc.)'s heir-apparent's wife	Mrs Smith of Edinburgh, yr or Mrs Smith, yr of Edinburgh	Madam or Dear Mrs Smith of Edinburgh	Madam or Mrs Smith of Edinburgh
Chief (etc.)'s eldest daughter (if none senior)	Miss Smith of Edinburgh or Jane Smith, Maid of Edinburgh	Madam or Dear Miss Smith of Edinburgh or Dear Maid of Edinburgh	Madam or Miss Smith of Edinburgh or Maid of Edinburgh
Chief (etc.)'s younger daughter	Miss Mary Smith of Edinburgh	Madam or Dear Miss Smith of Edinburgh	Madam or Miss Smith of Edinburgh

Clergy

Church of England

Similar styles are also applied to clergy of equivalent status in other religious organisations.

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Archbishop	The Most Rev and Rt Hon The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury	Dear Archbishop	Your Grace or Archbishop
Archbishop that is not in Privy Council	The Most Rev The Lord Archbishop of Wales	Dear Archbishop	Your Grace or Archbishop
Diocesan bishop in Privy Council	The Rt Rev and Rt Hon The Lord Bishop of London	Dear Bishop	My Lord or Bishop
Bishop, diocesan or suffragan	The Rt Rev The Lord Bishop of Durham	Dear Bishop	My Lord or Bishop
Dean	The Very Rev The Dean of York	Dear Mr/Madam Dean	Dean or Mr/Madam Dean
Archdeacon	The Ven The Archdeacon of London	Dear Archdeacon	Archdeacon
Prebendary	The Rev Prebendary Smith	Dear Prebendary Smith	Prebend
Canon	The Rev Canon John Smith	Dear Canon	Canon
Priest	The Rev John Smith or Father John Smith	Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith or Dear Father Smith	Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith or Father John/Smith or Vicar/Rector/Prebendary/Curate/Chaplain etc. as applicable
Deacon	The Rev Deacon John Smith or The Rev John Smith	Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith or Dear Deacon Smith	Deacon Smith or Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith

The usage 'Lord' as applied to a bishop pre-dates the United Kingdom, and is a well-established convention. It is more usual to abbreviate Reverend to Rev'd rather than Rev. Where a personal name is not used for a priest or deacon, the manner of address is Rev Mr etc., i.e. the Rev is used with the usual title. Without this title, the use of Rev with a surname refers to non-Anglican Protestant clergy, whereas Catholic clergy favour Fr (Father). For further details see Crockford's Guide to addressing the Clergy.

Clergy: 'introduce as Mr Pike or Father Pike according to his preference' (Debrett's Etiquette and Modern Manners 1981 pg230)

Church of Scotland

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly	His Grace The Lord High Commissioner	Your Grace	Your Grace
Clergy	The Rev John Smith	Dear Mr Smith	Mr Smith
Current Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland	The Right Rev John Smith	Dear Mr Smith	Mr Smith
Former Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland	The Very Rev John Smith	Dear Mr Smith	Mr Smith

Judiciary

^[8]

Position	On envelopes	Salutation in letter	Oral address	In court
Male Lord Justice of Appeal	The Rt Hon. Lord Justice (John) Smith	Lord Justice	Lord Justice	My Lord
Retired male Lord Justice of Appeal	The Rt Hon. Sir John Smith	Judge or Sir John	Sir John	My Lord
Female Lord Justice of Appeal	The Rt Hon. Lady Justice (Mary) Smith, DBE	Lady Justice	Lady Justice	My Lady
Retired female Lord Justice of Appeal	The Rt Hon. Dame Mary Smith, DBE	Judge or Dame Mary	Dame Mary	My Lady
Male High Court Judge	The Hon. Mr Justice (John) Smith	Judge	Judge	My Lord
Retired male High Court Judge	Sir John Smith	Judge or Sir John	Sir John	My Lord
Female High Court Judge	The Hon. Mrs Justice (Mary) Smith, DBE	Judge	Judge	My Lady
Retired female High Court Judge	Dame Mary Smith, DBE	Judge or Dame Mary	Dame Mary	My Lady
Circuit Judge who was Queen's Counsel	His Honour Judge (John) Smith, QC	Judge	Judge	Your Honour
Circuit Judge	His Honour Judge (John) Smith	Judge	Judge	Your Honour
District Judge	District Judge (John) Smith	Judge	Sir or Madam	Sir or Madam

A judge's first name only forms part of their judicial style if, at the time of their appointment, there is a senior judge with the same or a similar surname. Thus, if there is a "Mr Justice Smith", subsequent judges will be "Mr Justice John Smith", "Mrs Justice Mary Smith", etc.

Notes

1. The forms given under "Salutation in Letter" is for use in social correspondence only. In formal letters, "Sir" or "Madam" would be used instead.
2. "London" represents any peerage title.
3. "Smith" represents any surname.
4. "Edinburgh" represents any Scottish place name.
5. "of" may be omitted in the form of Marquessates and Earldoms and included in the form of Scottish Viscountcies. It is never present in peerage Baronies and Lordships of Parliament and always present in Dukedoms and Scottish feudal Baronies.
6. Some sources do not recommend the use of the definite article before certain courtesy titles (particularly those who have prospects of promotion within the family's titles), but it is used by official Court publications such as the Court Circular (see below).
7. The exact form of a Scottish chief's style varies from family to family, and is generally based on tradition rather than formal rules.
8. Some styles that could represent more than one class of person are clarified by the use of post-nominal letters. For instance:
   1. Knights and Baronets are distinguished by the use of "Bt" (or, archaically, "Bart") after the latter's names (and by the use of the appropriate post-nominal letters if the former are members of an Order of Chivalry). Knights bachelor have no post-nominal letters.
   2. Substantive peers below the rank of Marquess and courtesy peers who are Privy Counsellors (both of whose titles are preceded by "The Rt Hon") are distinguished by the use of "PC" after the former's names.
9. If the definite article is not used before courtesy peerages (see above) and The Hon Elizabeth Smith marries Sir William Brown, she becomes The Hon Lady Brown, but if she marries the higher-ranked Lord Brown, a courtesy Baron, she becomes only Lady Brown. If this Sir William Brown's father is created Earl of London and Baron Brown, as a result of this ennoblement his wife's style will actually change, from "The Hon Lady Brown" to "Lady Brown". It is important to note that while the style may appear diminished, the precedence taken increases from that of a wife of a knight to that of a wife of an earl's eldest son.

See also

• United Kingdom order of precedence

External links

• Styles of the members of the British royal family

References