Jason Loch

It wasn't a courtesy title. His peerages were conferred on him by Letters Patent and he had a seat in the House of Lords until 1999.

Administrative Oblivion: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the Roll of the Peerage On October 30, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor[1] was abruptly removed from the Roll of the Peerage. Although the media is portraying this as tantamount to the revocation of his peerages, that’s not act…

Is Andrew still the Duke of York? Legally yes, officially no. My new post explores the ambiguous nature of being removed from the Roll of the Peerage. venerablepuzzle.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/a...

I could see how the traditional arguments against disclosing honors-related material would still apply. If the decision-makers need a safe space in which to discuss the merits of giving someone an honor, one could argue they also need a space in which to discuss the merits of taking one away.

On a side note, s. 37(1)(b) of the FOIA states that information is exempt from disclosure if it relates to "the conferring by the Crown of any honour or dignity" though this is not an absolute exemption and so there is a public interest test.

Also, some officers of the Orders are members of the Royal Family. For example, the Queen is Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire, the Princess Royal is Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, and the Prince of Wales is Great Master of the Order of the Bath.

Nope. In practice, the administration of the Orders is handled by the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood which is part of the Lord Chamberlain's Office.

Letters Patent annulling the appointment of a Knight Bachelor are an exception to this rule. Those *are* handled by the Crown Office since they pass under the Great Seal. 2/2 cbaionline.org/corpus/items...

We may never see the instruments removing Andrew from the Order of the Garter and the Royal Victorian Order. They were likely prepared and countersigned by officers of the relevant Orders without passing through the Crown Office. 1/2

Thank you! I've seen a video of his introduction on YouTube, so it's interesting to see the written ceremonial.

Recently added to the Corpus of British Administrative Instruments: Queen Elizabeth II's Letters Patent granting the titular dignity of Prince to the Duke of Edinburgh. cbaionline.org/corpus/items...

Recently added to the Corpus of British Administrative Instruments: Queen Elizabeth II's 1960 Declaration stating that certain of her descendants would bear the name of "Mountbatten-Windsor." cbaionline.org/corpus/items...

Introducing the Corpus of British Administrative Instruments After nearly 20 years studying the British constitution, I still regularly hear one question: What does the Monarch actually do? Outside of high-profile events like the State Opening of Parliament,…

This material is currently scattered across FOI sites, old books, and social media. The CBAI brings it together in one place with important context. For more information on the project, check out this blog post. 2/2 venerablepuzzle.wordpress.com/2025/10/31/i...

I've been working on a curated collection of Letters Patent, Royal Warrants, Ministerial Submissions, and similar material called the Corpus of British Administrative Instruments. 1/2 cbaionline.org/corpus/

Yeah; it should be "Princely."

cbaionline.org/corpus/items...

Erasing the Duke of York: The Roll of the Peerage and the limits of removal Buckingham Palace today announced that the King has “initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew.” The style of Royal Highness, the title of prince, and his …

As the Palace announces that the King has initiated a process to remove Prince Andrew's titles, his name has already disappeared from the Roll of the Peerage. But what, exactly, does that mean? venerablepuzzle.wordpress.com/2025/10/30/e...

Although the PCC is involved in the appointment process, the Ecclesiastical Secretary in the Cabinet Office ultimately decides which name is recommended to the Lord Chancellor. It's a substantive role rather than a rubber stamp.

I agree. On a side note, while not reflective of his legal acumen, I stumbled upon this anecdote about Tristram that legitimately made me chuckle.

The teste clause ("In Testimony whereof We cause these Our Letters to be made Patent") also differs from the more common "In Witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent." 3/3

The main difference is the warranty ("By the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain"). This reflects the fact that the King is not involved in making these appointments and the Great Seal is affixed by the Lord Chancellor without the authority of a Sign-Manual Warrant. 2/3

The Lord Chancellor makes a number of ecclesiastical appointments including presentations to Crown benefices valued at less than £20 in The King's Book. Here's what an instrument of appointment to one of these benefices looks like. 1/3

Tristram may have been chosen because he was connected to the Diocese of Canterbury through his role as Commissary General.

These figures come from "Return of Fees paid by Archbishop of Canterbury on his Promotion to Primacy," House of Commons Papers, LIII.7, (1883). 2/2

Becoming Archbishop of Canterbury used to be an expensive proposition. Edward White Benson had to pay a total of £885/5/6. According to The National Archives' currency converter, that is the equivalent of approximately £58,591.66! 1/2

Yes; if you DM me your email address, I'll send it to you. I can also send you the Vicar-General's judgment from the Bishop of Gloucester's confirmation if you like.

Before the Church Commissioners, the Crown's guardianship of the temporalities could be quite lucrative. There were a number of cases in the middle ages and early modern period where the Monarch deliberately prolonged a vacancy in order to benefit from the diocese's revenues. 3/3

Under s. 2 of the Vacancies in Suffragan Sees and Other Ecclesiastical Offices Measure 2010, the Crown’s sede vacante patronage is exercised on behalf of the Monarch by whichever bishop is tending to the diocese. 2/3

Nowadays, the property assets of a diocese are vested in the Church Commissioners so the only temporalities the Monarch controls during a vacancy are the rights of patronage belonging to the vacant See. In practice, they don't even control that anymore. 1/3

Mullally's public ministry as Archbishop will begin after her enthronement in Canterbury Cathedral. And although she was a member of the House of Lords as Bishop of London, she'll be reintroduced after her translation to Canterbury. 17/17

After the homage, the King will issue sign a Warrant for the restitution of the archbishopric's temporalities. This involves several different instruments, including a mandate to the tenants of the archbishopric and writs to the relevant escheators. 16/17

However, the Crown will retain the temporalities of the See of Canterbury until Mullally does homage to the King. This involves her kneeling in front of the King while the Lord Chancellor administers an oath to her wherein she acknowledges the King's supremacy. 15/17