Lord Privy Seal: Difference between revisions

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lord Privy Seal" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Arms of Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Sir George Young, Bt since 12 May 2010
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	The Sovereign on advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	William Melton
Formation	1307

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
Constitution Magna Carta Bill of Rights Treaty of Union (Acts of Union) Parliamentary sovereignty Rule of law Separation of powers Other constitutional principles
The Crown The Monarch (list) Charles III Heir apparent William, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Counsellors of State Republicanism in the United Kingdom
Executive Privy Council Charles III (King-in-Council) HM Government Cabinet (list) Starmer ministry (L) Prime Minister (list) Keir Starmer (L) Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (L) Departments Ministers Agencies
Legislature UK Parliament Charles III (King-in-Parliament) House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle Leader of the Opposition Rishi Sunak (C) 59th Parliament Opposition MPs List of MPs
Judiciary Charles III (King-on-the-Bench) Supreme Court President The Lord Reed Deputy President The Lord Hodge Justices of the Supreme Court United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Deputy governors Monetary Policy Committee Currencies Banknotes Coins
Elections and referendums UK Parliament constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) Political parties Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions Senedd constituencies and electoral regions UK general elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832–33 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan–Feb) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 European Parliament elections (1979–2019) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next Northern Ireland Assembly elections 1998 2003 2007 2011 2016 2017 2022 Next Senedd elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next UK referendums 1975 2011 2016
Devolution Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom Legislative consent motions Council of Nations and Regions England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority 1998 referendum Greater London Authority Act 1999 (2007 Act) Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Mayoral cabinet London Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Cornwall Council Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Act 1998 (2006 Act) First Minister Michelle O'Neill deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Law of Northern Ireland Scotland Scottish devolution 1997 referendum Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) First Minister John Swinney Government Scottish Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scots law Wales Welsh devolution 1997 referendum (2011 referendum on law-making powers) Government of Wales Act 1998 (2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017) First Minister Vaughan Gething Government Senedd Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011) Act of Senedd Cymru Welsh law
Administration England History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties (list) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list) Historic counties Northern Ireland History Subdivisions: Counties Districts Scotland History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland Wales History Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties
Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey (Guernsey Alderney Sark) Bailiwick of Jersey Isle of Man British Islands Common Travel Area UK-CD Customs Union
Overseas Territories Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (Saint Helena Ascension Island Tristan da Cunha) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements Visa policies British Overseas Territories Act 2002 UK-OT JMC Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Gibraltar sovereignty dispute Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
Foreign relations Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign policy (history) Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom UK passport British National (Overseas) passport Visa requirements UK–CD Customs Union Visa policy Free trade agreements Australia Barbados Belgium Belize Brunei Canada China Hong Kong Cyprus Denmark France Germany India Israel Italy Japan Kenya Malaysia Malta Netherlands New Zealand Norway Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Spain South Africa Palestine Pakistan Poland Portugal United States Zimbabwe Ireland politics of Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement UK–Ireland border Northern Ireland Protocol British–Irish Council European Union (history) Brexit Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union UK–EU withdrawal agreement The Commonwealth member states United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 NATO G20 G7
United Kingdom portal England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other countries
v t e

The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state. Originally, its holder was responsible for the monarch's personal (privy) seal (as opposed to the Great Seal of the Realm, which is in the care of the Lord Chancellor). Today, the holder of the office is invariably given a seat in the Cabinet.

Though one of the oldest offices in government anywhere, it has no particular function today; thus the office has generally been used as a kind of Minister without Portfolio. Since the premiership of Clement Attlee, the position of Lord Privy Seal has frequently been combined with that of Leader of the House of Lords or Leader of the House of Commons.

During the reign of Edward I, prior to 1307, the Privy Seal was kept by the Keeper of the Wardrobe. ^[1]

• William Melton (1307–1312)
• Roger Northburgh (1312–1316)
• Thomas Charlton (1316–1320)
• Robert Baldock (1320–1323)
• Robert Wodehouse (1323)
• Robert Ayleston (1323–1324)
• William Ayermin (1324–1325)
• Henry Cliff (1325)
• William Herlaston (1325–1326)
• Robert Wyvil (1326–1327)
• Richard Airmyn (1327–1328)
• Adam Lymbergh (1328–1329)
• Richard Bury, Bishop of Durham (1329–1334)
• Robert Ayleston (1334)
• Robert Tawton (1334–1335)
• William de la Zouch (1335–1337)
• Richard Bintworth (1337–1338)
• William Kilsby (1338–1342)
• John de Ufford (1342–1344)
• Thomas Hatfield (1344–1345)
• John Thoresby (1345–1347)
• Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury (1347–1350)
• Michael Northburgh (1350–1354)
• Thomas Bramber (1354–1355)
• John Winwick (1355–1360)
• John Buckingham, Bishop of Lincoln (1360–1363)
• William of Wykeham (1363–1367)
• Peter Lacy (1367–1371)
• Nicholas Carew (1371–1377)
• John Fordham (1377–1381)
• William Dighton (1381–1382)
• Walter Skirclaw, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (1382–1386)
• John Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury (1386–1389)
• Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter (1389–1396)
• Guy Mone (1396–1397)
• Richard Clifford (1397–1401)

• Thomas Langley (1401–1405)
• Nicholas Bubwith (1405–1406)
• John Prophet (1406–1415)
• John Wakering, Bishop of Norwich (1415–1416)
• Henry Ware (1416–1418)
• John Kemp, Bishop of Rochester (1418–1421)
• John Stafford (1421–1422)
• William Alnwick, Bishop of Norwich (1422–1432)
• William Lyndwood, Bishop of St David's (1432–1443)
• Thomas Beckington, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1443–1444)
• Adam Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester (1444–1450)
• Andrew Holes (1450–1452)
• Thomas Lisieux (1452–1456)
• Laurence Booth, Bishop of Durham (1456–1460)
• Robert Stillington, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1460–1467)
• Thomas Rotheram, Bishop of Rochester (1467–1470)
• John Hales, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield (1470–1471)
• Thomas Rotheram, Bishop of Rochester (1471–1474)
• John Russell, Bishop of Rochester, later Bishop of Lincoln (1473–1483)
• John Gunthorpe, Dean of Wells (1483–1485)
• Peter Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter (1485–1487)
• Richard Foxe, Bishop of Exeter, later Bishop of Bath and Wells, Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Winchester (1487–1516)

• Thomas Ruthall, Bishop of Durham (1516–1523)
• The Lord Marney (1523)
• Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of London (1523–1530)
• The Earl of Wiltshire (1530–1536)
• The Earl of Essex (1536–1540)
• The Earl of Southampton (1540–1542)
• The Earl of Bedford (1542–1555)
• The Lord Paget (1555–1558)
• Sir Nicholas Bacon (1558–1571)
• The Lord Burghley (1571–1572)
• The Lord Howard of Effingham (1572–1573)
• Sir Thomas Smith (1573–1576)
• Francis Walsingham (1576–1590)
• The Lord Burghley (1590–1598)
• The Earl of Salisbury (1598–1608)

• The Earl of Northampton (1608–1614)
• The Earl of Somerset (1614–1616)
• The Earl of Worcester (1616–1625)
• Sir John Coke (1625–1628)
• Sir Robert Naunton (1628)
• The Earl of Manchester (1628–1642)
• The Viscount Falkland (1643)
• Sir Edward Nicholas (1643–1644)
• The Earl of Bath (1644–1654)
• The Lord Robartes (1661–1673)
• The Earl of Anglesey (1673–1682)
• The Marquess of Halifax (1682–1685)
• The Earl of Clarendon (1685–1687)
• The Lord Arundell of Wardour (1687–1688)
• The Marquess of Halifax (1689–1690)
• In Commission 1690–1692
• The Earl of Pembroke (1692–1699)
• The Viscount Lonsdale (1699–1700)

• The Earl of Tankerville (1700–1701)
• In Commission 1701–1702
• The Duke of Buckingham and Normanby (1702–1705)
• The Duke of Newcastle (1705–1707)

• The Duke of Newcastle (1707–1711)
• John Robinson, Bishop of Bristol (1711–1713)
• The Earl of Dartmouth (1713–1714)
• The Marquess of Wharton (1714–1715)
• In Commission 1715
• The Earl of Sunderland (1715–1716)
• The Duke of Kingston (1716–1718)
• The Duke of Kent (1718–1719)
• The Duke of Kingston (1720–1726)
• The Lord Trevor (1726–1730)
• The Earl of Wilmington (1730–1731)
• In Commission 1731
• The Duke of Devonshire (1731–1733)
• The Viscount Lonsdale (1733–1735)
• The Earl of Godolphin (1735–1740)
• The Lord Hervey (1740–1742)
• The Lord Gower (1742–1743)
• The Earl of Cholmondeley (1743–1744)
• The Earl Gower (1744–1755)
• The Duke of Marlborough (1755)
• The Earl Gower (1755–1757)
• The Earl Temple (1757–1761)
• In Commission 1761
• The Duke of Bedford (1761–1763)
• The Duke of Marlborough (1763–1765)
• The Duke of Newcastle (1765–1766)
• The Earl of Chatham (1766–1768)
• The Earl of Bristol (1768–1770)
• The Earl of Halifax (1770–1771)
• The Earl of Suffolk (1771)
• The Duke of Grafton (1771–1775)
• The Earl of Dartmouth (1775–1782)
• The Duke of Grafton (1782–1783)
• The Earl of Carlisle (1783)
• The Duke of Rutland (1783–1784)
• In Commission 1784
• The Marquess of Stafford (1784–1794)
• The Earl Spencer (1794)
• The Earl of Chatham (1794–1798)
• The Earl of Westmorland (1798–1806)

• The Viscount Sidmouth (1806)
• The Lord Holland (1806–1807)
• The Earl of Westmorland (1807–1827)
• The Duke of Portland (1827)
• The Earl of Carlisle (1827–1828)
• The Lord Ellenborough (1828–1829)
• The Earl of Rosslyn (1829–1830)
• The Lord Durham (1830–1833)
• The Earl of Ripon (1833–1834)
• The Earl of Carlisle (1834)
• The Earl of Mulgrave (1834)
• The Lord Wharncliffe (1834–1835)
• Viscount Duncannon (1835–1840)
• The Earl of Clarendon (1840–1841)
• The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1841–1842)
• The Duke of Buccleuch (1842–1846)
• The Earl of Haddington (1846)
• The Earl of Minto (1846–1852)
• The Marquess of Salisbury (1852)
• The Duke of Argyll (1853–1855)
• The Earl of Harrowby (1855–1858)
• The Marquess of Clanricarde (1858)
• The Earl of Hardwicke (1858–1859)
• The Duke of Argyll (1859–1866)
• The Earl of Malmesbury (1866–1868)
• The Earl of Kimberley (1868–1870)
• The Viscount Halifax (1870–1874)
• The Earl of Malmesbury (1874–1876)
• The Earl of Beaconsfield (1876–1878)
• The Duke of Northumberland (1878–1880)
• The Duke of Argyll (1880–1881)
• The Lord Carlingford (1881–1885)
• The Earl of Rosebery (1885)
• The Earl of Harrowby (1885–1886)
• William Ewart Gladstone (1886)
• The Earl Cadogan (1886–1892)
• William Ewart Gladstone (1892–1894)
• The Lord Tweedmouth (1894–1895)
• The Viscount Cross (1895–1900)

• The Marquess of Salisbury (1900–1902)
• Arthur Balfour (1902–1903)
• The Marquess of Salisbury (1903–1905)
• The Marquess of Ripon (1905–1908)
• The Earl of Crewe (1908–1911)
• The Earl Carrington (1911–1912)
• The Marquess of Crewe (1912–1915)
• The Earl Curzon of Kedleston (1915–1916)
• The Earl of Crawford (1916–1919)
• Andrew Bonar Law (1919–1921)
• Sir Austen Chamberlain (1921–1922)
• Lord Robert Cecil (1922–1924)
• J. R. Clynes (1924)
• The Marquess of Salisbury (1924–1929)
• James Henry Thomas (1929–1930)
• Vernon Hartshorn (1930–1931)
• Tom Johnston (1931)
• The Earl Peel (1931)
• The Viscount Snowden (1931–1932)
• Stanley Baldwin (1932–1934)
• Anthony Eden (1934–1935)
• The Marquess of Londonderry (1935)
• The Viscount Halifax (1935–1937)
• The Earl De La Warr (1937–1938)
• Sir John Anderson (1938–1939)
• Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt (1939–1940)
• Sir Kingsley Wood (1940)
• Clement Attlee (1940–1942)
• Sir Stafford Cripps (1942)
• Viscount Cranborne (1942–1943)
• The Lord Beaverbrook (1943–1945)
• Arthur Greenwood (1945–1947)
• The Lord Inman (1947)
• The Viscount Addison (1947–1951)
• Ernest Bevin (1951)
• Richard Stokes (1951)
• The Marquess of Salisbury (1951–1952)
• Harry Crookshank (1952–1955)
• R. A. Butler (1955–1959)
• The Viscount Hailsham (1959–1960)
• Edward Heath (1960–1963)
• Selwyn Lloyd (1963–1964)
• The Earl of Longford (1964–1965)
• Sir Frank Soskice (1965–1966)
• The Earl of Longford (1966–1968)
• The Lord Shackleton (1968)
• Fred Peart (1968)
• The Lord Shackleton (1968–1970)
• The Earl Jellicoe (1970–1973)
• The Lord Windlesham (1973–1974)
• The Lord Shepherd (1974–1976)
• The Lord Peart (1976–1979)
• Sir Ian Gilmour, Bt (1979–1981)
• Humphrey Atkins (1981–1982)
• The Baroness Young (1982–1983)
• John Biffen (1983–1987)
• John Wakeham (1987–1988)
• The Lord Belstead (1988–1990)
• The Lord Waddington (1990–1992)
• The Lord Wakeham (1992–1994)
• Viscount Cranborne (1994–1997)
• The Lord Richard (1997–1998)
• The Baroness Jay of Paddington (1998–2001)

• The Lord Williams of Mostyn (2001–2003)
• Peter Hain (2003–2005)
• Geoff Hoon (2005–2006)
• Jack Straw (2006–2007)
• Harriet Harman (2007–2010)
• Sir George Young, Bt (2010–)

• Keeper of the seals of France
• Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan
• Keeper of the Rulers' Seal of Malaysia

• Keeper of the seals
• Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland
• Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
• Lord Privy Seal (term)

• Sergeant, John (2002). Give me ten seconds. Pan Books. ISBN 0330484907.