Part 37 (1/2)

Members of Fifth Cla.s.s of Victorian Order.

Baronets' Younger Sons.

Knights' Younger Sons.

Esquires:--Including the Eldest Sons of the Sons of Viscounts and Barons, the eldest Sons of all the younger Sons of Peers, and their eldest Sons in perpetual Succession: the younger Sons of Baronets: the Sons of Knights, the eldest Son of the eldest Son of a Knight in perpetual Succession: persons holding the King's Commission, or who may be styled ”Esquire” by the King in any Official Doc.u.ment.

Gentlemen.

THE PRECEDENCE OF WOMEN

is determined, before marriage, by the Rank and Dignity, but not by the Office, of their Father.

All the unmarried Sisters in any family have the same Degree, which is the Degree that their eldest Brother holds (or would hold) amongst men.

Thus:--Of the Sons of an Earl the _eldest_ alone has an honorary t.i.tle of n.o.bility and is styled ”My Lord,” while _all_ the Daughters of an Earl have a similar honorary t.i.tle, and are styled ”My Lady.”

By Marriage Women share the Dignities and Precedence of their Husbands: but, the strictly Official Dignity of a Husband is not imparted to a wife (except in India), in the case of the Archbishops and Bishops or holders of other offices.

The Dignities which Ladies have by Birth or by right of Inheritance, are not imparted by Marriage to their Husbands: nor does Marriage with an inferior in Dignity in any way affect the Precedence that a Lady may enjoy by Birth, Inheritance, or Creation--both her own Precedence and that of her Husband remain as before their Marriage, unless the Husband be a Peer.

In the ROYAL FAMILY the following Precedence takes effect:--

The Queen.

The Queen Dowager.

The Princess of Wales.

The Daughters of the Sovereign.

The Wives of the Younger Sons of the Sovereign.

The Granddaughters of the Sovereign.

The Wives of the Grandsons of the Sovereign.

The Sovereign's Sisters.

Wives of the Sovereign's Brothers.

The Sovereign's Aunts.

Wives of the Sovereign's Uncles.

The Sovereign's Nieces.

Wives of the Sovereign's Nephews (Brothers' and Sisters' Daughters).

Granddaughters of the Sovereign not bearing the style of Royal Highness.

To whatever Precedence she may be ent.i.tled by Birth, the Wife of a Peer always takes her rank, and therefore takes her actual Precedence, from her Husband.

The Widow of a Peer, so long as she remains a Widow, retains the rank she enjoyed whilst married: but, should she contract a second Marriage, her Precedence then is determined either by the rank of her second Husband, or by the rank that was her own by Birth and which she enjoyed before her first Marriage.

The Wife of the Eldest Son of any degree precedes all her Husband's Sisters, and also all other Ladies having the same degree of rank with them. Thus:--the Wife of the Eldest Son of an Earl takes Precedence of _all_ Daughters of Earls. In actual practice, however, by a principle of Precedence that is accepted and adopted in all families of the same degree amongst themselves, the Sisters in every case have their place immediately after the Wife of their own Eldest Brother.

GENEALOGIES.

GENEALOGIES, the Records of the Descents and Alliances of Families, are necessarily a.s.sociated with the Armorial Ensigns borne by those Families, and by the several Members and Branches of them. Still, it does not apparently follow, in the same manner, as a matter of necessity, that the study and investigation of Genealogies should be interesting and even attractive, because interest and attractiveness are inseparable from Heraldry. And yet, I do not hesitate to claim for genealogical researches the favourable regard of students of Armory, on the very ground of the interest which they are certain to feel in such researches; and also in confident reliance on that inherent power of attraction, inseparable from the subject itself, that will not fail both to win their favourable regard, and to lead them on from one inquiry to another.