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Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom.^[1] In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without hyphenation).

There are two kinds of lord-in-waiting: political appointees by the government of the day who serve as junior government whips in the House of Lords (the senior whips have the positions of Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard); and non-political appointments by the monarch (who, if they have a seat in the House of Lords, sit as crossbenchers). Lords-in-waiting (whether political or non-political) may be called upon periodically to represent the sovereign; for example, one of their number is regularly called upon to greet visiting heads of state on arrival at an airport at the start of a state or official visit, and they may then play a role in accompanying them for the duration of their stay (for instance, on 3 June 2019 lord-in-waiting Alan Brooke, 3rd Viscount Brookeborough was in attendance at London Stansted Airport to welcome U.S. president Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on behalf of the Queen; he and Viscountess Brookeborough then remained "specially attached" to the Trumps for the duration of their visit).^[2] They are also occasionally in attendance on other state or royal occasions. "Extra" lords-in-waiting may also be appointed, supernumerary to the regular appointees, who fulfil a similar role; for example, Baroness Rawlings, whose appointment as a government whip (and baroness-in-waiting) ceased in 2012, continued to serve as an extra baroness-in-waiting,^[3] and represented the Queen on certain occasions (for example on 27 February 2019 she was present at RAF Northolt to welcome the King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan, while at the same time another baroness-in-waiting, Baroness Manzoor, was present at Heathrow Airport to welcome Borut Pahor, president of Slovenia).^[4]

In addition, the honour of serving as a permanent lord-in-waiting is occasionally bestowed on very senior courtiers following their retirement. A permanent lord-in-waiting may also represent the sovereign, as often happens at funerals or memorial services for former courtiers.

Political appointments

Most baronesses and lords-in-waiting serve as government whips in the House of Lords. Being members of the government, they are appointed by the sovereign on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and invariably relinquish their position when there is a change of government.

Currently, there are eight lords and baronesses-in-waiting who serve as junior whips in the House of Lords:^[5]

Portfolio	Name	Since
Lord-in-waiting	Ray Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury	9 July 2024
	Frederick Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede	9 July 2024
	Sonny Leong, Baron Leong	11 July 2024
Baroness-in-waiting	Sharon Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage	9 July 2024
	Maggie Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch	9 July 2024
	Ruth Smeeth, Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent	11 July 2024
	Fiona Twycross, Baroness Twycross	11 July 2024
	Judith Blake, Baroness Blake of Leeds	11 July 2024

Non-political appointments

Alongside the political appointees two non-political lords-in-waiting are always appointed,^[1] at the personal discretion of the sovereign (distinguished from their political counterparts by the designation 'Personal Lord in Waiting').^[6]

Those currently serving in this capacity are:^[7]

Portfolio	Name	Since
Personal lord-in-waiting	Alan Brooke, 3rd Viscount Brookeborough^[8]	1 May 1997
Personal lord-in-waiting	Henry Hood, 8th Viscount Hood	30 July 2008

Additional appointments

Any additional appointees are termed extra lords or baronesses-in-waiting.

Those currently serving in this capacity are:^[9]

Portfolio	Name	Since
Extra baroness-in-waiting	Patricia Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings	2012
Extra lord-in-waiting	Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso	19 March 1998

Permanent lords-in-waiting

Permanent lords-in-waiting are retired senior officials of the Royal Household. Those serving in this capacity include:^[10]

Name	Since
Former Lord Great Chamberlain of England
David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley	17 March 2023
Former Lord Chamberlains of the Household
Richard Luce, Baron Luce	16 July 2007
William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel	1 April 2021
Former Private Secretaries to the Sovereign
Robin Janvrin, Baron Janvrin	13 November 2007
Christopher Geidt, Baron Geidt	4 March 2019
Edward Young, Baron Young of Old Windsor	15 May 2023

References

^ ^a ^b Tomlinson, Richard (20 Dec 1992). "They also serve, who only ush". Independent.
^ Court Circular, Buckingham Palace, 3 June 2019.
^ UK Parliament website biographical page
^ Court Circular, Buckingham Palace, 27 February 2019.
^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". gov.uk. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
^ E.g. Court Circular, Buckingham Palace, 30 July 2008
^ Court Circular, Buckingham Palace
^ Biography on UK Parliament website
^ Court Circular, Buckingham Palace
^ Court Circular, Buckingham Palace