Lord High Steward

The position of Lord High Steward of England, not to be confused with the Lord Steward, a court functionary, is the first of the Great Officers of State. Although initially the position was largely an honorary one, over time it grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester. When the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence, Lord High Steward, but following the latter's death in 1421 the office has generally remained vacant, except at coronations and during the trial of peers, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, the Lord Chancellor was appointed to act as Lord High Steward in the latter situation. This right of the Lord High Steward was taken away following the Second World War.

In Scotland, the hereditary position of High Steward was given in the 12th century to Walter Fitzalan, whose descendants became the Stewart family. In 1371, the last High Steward inherited the throne, and thereafter the title of High Steward of Scotland has been held as a subsidiary title to that of Duke of Rothesay, held by the heir-apparent. Thus, currently, The Prince of Wales is High Steward of Scotland.

In Ireland, the position was sometimes known as the Hereditary Seneschal. The position was held from the 15th century by the Earls of Shrewsbury and Waterford, also the Premier Earls of both England and Ireland.

Table of contents

1 Lord High Stewards of England, 1186-1421 2 Lord High Stewards of England at coronations, 1422-present 3 Lord High Stewards of England at the Trials of Peers, 1422-present 4 Lord High Stewards of Scotland, ca.1150-present 5 Lord High Stewards of Ireland, 1446-present

Lord High Stewards of England, 1186-1421

• Robert, 2nd Earl of Leicester 1154-1168
• Robert Blanchemains, 3rd Earl of Leicester 1168-1190
• Robert FitzPernel, 4th Earl of Leicester 1190-1204
• Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester 1206-1218
• Amauri de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester 1218-1229
• Simon de Montfort, 7th Earl of Leicester 1231-1265
• Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster 1265-1296
• Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster 1296-1322
• Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster 1324-1345
• Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster 1345-1361
• John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster 1362-1399
• Henry of Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster 1399
• Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence 1399-1421

Lord High Stewards of England at coronations, 1422-present

• incomplete
• Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham 1509
• John Russell, 1st Lord Russell 1547
• Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby 1553
• incomplete
• James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde 1661
• James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde 1685
• William Cavendish, 4th Earl of Devonshire 1689
• William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire 1702
• Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Grafton 1714
• Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset 1727
• William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot 1761
• Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey 1821
• Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton 1831
• Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton 1838
• Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough 1902
• Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland 1911
• James Edward Hubert Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury 1937
• Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham 1953

Lord High Stewards of England at the Trials of Peers, 1422-present

• incomplete before 1660
• Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, at the trial of George, Duke of Clarence, 1478
• John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, at the trial of Edward, Earl of Warwick, 1499
• Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, at the trial of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, 1521
• Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, at the trial of Anne Boleyn, 1536
• George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, at the trial of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, 1571
• Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, at the trial of Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, 1589
• Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, at the trial of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, 1601
• Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, at the trial of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, 1641
• Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Thomas, Lord Morley, 1666
• Heneage Finch, Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Charles, Lord Cornwallis, 1676
• Heneage Finch, Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
• Heneage Finch, Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Thomas Osborne, 1st Earl of Danby, 1679
• Heneage Finch, Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of William Herbert, Earl of Powis; William, Viscount Stafford; Henry Arundell, Lord Arundell of Wardour; William, Lord Petre; and John, Lord Belasyse, 1679
• Heneage Finch, Lord Finch, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of William, Viscount Stafford, 1680
• George Jeffreys, 1st Lord Jeffreys, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Henry, Lord Delamere, 1685
• Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, Lord President of the Council, at the trial of Charles, Lord Mohun, 1699
• John Somers, 1st Lord Somers, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Edward Henry, Earl of Warwick; and of Charles, Lord Mohun
• William Cowper, Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of James, Earl of Derwentwater; William, Lord Widdrington; William, Earl of Nithsdale; Robert, Earl of Carnwath; William, Viscount Kenmure; and William, Lord Nairne, 1716
• William Cowper, Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of George, Earl of Wintoun, 1716
• William Cowper, Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, 1717
• Peter King, Lord King, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of Thomas, Earl of Macclesfield, 1725
• Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of William, Earl of Kilmarnock; George, Earl of Cromarty, and Arthur, Lord Balmerino, 1746
• Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Simon, Lord Lovat, 1747
• Robert Henley, Lord Henley, Lord Keeper, for the trial of Lawrence, Earl Ferrers, 1760
• Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, 1765
• Edward Thurlow, Lord Thurlow, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Warren Hastings, 1788-1793
• Alexander, Lord Loughborough, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Warren Hastings 1793-1795
• Thomas, Lord Erskine, Lord Chancellor, for the trial of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville 1806
• Thomas, Lord Denman, Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, for the trial of James Thomas Brudenell, Earl of Cardigan, 1841
• incomplete after 1841
• Hardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of Halsbury, Lord Chancellor, at the trial of John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell, 1901

Lord High Stewards of Scotland, ca.1150-present

• Walter Fitzalan, 1st High Steward of Scotland ca.1150-1177
• Alan Fitzwalter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland 1177-1204
• Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland 1204-1241
• Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland 1241-1283
• James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland 1283-1309
• Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland 1309-1327
• Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland 1327-1371
• David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1398-1402
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1402-1406
• Alexander Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1430
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1430-1437
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1453-1460
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1473-1488
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1507-1508
• Arthur Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1509-1510
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1512-1513
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1540-1541
• James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay 1566-1567
• Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales 1594-1612
• Charles, Prince of Wales 1612-1625
• Charles James Stewart, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay 1629
• Charles, Prince of Wales 1630-1649
• James, Prince of Wales 1688
• George Augustus, Prince of Wales 1714-1727
• Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales 1727-1751
• George, Prince of Wales 1762-1820
• Albert Edward, Prince of Wales 1841-1901
• George, Prince of Wales 1901-1910
• Edward, Prince of Wales 1910-1936
• Charles, Prince of Wales 1952-

Lord High Stewards of Ireland, 1446-present

• John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1446-1453
• John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1453-1460
• John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1460-1473
• George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1473-1538
• Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1538-1560
• George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1560-1590
• George Talbot, 7th Earl of SHrewsbury and Waterford 1590-1616
• Edward Talbot, 8th Earl of SHrewsbury and Waterford 1616-1617
• George Talbot, 9th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1617-1630
• John Talbot, 10th Earl of SHrewsbury and Waterford 1630-1654
• Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1654-1667
• Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, 12th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1667-1718
• Gilbert Talbot, 13th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1718-1743
• George Talbot, 14th Earl of SHrewsbury and Waterford 1743-1787
• Charles Talbot, 15th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1787-1827
• John Talbot, 16th Earl of SHrewsbury and Waterford 1827-1852
• Bertram Arthur Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1852-1856
• Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 18th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1856-1868
• Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 19th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1868-1877
• Charles Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1877-1921
• John George Charles Henry Alton Alexander Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot, 21st Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1921-1980
• Charles Henry John Benedict Crofton Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot, 22nd Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford 1980-