# Why Would \[Any Quasi-Important Briton\] Want A Peerage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553 "2022-10-20T15:21:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/21 "2022-10-21T06:14:58Z")
And one other plus to a peerage (apart from possibly better chances of getting reservations at the poshest restaurants) - access to a rather nice club house with its riverside bar, reasonable restaurants, library, flunkeys and the chance of various important people listening to your opinions. Plus you might get the chance to do this to a colleague: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f8JyDl9FtWI/maxresdefault.jpg "Lady Trumpington gives V-sign to fellow peer – archive video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8JyDl9FtWI) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/22 "2022-10-21T06:23:27Z")
Besides the House of Lords, the social benefits are not to be underestimated. The UK class system is not dead and buried and becoming a peer is pretty much a lifetime pass to a high rank. From time to time one sees jokey news stories of someone who applies for a credit card and just for fun puts their name as “Sir” whatever. Their tales of subsequent favourable treatment are remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/23 "2022-10-21T07:13:03Z")
The best way to think of peerages and knighthoods in modern-day Britain is not as a quaint legacy from feudal times but rather as an equivalent to the medals, orders and similar decorations that other countries award. They’re a way to honour someone who has done something deemed worthy of appreciation by the government. Many (not all) people are vain and covet such an honour, and that’s a global phenomenon. The seat in the House of Lords is, in my view, a minor by-product for most awardees. It might be of interest to former politicians who like to keep being involved in politics, but other than that most life peers don’t bother much to get involved in the actual work of the House. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/24 "2022-10-21T09:53:18Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Being the Duke of Hazard might help me in romancing pretty blonde ladies. Dude that’s your sister. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/25 "2022-10-21T10:42:23Z")
I think Daisy was a cousin? It has been a long time since I watched the series. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/26 "2022-10-21T10:43:49Z")
OK, cousins are fine. Go get it! ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/27 "2022-10-21T10:54:21Z")
> [@AZRob](#): > > Churchill couldn’t really afford to be a Duke. Apparently, such a title/role comes with a lot of expensive expectations. Such as? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/28 "2022-10-21T11:57:29Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > > [@scudsucker](#): > > > > Being the Duke of Hazard might help me in romancing pretty blonde ladies. > > Dude that’s your sister. > [@scudsucker](#): > > I think Daisy was a cousin? It has been a long time since I watched the series. Cousin, sister… wasn’t this in Alabama anyway? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/29 "2022-10-21T13:41:26Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > The seat in the House of Lords is, in my view, a minor by-product for most awardees. It might be of interest to former politicians who like to keep being involved in politics, Some are promoted to it as “working peers”, i.e., in order to be active on their party’s behalf in the House’s business of legislation as the revising chamber, investigating and reporting on policy and administrative issues, and so on. Others who get it as an honour may have been so precisely because they have distinguished themselves in some field, in which case their knowledge and expertise may be useful from time to time if the Lords find themselves debating some issue relevant to that field. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/30 "2022-10-21T14:24:48Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Cousin, sister… wasn’t this in Alabama anyway? [Georgia](https://outsider.com/news/dukes-of-hazzard-where-is-hazzard-county-shows-setting-located/). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/31 "2022-10-21T14:59:26Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Plus you might get the chance to do this to a colleague: For the Yanks reading this thread: making the V-sign with your palm facing the other person can mean “peace” or “victory”. With the back of your hand facing the other person, it’s an insult. She flipped him off. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/32 "2022-10-21T15:13:32Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > They’re a way to honour someone who has done something deemed worthy of appreciation by the government. Many (not all) people are vain and covet such an honour, and that’s a global phenomenon. from Montesquieu, _Persian Letters_ > The King of France does not have the gold and silver mines of his cousin, the King of Spain, yet he is a much wealthier Prince. The King of France derives his wealth from the vanity of his subjects, which is boundless. I am a bit puzzled why Britons get so touchy about tycoons paying for honours. In some respects, I think a public auction might be more honest. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/33 "2022-10-21T16:31:09Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I am a bit puzzled why Britons get so touchy about tycoons paying for honours. Well, recipients are supposed to have done something of some service to the community above and beyond just doing your job and/or raking in the moolah: most awards come with a citation that it’s for "services to [something or other]. And particularly, buying your way into the legislature is a bit on the nose. ---
**Author:** ![SharltoCopley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sharltocopley/32/12309_2.png) [@SharltoCopley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SharltoCopley)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/34 "2022-10-21T16:49:44Z")
I don’t know what it means for you inside the UK or any UK-savvy part of the Anglosphere, but I can tell you that these titles and designations have real monetizable value when you go abroad. In the corporate world of the Middle East, sitting on a company’s board as Nigel of Aberdeensies is hella lucrative for the company and potentially to you, and so is starting a company or engaging in social functions of any kind with that title. The prestige that comes with the de(s) and von(s) and of(s) is unmistakable and almost immediately cashable in certain parts of the world ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/35 "2022-10-21T17:04:37Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > making the V-sign with your palm facing the other person can mean “peace” or “victory”. With the back of your hand facing the other person, it’s an insult. She flipped him off. They were old friends and colleagues, though (and he had been a bit clumsy in referring to her age). ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/36 "2022-10-21T22:16:30Z")
I was wondering if she had done that intentionally. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/37 "2022-10-22T05:07:02Z")
Oh, completely intentionally. [She was that kind of woman.](https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/11/baroness-trumpington-dies-at-96) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/38 "2022-10-22T05:26:12Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JPVKOMZh2RY/maxresdefault.jpg "God Calls Me God") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPVKOMZh2RY) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/39 "2022-10-22T08:22:49Z")
> [@AZRob](#): > > And IIRC, Churchill couldn’t really afford to be a Duke. Apparently, such a title/role comes with a lot of expensive expectations. Remember how everybody could tell the Count of Monte Cristo was not a “real” count: he was simply too fabulously wealthy to be a legitimate noble. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553/40 "2022-10-22T10:21:05Z")
Well, one of the wealthiest people in Britain is the Duke of Westminster. That peerage goes back to Victorian times, so it’s not particularly ancient, but not exactly fake either. The family has held other, lesser titles since before, dating back to the Norman Conquest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-any-quasi-important-briton-want-a-peerage/973553.md?page=3)