Lieutenancy areas are the separate areas of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
appointed a
lord-lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
– a representative of the
British monarch. In many cases they have similar demarcation and naming to, but are not necessarily coterminate with, the
counties of the United Kingdom.
Origin
In England, lieutenancy areas are colloquially known as the
ceremonial counties
The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...
, although this phrase does not appear in any legislation referring to them. The
lieutenancy areas of Scotland
The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. The lord-lieutenants' titles chosen by the monarch and his legal advisers are mainly based on placenames of the ...
are
subdivisions of Scotland that are more or less based on the
counties of Scotland, making use of the major cities as separate entities. In Wales, the lieutenancy areas are known as the
preserved counties of Wales
The preserved counties of Wales are the eight current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and othe ...
and are based on those used for lieutenancy and local government between 1974 and 1996 and not the
historic counties. The lieutenancy areas of Northern Ireland correspond to the
six counties and two former county boroughs.
Map
Not shown: City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
See also
*
Historic counties of the United Kingdom
The Historic counties of the United Kingdom are ancient geographical divisions of the United Kingdom. Although not defined by any one function, over many centuries, various forms of administrative function have been based on them. These have inclu ...
References
{{UK subdivisions
Local government in the United Kingdom
Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom