The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the

Great Officers of State Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the Royal Household, from which the officers of state arose, initially having household and government duties. Later some of these officers became ...

, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eig ...

. This office is now called out of abeyance only for

coronations A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

. The Lord High

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

was originally the commander of the royal armies and the

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

. He was also, in conjunction with the

, president of the

court of chivalry His Majesty's High Court of Chivalry is a civil law (i.e., non common law) court in English and Welsh law with jurisdiction over matters of heraldry. The court has been in existence since the fourteenth century; however, it rarely sits. The so ...

court of honour A court of honor (or court of honour) is an official event constituted to determine various questions of social protocol, breaches of etiquette, and other allegations of breaches of honor, or entitlement to various honors. In English the ter ...

. In feudal times, martial law was administered in the court of the Lord High Constable. The constableship was granted as a

grand serjeanty Under feudalism in France and England during the Middle Ages, tenure by serjeanty () was a form of tenure in return for a specified duty other than standard knight-service. Etymology The word comes from the French noun , itself from the Latin , ...

with the Earldom of Hereford by the Empress Matilda to

Miles of Gloucester Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (''alias'' Miles of GloucesterSanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.7) was a great magnate based in the west of ...

, and was carried by his heiress to the Bohuns,

earls of Hereford The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for. Earls of Hereford, First Creation (1043) * Swegen Godwinson (1043–1051) ''earldom forfeit 1051–1052'' Ear ...

and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. They had a surviving male heir, and still have heirs male, but due to the power of the monarchy the constableship was irregularly given to the Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham; and on the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of Edward Stafford, the third Duke, in the reign of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

, it became merged into the Crown. Since that point it has not existed as a separate office, except as a temporary appointment for the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

of a monarch; in other circumstances the

exercises the traditional duties of the office. The Lacys and Verduns were hereditary constables of Ireland from the 12th to the 14th century; and the Hays,

earls of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

, have been hereditary

Lord High Constables of Scotland Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

from early in the 14th century.

Lord High Constables of England, 1139–1521

* 1139–1143:

Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (''alias'' Miles of GloucesterSanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.7) was a great magnate based in the west of ...

* 1143–1155:

Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, (before 1125 – 1155) was an English noble who played an active and influential part in the wars between Empress Matilda and King Stephen (a civil war known as the Anarchy). Biography Roger was the so ...

* 1155–1159:

Walter of Hereford Walter of Hereford was a holder of the feudal title Baron Bergavenny or Lord Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid twelfth century. Lineage Walter of Hereford was a son of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, and Sibyl of Neufmarche, ...

* 1159–1164: Henry Fitzmiles * 1164–1176:

Humphrey III de Bohun Humphrey III de Bohun (before 1144 – ? December 1181) of Trowbridge Castle in Wiltshire and of Caldicot Castle in south-east Wales, 5th feudal baron of Trowbridge, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and general who served King Henry II as Lord High Co ...

* 1176–1220:

Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

* 1220–1275: Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford and 1st Earl of Essex * 1275–1298: Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford and 2nd Earl of Essex * 1298–1322: Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and 3rd Earl of Essex * 1322–1336: John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford and 4th Earl of Essex * 1336–1361: Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford and 5th Earl of Essex * 1361–1373: Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton A cousin was alive who was not granted the titles due to him and his heirs: Gilbert de Bohun, died 1381 * 1373–1397:

Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodsto ...

(5th surviving son of King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

and husband of

Eleanor de Bohun Eleanor de Bohun ( – 3 October 1399) was the elder daughter and co-heiress (with her sister, Mary de Bohun), of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) and Joan Fitzalan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel a ...

, elder daughter and co-heiress of

Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG (March 25, 1342–January 16, 1373) was the son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, and grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, ...

) * 1397–1399:

Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham (1381 – September 2, 1399) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. He was Lord High Constable of England. His father, Thomas of Woodstock, was the youngest son of King Edward III and 1st cousin ...

* 1399–1403:

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal (10 November 134120 February 1408) was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and a descendant of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary ...

* 1403–?:

John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG (20 June 138914 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of ...

(died 1435) * 1445–1450: John Beaumont, 1st Viscount Beaumont (died 1460) * ?–1455:

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain, KG (140622 May 1455), was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His rival ...

* 1455:

Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 6th Earl of Stafford, 7th Baron Stafford, (December 1402 – 10 July 1460) of Stafford Castle in Staffordshire, was an English nobleman and a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and t ...

* 1455–1456: Richard, Duke of York * 1456–1460:

* 1461–1467:

John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG (8 May 1427 – 18 October 1470), was an English nobleman and scholar who served as Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable of England and Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was known as "the Butcher of Englan ...

* 1467–1469:

Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers (1405 – 12 August 1469), also Wydeville, was the father of Elizabeth Woodville and father-in-law of Edward IV. Early life Born at Maidstone in Kent, Richard Woodville was the son of Richard Wydeville ( ...

* 1469–1470: Richard, Duke of Gloucester * 1470–1471:

John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford (8 September 1442 – 10 March 1513), the second son of John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, and Elizabeth Howard, a first cousin of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (2nd creation), was one of the principal ...

* 1471–1483: Richard, Duke of Gloucester * 1483:

Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales again ...

* 1483–1504: Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley * 1504–1521: Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

Lord High Constables of England, 1522–present

''At this point, the office merged with

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

and was revived only for

. It was held at coronations by the following individuals:''

References

* {{Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom Constitution of the United Kingdom Lord High Constable Constables

Lord High Constables of England, 1139–1521

Lord High Constables of England, 1522–present

See also

References