Lord Privy Seal: Difference between revisions

| post = {{small|[[United Kingdom]]}}<br />Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal

| insignia = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (2022).svg

| image = OfficialThe portraitBaroness Smith of LordBasildon 2024 True(cropped).jpg

| imagecaption = Official cabinet portrait, 2024

| incumbent = [[NicholasAngela TrueSmith, BaronBaroness TrueSmith of Basildon|The LordBaroness Smith of TrueBasildon]]

| incumbentsince = 65 SeptemberJuly 20222024

The '''Lord Privy Seal''' (or, more formally, the '''Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal''') is the fifth of the [[Great Officers of State (United Kingdom)|Great Officers of State]] in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the [[Lord President of the Council]] and above the [[Lord Great Chamberlain]]. Originally, its holder was responsible for the monarch's [[privyPrivy sealSeal of England|personal (privy) seal]] (as opposed to the [[Great Seal of the Realm]], which is in the care of the [[Lordlord Chancellorchancellor]]) until the use of such a seal became obsolete. Though one of the oldest offices in European governments, it has no particular function today because the use of a privy seal has been obsolete for centuries; it may be regarded as a traditional [[sinecure]], but today, the holder of the office is invariably given a seat in the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom]], and is sometimes referred to as a [[Minister without portfolio (United Kingdom)|Ministerminister without Portfolioportfolio]].

Since the premiership of [[Clement Attlee]], the position of Lord Privy Seal has frequently been combined with that of [[Leaderleader of the House of Lords]] or [[Leaderleader of the House of Commons]]. The office of Lord Privy Seal, unlike those of Leaderleader of the Lords or Commons, is eligible for a ministerial salary under the [[Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/27|title=Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975|website=www.legislation.gov.uk|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> The office does not confer membership of the [[House of Lords]], leading to [[Ernest Bevin]]'s remark on holding this office that he was "neither a [[Peerage of the United Kingdom|Lord]], nor a [[Outhouse|Privy]], nor a [[Pinniped|Seal]]".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beckett|first1=Francis|author-link = Francis Beckett |title=Clem Attlee: A Biography|date=1997|publisher=Richard Cohen|location=London|isbn=9781860661013|page=285}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/clemattlee0000beck/page/284/mode/2up | isbn=9781902301709 | title=Clem Attlee: A Biography | year=2000 |publisher=Politico's Publishing|location=London| page=285 at archive.org| last1=Beckett | first1=Francis }}</ref>

During the reign of [[Edward I]], prior to 1307, the Privyprivy Sealseal was kept by the [[Wardrobe (government)|Controllercontroller of the Wardrobewardrobe]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/3823.pdf| title = The English Royal Chancery|first = Jane|last= Sayers|access-date = 3 January 2012}}</ref> The Lord Privy Seal was the president of the [[Court of Requests]] during its existence.

| [[Adam de Lymbergh]]

| '''[[John Fordham (bishop)|John Fordham]]'''

! rowspan=8 scope=row style="text-align:center" | [[Henry VIII of England|'''Henry VIII''']]<br/>[[File:Coat of Arms of England Coat_of_Arms_of_England_(1509-1554)_-_Dragon_with_pizzle.svgpng|60px]]<br/>{{Small|{{R.|1509|1547}}}}

! scope=row style="text-align:center" | [[Edward VI of England|'''Edward VI''']]<br/>[[File:Coat of Arms of England Coat_of_Arms_of_England_(1509-1554)_-_Dragon_with_pizzle.svgpng|60px]]<br/>{{Small|{{R.|1547|1553}}}}

| [[John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle|John Holles<br/>1st '''Duke of Newcastle- upon- Tyne''']]

| [[File:1stMarquessOfWhartonThomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton.jpgpng|75px]]

| [[File:Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, by Charles Jervas.jpg|75px]]

| rowspan=26 style="background:#EAECF0" | '''[[George III of Great Britain|George III]]'''<br/>[[File:Coat of Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg|60px]]<br/>{{Small|(1760–[[Regency era|1820]])}}<br/><ref group=nb>The [[George IV of the United Kingdom|Prince of Wales]] served as [[prince regent|Prince Regent]] from 5 February 1811.</ref>

| [[File:Georgespencer1739George Spencer-3Churchill (1739–1817), 4th Duke of Marlborough.jpg|75px]]

| [[File:WilliamLord Legge, 2nd Earl of DartmouthDartmout.jpg|75px]]

| [[J. R. Clynes|'''[[J. R. Clynes]]''']]<br/>MP for [[Manchester Platting (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester Platting]]

| rowspan=3 {{Party shading/Coalition (UK)}} | [[National Government {{R.|1931|1935}}(1931–1935)|National II]]<br/>{{Small|(''[[National Labour Organisation|N.Lab.]]–[[Conservative Party (UK)|Con.]]–[[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|Lib.N.]]–[[Liberal Party (UK)|Lib.]])''}}

| rowspan=4 {{Party shading/Coalition (UK)}} | [[National Government {{R.|1935|1937}}(1935–1937)|National III]]<br/>{{Small|(''[[Conservative Party (UK)|Con.]]–[[National Labour Organisation|N.Lab.]]–[[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|Lib.N.]]''}})

| rowspan=2 {{Party shading/Coalition (UK)}} | [[National Government {{R.|1937|1939}}(1937–1939)|National IV]]<br/>{{Small|(''[[Conservative Party (UK)|Con.]]–[[National Labour Organisation|N.Lab.]]–[[National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)|Lib.N.]]''}})

| '''[[ArthurClement GreenwoodAttlee]]'''<br/>MP for [[Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)|Limehouse]]

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| [[File:NoOfficial imageportrait of Lord Wakeham crop 2.svgjpg|75px]]

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| [[George Young, Baron Young of Cookham|'''George Young'''<br/>Baron Young of Cookham]]<br/>MP for [[North West Hampshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Hampshire]]

| rowspan=3 | Incumbent{{Small|5 July}}<br/>2024

| rowspan=23 style="background:#EAECF0" | '''[[Charles III]]'''<br/>[[File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (2022).svg|60px]]<br/>{{Small|(2022–present)}}