Forms of address used in the United Kingdom are given below. For further information on Courtesy Titles see Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom.

Abbreviations [ edit ]

Several terms have been abbreviated in the table below. The forms used in the table are given first, followed by alternative acceptable abbreviations in parentheses.

Royalty [ edit ]

A formal announcement in The London Gazette reads:

"The Queen has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 31 December 2012 to declare that all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour."

This refers to any children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Nobility [ edit ]

Peers, peeresses and non-peerage [ edit ]

Eldest sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of dukes, marquesses and earls [ edit ]

Eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls use their father's most senior subsidiary title as courtesy titles: note the absence of "The" before the title.[Note 8] If applicable, eldest sons of courtesy marquesses or courtesy earls also use a subsidiary title from their (great) grandfather, which is lower ranking than the one used by their father. Eldest daughters do not have courtesy titles; all courtesy peeresses are wives of courtesy peers.[Note 9]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Courtesy marquess Marquess of London My Lord or

Dear Lord London My Lord or

Lord London Courtesy marquess's wife Marchioness of London Madam or

Dear Lady London My Lady or

Lady London Courtesy earl Earl of London My Lord or

Dear Lord London My Lord or

Lord London Courtesy earl's wife Countess of London Madam or

Dear Lady London My Lady or

Lady London Courtesy viscount Viscount London My Lord or

Dear Lord London My Lord or

Lord London Courtesy viscount's wife Viscountess London Madam or

Dear Lady London My Lady or

Lady London Courtesy baron

Courtesy Lord of Parliament Lord London My Lord or

Dear Lord London My Lord or

Lord London Courtesy baron's wife

Wife of courtesy Lord of Parliament Lady London Madam or

Dear Lady London My Lady or

Lady London

Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive of Scottish peers [ edit ]

(Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive of Scottish peers use the titles "Master" and "Mistress"; these are substantive, not courtesy titles. If, however, the individual is the eldest son of a Duke, Marquess or Earl, then he uses the appropriate courtesy title, as noted above.)

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Scottish peer's heir-apparent

or heir-presumptive The Master of Edinburgh Sir or

Dear Master of Edinburgh Sir or

Master Scottish peer's heiress-apparent

or heiress-presumptive The Mistress of Edinburgh Madam or

Dear Mistress of Edinburgh Madam or

Mistress

Sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of peers [ edit ]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Duke's younger son

(Courtesy) Marquess's younger son The Lord John Smith My Lord or

Dear Lord John (Smith) My Lord or

Lord John Duke's younger son's wife

(Courtesy) Marquess's younger son's wife The Lady John Smith Madam or

Dear Lady John My Lady or

Lady John (Courtesy) Earl's younger son

(Courtesy) Viscount's son

(Courtesy) Baron's son

(Courtesy) Lord of Parliament's son The Hon John Smith Sir or

Dear Mr Smith Sir or

Mr Smith (Courtesy) Earl's younger son's wife

(Courtesy) Viscount's son's wife

(Courtesy) Baron's son's wife

(Courtesy) Lord of Parliament's son's wife The Hon Mrs John Smith Madam or

Dear Mrs Smith Madam or

Mrs Smith

Daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters of peers [ edit ]

(If a daughter of a peer or courtesy peer marries another peer or courtesy peer, she takes her husband's rank. If she marries anyone else, she keeps her rank and title, using her husband's surname instead of her maiden name.)

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Duke's daughter

(Courtesy) Marquess's daughter

(Courtesy) Earl's daughter

(unmarried or married to a commoner) The Lady Mary Smith (if unmarried),

The Lady Mary Brown (husband's surname, if married) Madam or

Dear Lady Mary My Lady or

Lady Mary (Courtesy) Viscount's daughter

(Courtesy) Baron's daughter

(Courtesy) Lord of parliament's daughter

(unmarried) The Hon Mary Smith Madam or

Dear Miss Smith Madam or

Miss Smith (Courtesy) Viscount's daughter

(Courtesy) Baron's daughter

(Courtesy) Lord of Parliament's daughter

(married to a commoner) The Hon Mrs Brown (husband's surname) Madam or

Dear Mrs Brown Madam or

Mrs Brown

[10] Gentry and minor nobility [ edit ]

Baronets [ edit ]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Baronet Sir John Smith, Bt (or Bart)[Note 5] Sir or

Dear Sir John (Smith) Sir or

Sir John Baronetess in her own right Dame Mary Smith, Btss Madam or

Dear Dame Mary (Smith) Madam or

Dame Mary Baronet's wife Lady Smith Madam or

Dear Lady Smith My Lady or

Lady Smith Baronet's divorced wife Mary, Lady Smith Baronet's widow Mary, Lady Smith

Dowager Lady Smith, or

Lady Smith if the heir incumbent is unmarried

Knights [ edit ]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Knight (of any order) Sir John Smith[Note 5] Sir or

Dear Sir John (Smith) Sir or

Sir John Lady (of the Order of the Garter or the Thistle) Lady Mary Smith Madam or

Dear Lady Mary (Smith) My Lady or

Lady Mary Dame (of an order other than the Garter or the Thistle) Dame Mary Smith Madam or

Dear Dame Mary (Smith) Madam or

Dame Mary Knight's wife Lady Smith Madam or

Dear Lady Smith My Lady or

Lady Smith

Scottish barons (non-peerage nobility) [ edit ]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Feudal baron The Much Hon John Smith of Edinburgh

or The Much Hon John Smith,

Baron of Edinburgh or

The Much Hon The Baron of Edinburgh[8] Sir or

Dear Edinburgh or

Dear Baron Edinburgh or

Baron Female feudal baroness or

Feudal baron's wife As feudal baron,

substituting "Madam"

for first name and

substituting "Baroness" for "Baron", or

Lady Edinburgh[9] Madam or

Dear Baroness or Dear Lady Edinburgh Madam or

Baroness or

Lady Edinburgh

Chiefs, chieftains and lairds [ edit ]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Chief, chieftain or laird

(Only lairds recognised in a

territorial designation by

the Lord Lyon) John Smith of Smith or

John Smith of Edinburgh

or

John Smith of that Ilk or

The Smith of Smith or

The Smith of Edinburgh or

The Smith[Note 10]

(only the 2nd form of

address above applies

to lairds) Sir or

Dear Edinburgh (if placename in title) or

Dear Smith (otherwise) Edinburgh (if placename in title) or

Smith (otherwise) Female Chief, chieftain or laird or

Chief, chieftain or laird's wife Chief, chieftain or laird's wife, substituting

"Madam" or "Mrs" for first

name or "The"

or Lady Edinburgh[11][12][13] Madam or

as on envelope Madam or

as on envelope Chief (etc.)'s heir-apparent John Smith of Edinburgh, yr or

John Smith, yr of Edinburgh or

John Smith of Edinburgh

(last only if different first name to father) Sir or

Dear Younger of Edinburgh or

Dear Mr Smith of Edinburgh Sir or

Young Edinburgh or

The Younger of Edinburgh Chief (etc.)'s heir-apparent's wife Mrs Smith of Edinburgh, yr or

Mrs Smith, yr of Edinburgh Madam or

Dear Mrs Smith of Edinburgh the Younger Madam or

Mrs Smith of Edinburgh Chief (etc.)'s eldest daughter (if none senior) Miss Smith of Edinburgh or

Jane Smith, Maid of Edinburgh Madam or

Dear Miss Smith of Edinburgh or

Dear Maid of Edinburgh Madam or

Miss Smith of Edinburgh or

Maid of Edinburgh Chief (etc.)'s younger daughter Miss Mary Smith of Edinburgh Madam or

Dear Miss Smith of Edinburgh Madam or

Miss Smith of Edinburgh

Clergy [ edit ]

Church of England [ edit ]

Similar styles are also applied to clergy of equivalent status in other religious organisations. The words clergy and cleric/clerk are derived from the proper term for bishops, priests and deacons still used in legal documents: Clerk in Holy Orders (e.g. "Vivienne Frances Faull, Clerk in Holy Orders").

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Archbishop The Most Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury/York Dear Archbishop Your Grace or

Archbishop Archbishop that is not in Privy Council The Most Revd The Lord Archbishop of Wales Dear Archbishop Your Grace or

Archbishop Diocesan bishop in Privy Council The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Bishop of London Dear Bishop My Lord or

Bishop Bishop, diocesan or suffragan The Rt Revd The Lord Bishop of Durham Dear Bishop My Lord or

Bishop Dean The Very Revd The Dean of York Dear Mr/Madam Dean Dean or

Mr/Madam Dean Archdeacon The Ven The Archdeacon of London Dear Archdeacon Archdeacon Prebendary The Revd Prebendary Smith Dear Prebendary Smith Prebend Canon The Revd Canon John Smith Dear Canon Canon Priest The Revd John Smith Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith or

Vicar/Rector/Prebendary/Curate/Chaplain etc. as applicable Deacon The Revd Deacon John Smith or

The Revd John Smith

Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith or

Dear Deacon Smith Deacon Smith or Mr/Mrs/Ms Smith

The usage 'Lord' as applied to a bishop pre-dates the United Kingdom, and is a well-established convention. It is more usual to abbreviate Reverend (if at all) to Rev'd rather than Rev. Where a personal name is not used for a priest or deacon, the manner of address is Rev Mr etc., i.e. the Rev is used with the usual title. Without this title, the use of Rev with a surname should not be used in the United Kingdom for any ordained person, whether Anglican or not - it is a solecism. Catholic (and Anglo-Catholic) clergy favour Fr (Father) {or Mthr (Mother)}. For further details see Crockford's Guide to addressing the Clergy.

Clergy: 'introduce as Mr Pike or Father Pike according to his preference' (Debrett's Etiquette and Modern Manners 1981 pg230)

Church of Scotland [ edit ]

It should be noted that the Church of Scotland as a Presbyterian Church recognizes state-awarded titles only as courtesy. In court (Assembly, Presbytery and Session) one may only be addressed as Mr, Mrs, Miss, Dr, Prof, etc. depending on academic achievement. Thus ministers are correctly addressed as, for example Mr Smith or Mrs Smith unless they have a higher degree or academic appointment e.g. Dr Smith or Prof. Smith. It is 'infra dig' to use the title 'Rev' and even the use of 'the Rev Mr' requires sensitivity to official style.

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly His Grace The Lord High Commissioner Your Grace Your Grace or Sir/Ma'am Clergy The Rev John Smith Dear Mr Smith Mr Smith/Dr Smith etc. Current Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Right Rev John Smith Dear Mr Smith Mr Smith/Dr Smith etc. Former Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Very Rev John Smith Dear Mr Smith Mr Smith/Dr Smith etc.

Judiciary [ edit ]

United Kingdom [ edit ]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address In court Male Justice of the Supreme Court The Lord Smith, PC Lord Smith Lord Smith My Lord[14] Female Justice of the Supreme Court The Lady Smith, PC Lady Smith Lady Smith My Lady[14]

England and Wales [ edit ]

Scotland [ edit ]

A judge's first name only forms part of their judicial style if, at the time of their appointment, there is a senior judge with the same or a similar surname. Thus, if there is a "Mr Justice Smith", subsequent judges will be "Mr Justice John Smith", "Mrs Justice Mary Smith", etc.

A member of the Bar (but not a solicitor) addresses a circuit judge or higher, out of court, as "Judge".

Academics [ edit ]

The forms of address used for academics can, in most cases, be either formal or social.[18][19]

Position On envelopes Salutation in letter Oral address In conversation Chancellor (formal) The Chancellor of [university name] Dear Chancellor Chancellor (if on a platform) or by name and title The Chancellor or by name Chancellor (social) [Name],[Note 13] Chancellor of [university name] By name By name or Chancellor The Chancellor or by name Vice-Chancellor (formal) The Vice-Chancellor of [university name][Note 14] Dear Sir/Madam/Vice-Chancellor Vice-Chancellor (if on a platform) or by name The Vice-Chancellor or by name Vice-Chancellor (social) [Name],[Note 13] Vice-Chancellor of [university name] By name or Dear Vice-Chancellor Vice-Chancellor (if on a platform) or by name The Vice-Chancellor or by name Professor (formal) Professor Jane Smith[Note 15] Dear Sir/Madam Professor Smith Professor Smith Professor (social) Professor Jane Smith Dear Professor Smith Professor Smith Professor Smith Doctor (formal)[Note 16] Dr Jane Smith or The Revd John Smith DD or Susan Brown MD or Tom Brown PhD, etc.[Note 17] Dear Sir/Madam Dr Smith Dr Smith Doctor (social)[Note 16] Dr Jane Smith Dear Dr Smith Dr Smith Dr Smith

See also [ edit ]

Notes [ edit ]

^ "London" represents any peerage title. ^ The forms given under "Salutation in Letter" are for use in social correspondence only. In formal letters, "Sir" or "Madam" would be used instead. ^ [3] and [4] The definite article "the" in the middle of two or more titles is sometimes capitalized, as in these tables. However this is controversial: traditional British guides use the lower-case "the". As a single example, Debrett's gives "Major-General the Lord……",and Pears' Cyclopaedia in the section on Modes of Address gives several examples where the definite article interior to a list of honours is lower case. a b c d "of" may be omitted in the form of Marquessates and Earldoms and included in the form of Scottish Viscountcies. It is never present in peerage Baronies and Lordships of Parliament and always present in Dukedoms and Scottish feudal Baronies. a b c d e f g h i Some styles that could represent more than one class of person are clarified by the use of post-nominal letters. For instance: Knights and Baronets are distinguished by the use of "Bt" (or, archaically, "Bart") after the latter's names (and by the use of the appropriate post-nominal letters if the former are members of an Order of Chivalry). Knights bachelor have no post-nominal letters. Substantive peers below the rank of Marquess and courtesy peers who are Privy Counsellors (both of whose titles are preceded by "The Rt Hon") are distinguished by the use of "PC" after the former's names. ^ "Smith" represents any surname. ^ "Edinburgh" represents any Scottish place name. ^ Some sources do not recommend the use of the definite article before certain courtesy titles (particularly those who have prospects of promotion within the family's titles), but it is used by official Court publications such as the Court Circular ^ If the definite article is not used before courtesy peerages and The Hon Elizabeth Smith marries Sir William Brown, she becomes The Hon Lady Brown, but if she marries the higher-ranked Lord Brown, a courtesy Baron, she becomes only Lady Brown. If this Sir William Brown's father is created Earl of London and Baron Brown, as a result of this ennoblement his wife's style will actually change, from "The Hon Lady Brown" to "Lady Brown". It is important to note that while the style may appear diminished, the precedence taken increases from that of a wife of a knight to that of a wife of an earl's eldest son. ^ The exact form of a Scottish chief's style varies from family to family, and is generally based on tradition rather than formal rules. ^ Some circuit judges – for example, the Recorder of Liverpool or circuit judges sitting in the Central Criminal Court – are addressed in court as "My Lord" or "My Lady". a b "Master" is used as the form of address whether the High Court Master is male or female. a b This is the full name and title as it would be according to the rules elsewhere on this page, e.g. The Viscount London, Sir John Smith, KBE, Professor Jane Doe, Dr Tom Brown. ^ Check official title for the university concerned: The Reverend the Vice-Chancellor (Oxford) The Right Worshipful the Vice-Chancellor (Cambridge), The Vice-Chancellor and Warden (Durham), The President and Provost (UCL), etc. ^ If a professor holds an ecclesiastical rank this, strictly speaking, supersedes the academic rank. However, the academic style may still be used within academia and the two can be combined, e.g. as The Reverend Professor Jane Smith. If a professor holds a peerage or a knighthood, this title can be combined, e.g. Professor Lord Smith, Professor Sir John Smith, Professor Dame Jane Smith. a b The forms off address for a doctor applies to "the recipient of a doctorate conferred by a university or other body, such as the Council for National Academic Awards", not just those working in academia. The exception is surgeons, who are never addressed as Doctor even if they hold a doctorate. ^ Doctorates in divinity and medicine are always given as letters after the name, and this form may optionally be used for doctorates in other faculties. If "Dr" is used before the name, degrees are not given after it.