Chart of Peerage Titles

Title	Notes	Addressed as	Wife	Divorced	Widow	Oldest son	Younger sons	Daughters
Duke	Until the 16th century (and again recently), dukedoms were always given to close blood relatives of the King or Queen. If you were a Duke in those days, it was unlikely you would live long enough to die a natural death—most Dukes ended up with their heads chopped off.	A Duke is addressed as Your Grace or His Grace, and less formally as Duke. He is never called “Lord” as that would be insulting, implying a lower title. Off with your head.	Duchess. A Duchess of a live Duke is addressed as “Your Grace” or “Her Grace The Duchess of Coldwater.	A divorced Duchess is called The Late Jane Duchess of Coldwater.”	The widow of a Duke, Earl, Marquess, Viscount, Baron, or Baronet is called a Dowager. If you do not have a daughter-in-law who married the son who inherited the title of your late husband, your title does not change. If you do have a daughter-in-law who now has your title (such as Duchess of Coldwater), you are called “The Dowager Duchess of Coldwater.” More formally you would be called “The Right Honorable The Dowager Duchess of ColdWater.”	The oldest son of a Duke, Marquess, or Earl often gets a courtesy title until his father dies. You see, a Duke usually has several titles, and he can “loan” the less substantive ones to his oldest son and to that son’s son. These courtesy titles do not use the article “The”; that is, the son’s title might be “Marquess of SoHo,” but not “The Marquess of SoHo.” sheesh.	The Lord John LastName	The Lady Jane LastName
Marquess (mar’ kwess)	Second-highest rank of dignity. (The Scots prefer the spelling marquis.)	He is addressed as “The Marquess of Coldwater” or “The Most Honorable The Marquess of Coldwater” (notice the extra “the”).	Marchioness (pronounced marsh’ uh ness). She is addressed as “The Marchioness of Coldwater” or “The Most Honorable The Marchioness of Coldwater.”	A divorced Marchioness is called “The Late Jane Marchioness of Coldwater.”			The Lord John LastName	The Lady Jane LastName
Earl	Third-highest rank of dignity in the peerage.	He is addressed “The Earl of Coldwater” or “The Right Honorable The Earl of Coldwater.” If you are good friends, you can call the guy “Lord Coldwater” rather than “The Earl of Coldwater.”	Countess. She is addressed “The Countess of Coldwater” or “The Right Honorable The Countess of Coldwater.”	A divorced Countess is called “The Late Jane Countess of Coldwater.”			The Lord John LastName	The Lady Jane LastName
Viscount (vie’ count)	Second-lowest rank of peerage. Viscounts do not have an “of” in their title.		Viscountess. She is addressed as “Lady Coldwater,” or “The Lady Coldwater.”	“Jane Lady Coldwater.” How do they keep all this straight.
Baron	The lowest rank of dignity in the peerage, but above a baronet or knight. And way above an esquire.	NEVER refer to a Baron as “Baron Coldwater.” That is a dreadful faux pas—you must refer to him as “Lord Coldwater,” unless he is a foreigner.	Baroness. She is addressed as “Lady Coldwater.”	A divorced baroness is called “Jane Lady Coldwater.”
Baronet	If you aren’t quite worthy of a title in the peerage (meaning you have to work for a living), you might get a baronetcy. For instance, if you are an engineer or a doctor, you can get a baronetcy (lawyers, if honored at all, can actually get titles in the peerage). The big thing about being a Baronet is you get a neck badge.	A Baronet is addressed in person as “Sir John”; on an envelope as “Sir John Coldwater, Bart.”	She is addressed as “Lady Coldwater.”	Baronetess (good heavens, what a silly word): This is NOT the wife of a baronet, but a woman who holds the baronetcy herself. She is addressed in person as "Dame Jane"; on an envelope as "Dame Jane Coldwater, Btess." Her husband and children have no special forms of address.
Knight	This title is conferred for a man’s lifetime only—it is not hereditary and his kids get no special perks from it. For many hundreds of years it was not a particularly great honor to become a knight—it meant you had to go fight for the guy who made you one (feudal superiors could make men knights).	A knight is addressed as “Sir John Coldwater,” or more familiarly as “Sir John.” “Sir Coldwater” is WRONG — off to the Tower with you. If a foreigner is given an honorary knighthood, he is not allowed to be called Sir at all.	The wife of a knight is “Lady Coldwater,” NOT “Lady Jane Coldwater” unless she is the daughter of a duke, earl, or marquess. oh, if her husband the knight is a foreigner, then she’s only Mrs.