The Official Roll of the Baronetage is an official list of baronets kept by the Lord Chancellor; an abridged version is published online by the Standing Council of the Baronetage.[1]
Any person who wishes to officially claim succession to a baronetcy must produce the necessary proof of succession; there are many heirs to baronetcies who have not done so.[2] Owing to the requirement to produce legal evidence in support of a claim, if a claim is not pursued immediately on the death of a baronet, it becomes progressively more difficult for each succeeding holder of the title to successfully claim the baronetcy. According to the Ministry of Justice, it is not necessary to prove succession to a baronetcy in order to use the title.[3] However, baronets whose names are not on the Official Roll of Baronetage will not:
- be entitled to any precedence attaching to their baronetcy; or
- be entitled to be addressed or referred to by any title attaching to that baronetcy in any civil or military commission, letters patent or other official document.
As of January 2020, there are 1,245 baronetcies on the official roll (including about 200 with no incumbent because succession is dormant or unproven); of these 142 are of England, 60 of Ireland, 116 of Scotland, 125 of Great Britain and 802 of the United Kingdom.[4] Of the current baronets, 254 are also peers.[4] The oldest baronetage by date of creation (the Premier Baronet) is Sir Nicholas Bacon, 14th Baronet of Redgrave whose title was created in 1611 in the Baronetage of England.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Official Roll of the Baronetage". Standing Council of the Baronetage.
- ^ "Baronetcies to which no Succession has been proved". Standing Council of the Baronetage. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Guidance Notes on Succession to a Baronetcy other than of Nova Scotia" (PDF). baronetage.org. Ministry of Justice (UK). January 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ a b c "History". Standing Council of the Baronetage. Retrieved 6 February 2021.