Letter - Letters to the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain Regarding Access to the Parliamentary Estate [2025-03-03]
Dublin Core
Title
Letter - Letters to the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain Regarding Access to the Parliamentary Estate [2025-03-03]
Subject
Royal Household
Parliament
Description
Letters from Baroness Smith of Basildon to the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain promising that they will continue to have access to the Parliamentary Estate after the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill becomes law.
Creator
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords)
Source
Date
2025-03-03
Contributor
Jason Loch
Letter Item Type Metadata
Transcript
CABINET OFFICE
The Duke of Norfolk
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
Dear Eddie
Following our previous conversations, I wanted to write to you to provide an update on the issue of access rights for you as the holder of the office of the Earl Marshal once the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act has been passed and has come into force. I am writing to the holder of the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain on a similar basis.
As you are aware, the Bill delivers the Government's manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, a measure that includes hereditary peers holding the offices of Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal. The Government continues to recognise the important role you play and that the office you hold maintains the historic link between the Monarch and the House of Lords. The ability to undertake this role is not dependent on having membership of the House and I want to reiterate that the Bill will not affect the office itself or the ability of those holding them to fulfil its important functions.
As we have discussed, your access rights to the House of Lords to undertake your role is very important. I am pleased to confirm, following a private meeting of the House of Lords Commission on 18 December 2024, that it has been agreed in principle that yourselves, as holders of the offices of the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal, and future holders of those offices, will retain access rights to the parliamentary estate after the Act comes into force.
I hope that this news is reassuring and allows you both to continue your important work without interruption. I am copying this letter to the Lord Speaker and will deposit this letter in the House Library.
The Duke of Norfolk
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
3 March 2025
Dear Eddie
Access rights for the Earl Marshal
Following our previous conversations, I wanted to write to you to provide an update on the issue of access rights for you as the holder of the office of the Earl Marshal once the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act has been passed and has come into force. I am writing to the holder of the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain on a similar basis.
As you are aware, the Bill delivers the Government's manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, a measure that includes hereditary peers holding the offices of Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal. The Government continues to recognise the important role you play and that the office you hold maintains the historic link between the Monarch and the House of Lords. The ability to undertake this role is not dependent on having membership of the House and I want to reiterate that the Bill will not affect the office itself or the ability of those holding them to fulfil its important functions.
As we have discussed, your access rights to the House of Lords to undertake your role is very important. I am pleased to confirm, following a private meeting of the House of Lords Commission on 18 December 2024, that it has been agreed in principle that yourselves, as holders of the offices of the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal, and future holders of those offices, will retain access rights to the parliamentary estate after the Act comes into force.
I hope that this news is reassuring and allows you both to continue your important work without interruption. I am copying this letter to the Lord Speaker and will deposit this letter in the House Library.
Yours ever,
(Sgd.) Angela
The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Basildon
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
(Sgd.) Angela
The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Basildon
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
CABINET OFFICE
The Lord Carrington
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
Dear Rupert
Following our previous conversations, I wanted to write to you to provide an update on the issue of access rights for you as the holder of the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain once the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act has been passed and has come into force. I am writing to the holder of the office of the Earl Marshal on a similar basis.
As you are aware, the Bill delivers the Government's manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, a measure that includes hereditary peers holding the offices of Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal. The Government continues to recognise the important role you play and that the office you hold maintains the historic link between the Monarch and the House of Lords. The ability to undertake this role is not dependent on having membership of the House and I want to reiterate that the Bill will not affect the office itself or the ability of those holding them to fulfil its important functions.
As we have discussed, your access rights to the House of Lords to undertake your role is very important. I am pleased to confirm, following a private meeting of the House of Lords Commission on 18 December 2024, that it has been agreed in principle that yourselves, as holders of the offices of the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal, and future holders of those offices, will retain access rights to the parliamentary estate after the Act comes into force.
I hope that this news is reassuring and allows you both to continue your important work without interruption. I am copying this letter to the Lord Speaker and will deposit this letter in the House Library.
The Lord Carrington
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
3 March 2025
Dear Rupert
Access rights for the Lord Great Chamberlain
Following our previous conversations, I wanted to write to you to provide an update on the issue of access rights for you as the holder of the office of the Lord Great Chamberlain once the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act has been passed and has come into force. I am writing to the holder of the office of the Earl Marshal on a similar basis.
As you are aware, the Bill delivers the Government's manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, a measure that includes hereditary peers holding the offices of Lord Great Chamberlain and Earl Marshal. The Government continues to recognise the important role you play and that the office you hold maintains the historic link between the Monarch and the House of Lords. The ability to undertake this role is not dependent on having membership of the House and I want to reiterate that the Bill will not affect the office itself or the ability of those holding them to fulfil its important functions.
As we have discussed, your access rights to the House of Lords to undertake your role is very important. I am pleased to confirm, following a private meeting of the House of Lords Commission on 18 December 2024, that it has been agreed in principle that yourselves, as holders of the offices of the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal, and future holders of those offices, will retain access rights to the parliamentary estate after the Act comes into force.
I hope that this news is reassuring and allows you both to continue your important work without interruption. I am copying this letter to the Lord Speaker and will deposit this letter in the House Library.
Yours ever,
(Sgd.) Angela
The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Basildon
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
(Sgd.) Angela
The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Basildon
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
Signatures
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords)
Recipient(s)
The Duke of Norfolk (Earl Marshal)
Lord Carrington (Lord Great Chamberlain)
Lord Carrington (Lord Great Chamberlain)
Ornamentation
Printed in a sans-serif font, perhaps Arial.
Lesser Royal Arms and "Cabinet Office" in the upper left.
Day, salutation, and valediction are handwritten.
Lesser Royal Arms and "Cabinet Office" in the upper left.
Day, salutation, and valediction are handwritten.
Files
Citation
Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords), “Letter - Letters to the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain Regarding Access to the Parliamentary Estate [2025-03-03],” Corpus of British Administrative Instruments, accessed October 20, 2026, https://cbaionline.org/corpus/items/show/278.