Abortive Honours of Britain and Ireland
In the British honours system an Abortive or Ghost Honour is an informal term referring to when an individual is nominated for a peerage, title, or award, but either dies or withdraws their acceptance prior to its formal conferral (either by letters patent for peerages and baronetcies, or investiture for knighthoods, damehoods, and other decorations).[1][2][3] Most cases of abortive honours have resulted from the death of the nominee before the honour legally came into existence, something which is distinct from instances of abeyance, forfeiture, or voluntary renunciation.[4][5]
Many of these intended honours are recorded in archived Cabinet Office papers, royal correspondence, and ministerial documents,[6][7] and the Crown Office in Chancery maintains records of draft patents, warrants, and related paperwork for all proposed, approved, and fully drafted honours.[8][9] Some of the most recent cases have also featured in national newspapers, such as Sir David English.[10]
Instances have occurred where honours have been formally announced, even gazetted, but due to the sudden death of the nominee before the formal creation process, the honour was never officially bestowed. One of the most famous examples is that of Sir John Forrest, an Australian explorer and politician, who acted as the first Premier of Western Australia.[11] He was nominated to be raised the Peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron Forrest of Bunbury by the Australian Prime Minister William Morris Hughes, and the honour was publicly announced in the national newspapers, such as The Sydney Mail.[11][12] He would have been the very first Australian peer, but no letters patent were issued before his death at sea off the coast of Sierra Leone while on route to England, meaning that the peerage was never officially created.[13] All references to him as "Lord Forrest" are therefore erroneous (see Australian Peers and Baronets).
Abortive Honours of Britain and Ireland
| (H) | Hereditary honour, e.g. hereditary barony |
| (L) | Life honour, e.g. life peer |
| Name | Year | Honour | Title (if relevant) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir William Wiseman | 1672 | Unknown | Unknown | A royalist baronet nominated by King Charles II for a peerage. A royal warrant was signed but the patent was never sealed before his death. |
| Alexander Abercromby | 1791 | Unknown | Unknown | An advocate and judge, Lord Abercromby was notified of a peerage nomination, but died suddenly of pulmonary disease before the process was completed. |
| Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner of Uttoxeter | 1809 | Viscountcy | Viscount Gardner, of Uttoxeter | An admiral and politician who was to be elevated from Baron to Viscount, but died before it could be formally bestowed, even though patents had already been drafted. |
| Sir William Campbell | 1834 | Knighthood | n/a | The Chief Justice of Upper Canada was nominated for a knighthood of the Royal Guelphic Order, but died before the formal investiture. |
| Sir James Campbell | 1866 | Baronetcy | Unknown | A businessman and politician who was informed he was to receive a baronetcy from the government of Lord Derby, but letters patent were never issued before Lord Derby left office, and Campbell died having never formally received the honour. |
| Sir William Henry Gregory | 1892 | Unknown | Unknown | A Governor of British Ceylon and trustee of the National Gallery who was offered a peerage by Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, but died in 1892 before it was officially conferred. |
| Sir John Forrest | 1918 | Barony (H) | Baron Forrest, of Bunbury | The first Premier of Western Australia was nominated by Prime Minister Billy Hughes for a hereditary peerage, but died aboard a troopship before the letters patent could be issued. |
| Andrew Bonar Law | 1923 | Viscountcy | Unknown | A Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for whom a Viscountcy was intended according to ministerial correspondence, but died so abruptly due to terminal throat cancer, that the title was never actualised. |
| Sir Ian MacDonald Horobin | 1962 | Barony (L) | Unknown | A soldier, poet, and politician who was nominated for a life peerage, which was announced on 29 March 1962, but who withdrew his acceptance voluntarily before letters patent were issued, citing that the role would demand too much. |
| Alfred Robert Grindlay | 1965 | Barontecy | Grindlay Baronetcy, of Allesley | An industrialist and Mayor of Coventry during the Blitz who was nominated for a baronetcy by Coventry City Council, but died in 1965 before the honour was formally conferred. |
| Daniel Patrick O'Connell | 1979 | Barony (L) | Unknown | A barrister and academic who was nominated for a life peerage in the 1979, but died before the honour could be granted. |
| John Emerson Harding Harding-Davies | 1979 | Barony (L) | Baron Harding-Davies, of St. Mellons | A businessman and politician whose peerage was announced in the Queen's Birthday Honours list on 26th June 1979, but who died only 8 days later, before the patent of creation passed the Great Seal. |
| Dame Shelagh Marjorie Roberts | 1991 | Barony (L) | Unknown | The politician and Chairman of the London Tourist Board was included in the Queen's New Year's Honours list on 30th December 1991, but died before the process could be completed. |
| Sir David English | 1998 | Barony (L) | Unknown | A journalist and newspaper editor who was approved for a life peerage in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours list, but died on 10 June 1998, the day the intended honour was publicly announced. The peerage was never created. |
See also
References
- ↑ Wallace, Laura A. (15 December 1997). "Peerage Basics". Chinet. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ↑ "Essential Guide to the Peerage - Creation and Inheritance of the Peerage". www.debrett's.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ↑ Shaw, William Arthur (1906). The Knights of England. A complete record from the earliest time to the present day of the knights of all the orders of chivalry in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of knights bachelors, incorporating a complete list of knights bachelors dubbed in Ireland. London Sherratt and Hughes.
- ↑ "Peerages: Can they be removed?". House of Lords Library. 13 November 2025.
- ↑ "How To Lose A Noble Title". www.debrett's.com.
- ↑ "The Royal Archives Online". The Royal Collection Trust.
- ↑ "Peerage Creations, 1958–2008" (PDF). House of Lords Library Note (LLN 2008/019). 24 July 2008.
There have been three cases since 1958 where persons included in honours lists were not subsequently created peers. John Emerson Harding Davies, whose peerage was announced in the Queen's Birthday List on 26th June 1979, died on 4th July 1979 before his letters patent were issued. Dame Shelagh Roberts, who was included in the New Year's Honours List on 31st December 1991, also died before any title was gazetted. In addition, Sir Ian MacDonald Horobin, whose peerage was announced in the multiple list on 29th March 1962, subsequently withdrew his acceptance. [...] On 10th June 1998 it was announced that Sir David English, who had died that day, was to have been included in the Queen's Birthday Honours List on 13th June 1998. The honours list itself did not mention this fact.
- ↑ "Chancery and Lord Chancellor's Office: Crown Office: Draft Letters Patent". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
- ↑ "Chancery: Crown Office: Miscellanea". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
The clerk of the Crown made out patents of honour on the creation of a peer. No doubt the explanation for the retention amongst the office miscellanea of the 1815 king's bill for the creation of Baron Gardner of Uttoxeter as Viscount Gardner was the death of the proposed recipient before the patent could be completed.
- ↑ "Newspaper chief English dies". BBC News. 10 June 1998. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- 1 2 Crowley, Frank (2000). Big John Forrest 1847–1918: A Founding Father of the Commonwealth of Australia. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 1-876268-44-1.
- ↑ "Sir John Forrest Raised To The Peerage". The Sydney Mail. 13 February 1918. p. 6.
His Majesty the King has been pleased to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom on the Right Honourable Sir John Forrest in recognition of his long and distinguished service to the Empire.
- ↑ Crowley, Frank (2000). Big John Forrest 1847–1918: A Founding Father of the Commonwealth of Australia. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 1-876268-44-1.
The barony had been conferred, but letters patent had not been issued [...] technically, therefore Forrest was not a baron and his wife not a baroness.