Lord Keeper of the Great Seal

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The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , later also of Great Britain , was a civil servant of the English crown who was responsible for keeping the Great Seal of England . This made him one of the Great Officers of State .

The seal that had been introduced by Eduard the Confessor was first entrusted to a chancellor for preservation. Since the time of Thomas Becket , the importance of the Chancellery has changed significantly. The incumbent, a member of the clergy, was not only involved in the affairs of his diocese , he was sometimes out of England. Therefore the large seal was sometimes placed in the personal custody of a vice-chancellor or keeper . This practice was also followed during a vacancy at the Chancellery.

Over time this office became permanent and the Lord Keeper was given the right to perform all duties related to the Great Seal. He was usually, but not necessarily, a peer and held office as long as the king pleased. He was appointed by delivery of the seal and not by letters patent . His status was finally determined (in the case of Lord Keeper Sir Nicholas Bacon ) by a law of Elizabeth I , which gave him the following rights:

"Like place, pre-eminence, jurisdiction, execution of laws, and all other customs, commodities, and advantages as the Lord Chancellor"

In later reigns, the Lord Keeper was generally promoted to Lord Chancellor and kept control of the seal. The last Lord Keeper was Sir Robert Henley (later Earl of Northington ), who after the accession of George III. was appointed chancellor.

See also

literature

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ in German for example: the same place, precedence, the same jurisdiction, the same right to execute laws and all other duties, conveniences and advantages as the Lord Chancellor