What Is a Lady?

What a Lady is

Like Lord, Lady is a style rather than a single rank. It is used for baronesses, viscountesses and countesses, and for the wives of peers and knights. It carries the same sense of standing and respect.

Where a Lady ranks

As a form of address it maps onto the same ranks as Lord, most closely the rank of Baroness. The full order of precedence shows how each degree relates.

A little history

Lady comes from the Old English hlaefdige, the loaf-kneader or mistress of the household, the direct mirror of hlaford. Where the lord provided, the lady ran the household that turned provision into a home.

Examples:Lady Diana Spencer · Lady Thatcher · Lady Astor

How to address a Lady

A Lady is written to as Lady [Surname] and addressed in person as My Lady or Lady [Surname], never with the first name. See how to address a Lord or Lady.

Lady and Lord

The male counterpart is Lord, the style most people know first. Read what is a Lord for its own story.

How to become a Lady

A hereditary title passes down a family line, and a life peerage is granted by the Crown for service. Neither is for sale. What you can do is legally change your title to Lady through a title pack, which gives you a personalised Certificate of Title on parchment and a sealed Master Title Deed. See how to become a Lord or Lady and are Lord titles real and legal?