tlb wrote:penny wrote:Thanks for that. To be honest, I always thought Pavel actually was a Lord because of his incessant bragging and because everyone seemed to show him deference. But I could have been wrong as I can hardly claim to be anywhere near an expert on English government. I can hardly pass for being average. And when it is explained to me it oftentimes confuses me more. I can understand the most convoluted legal documents easier than the British government. I simply love the English though! Been in love with many an English girl.
As the heir apparent, Pavel Young would have acted like a Lord; no matter what his actual title was.
Please stop saying this is English Government, because it does NOT conform to the House of Lords in Great Britain; for one thing the British system always included Bishops from the Church of England in their House of Lords. Also I can find no mention of cadet seats such as occur in the House of Lords in Manticore. Finally, as you pointed out, the British system is tending to phase out inherited seats.
Yes, the author took inspiration from the British system; but more closely from the time of the Napoleonic Wars (Hornblower in Space). But even so, there are differences and it is just confusing to mislabel things.
This doesn't appear to be true for Manticore, but British Dukes (not Royal Dukes), Marquesses, and Earls all have lesser titles and the heirs apparent are given those lesser titles as a courtesy (they did not have seats in the House of Lords). Younger brothers and sisters were given the courtesy tile of Lord and Lady respectively. Sometimes there is a courtesy title for the heir apparent of the heir. For example, the son of the current Duke of Marlborough is referred to as the Marquess of Blandford (BTW, when his grandfather was alive, he was the Earl of Sunderland, while his father was the Marquess of Blandford).