Lord Privy Seal


The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. Originally, its holder was responsible for the monarch's personal seal until the use of such a seal became obsolete. The office is currently one of the traditional sinecure offices of state or may be referred Minister without Portfolio. Today, the holder of the office is invariably given a seat in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
Though one of the oldest offices in European governments, it has no particular function today because the use of a privy seal has been obsolete for centuries; thus the office has generally been used as a kind of minister without portfolio. Since the premiership of Clement Attlee, the position of Lord Privy Seal has frequently been combined with that of Leader of the House of Lords or Leader of the House of Commons. The office of Lord Privy Seal, unlike those of Leader of the Lords or Commons, is eligible for a ministerial salary under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. The office does not confer membership of the House of Lords, leading to Ernest Bevin's remark on holding this office that he was "neither a Lord, nor a Privy, nor a Seal".
During the reign of Edward I, prior to 1307, the Privy Seal was kept by the Controller of the Wardrobe. The Lord Privy Seal was the president of the Court of Requests during its existence.

List of Lord Keepers of the Privy Seal

Lord Keepers of the Privy Seal (c. 1307–1714)

Lord Keepers of the Privy Seal (1714–present)

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