History of The Lieutenancy

The office of Lord-Lieutenant is military in origin and can be said to date from the reign of King Henry VIII in the 1540s, when its holder was made responsible for the maintenance of order by both appointing and managing magistrates, and for all military measures necessary for local defence. The Lord-Lieutenant was also responsible for looking after state documents in his county and informing The King of what was going on. The title ‘Lieutenant’ literally meant to ‘stand in for’ The King, in the battlefield and elsewhere.  Oxfordshire’s first Lord-Lieutenant was Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.  Charles’ father was Henry VII’s standard bearer who died at the Battle of Bosworth resulting in Charles being brought up in Henry VII’s court and becoming Henry VIII’s closest friend.   His marriage to Mary Tudor also made him Henry VIII’s brother in-law.  William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton was the next Lord-Lieutenant and again brother-in-law to Henry VIII via Catharine Parr his sister.  If you marry six wives, you end up with a lot of in-laws!

In total, to date, there have been 32 different Lord-Lieutenants in Oxfordshire – with two serving on two occasions.  As with most counties, until the 20th century the holders of the office were usually local Lords, particularly those with military connections.  6 different Dukes of Marlborough have served in the role.

Lieutenancies soon became more organised, probably in the reign of King Edward VI, their establishment being approved by the English Parliament in 1550.

It was not until 1586 when Queen Elizabeth I, in light of the impending invasion from Spain, appointed Lord-Lieutenants more widely.

Except for the English Interregnum, between 1649 and 1660, when there was no Monarch, there have been Lord-Lieutenants ever since.

By 1569 provision was made for the appointment of Deputies.

In 1662 Lord-Lieutenants were given entire control of the militia. The official title of the office at this time was His or Her Majesty’s “Lieutenant for the county of X”, but as almost all officeholders were peers they were referred to as “Lord-Lieutenant”.

The Forces Act of 1871 transferred command of militias back to the Crown and over subsequent years the emphasis shifted towards today’s ceremonial role and wider involvement with communities throughout the country.

It was not until 1921 that Lord-Lieutenants finally lost the power to call on all able-bodied men of a county to fight in case of need.

The traditional links with the Armed Forces have been preserved in a modern form in the association of the Lord-Lieutenant with the volunteer Reserve Forces. Lord-Lieutenants’ connections with uniformed organisations have led to links with other uniformed organisations, such as the police, fire and ambulance services, and many voluntary bodies, such as St John Ambulance, the Cadet Forces and other national and local organisations. In recent years, the circles within which the Lord-Lieutenant’s leadership role is exercised have come to include a wide range of matters, civil and defence, professional and voluntary. Lord-Lieutenants are effective in such work largely because of their links to the Crown and the essentially voluntary and apolitical nature of their role.

From the earliest days the Lord-Lieutenant was closely associated with the magistracy. Until the 19th century he/she appointed the Clerk of the Peace. The Lord-Lieutenant is still associated with the magistracy.

The office of Lord-Lieutenant has been provided for in statute, most recently by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. The Queen appoints Lord-Lieutenants on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and approves the appointment of Vice Lord-Lieutenants. In addition, The Queen may disapprove of the proposed appointment of a Deputy Lieutenant.

There are now 99 Lieutenancies across the country. Each Lord-Lieutenant is a member of the Association of Lord-Lieutenants, administered by the House of Lords and governed by a National Committee. The Association have a Guide to the role of Lord-Lieutenants, which expands upon the 1997 Act.  Close to 40% of Lord-Lieutenants are female - about the same percentage for Oxfordshire’s Deputy Lieutenants.