The Office of Lord-Lieutenant

The office has its origins in the Tudor period. Late in his reign King Henry VIII (1509-1547) gave a commission of lieutenancy to a number of noblemen to raise and lead the local militia in the event of a Scottish or French invasion. On the accession of the Boy-King, Edward VI, in 1547, the unsettled conditions of a minority government led Protector Somerset to experiment with a more formal system of lieutenancies. In 1550 Parliament approved the principle that Lieutenants should be appointed 'for the suppressing of any commotion, rebellions or unlawful assemblies'. Appointments were fitful until England was threatened by the Spanish Armada (1588), when Queen Elizabeth's government issued commissions of lieutenancy for all the English and Welsh counties. These tended to be for life. King James I (1603-1625) reaffirmed the importance of the office.

During the seventeenth century the functions of the lieutenancy tended to be predominantly military. The counties were required to hold regular musters of able-bodied men and to select from them a band who would be properly trained and armed and kept in a state of readinesss. This imposed a considerable responsibility on the Lieutenants and led to the rapid emergence of the office of Deputy Lieutenant, selected from among the gentry of the shires, acting often also as magistrates and deemed to have a particular talent for military training and organisation. Since the office of Lieutenant was the preserve of the titled aristocracy, any holder came to be known as Lord Lieutenant. The separate Lieutenancies for the North, East and West Ridings date from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

In the later-seventeenth century the military function of the Lieutenant declined and he and his Deputies took an increasing role in policing the counties. The outbreak of war in America and against France in the later eighteenth century necessitated a major overhaul of the militia, which resulted in the reassertion of the traditional military role of the Lord Lieutenant. Until the Army Regulation Act of 1871, the Lieutenant was the commander of the county militia, with authority to appoint and remove its officers. It was only in 1921 that the Militia Act finally removed from the Lord-Lieutenants their responsibility for enforcing order in the shires. Other customary civilian roles are on the wain. The Lord-Lieutenant was until recently the Custos Rotulorum (Keeper of the Rolls) and as such was chief magistrate in the county, principally responsible for the appointment of new JPs. This is no longer automatic.

The Local Government Act of 1972 and the resulting change in administrative boundaries had consequencies for the lieutenancies. In Yorkshire the three lieutenancies of West, East and North Riding were replaced and the county was split into five lieutenancies, West, East and North Yorkshire, Cleveland and Humberside. In 1996 there was further local government rationalisation and the historic county of Yorkshire was divided between four Lord-Lieutenants, representing West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding.

In the early twenty-first century, the Lord-Lieutenant is an honorary office appointed by the Crown under letters patent, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and holds the office until retirement at not later than the age of seventy-five. There are no formal qualifications though the holder must live within seven miles of the county boundary. The office is normally bestowed on a prominent person active in the public life of the region. As the sovereign's representative in the county, the Lieutenant is required to meet and attend the monarch and members of the royal family on visits to the county and to fulfil a range of ceremonial functions on behalf of the Crown, such as the inspection of troops, attendance at church services, the presentation of honours, awards and medals, and the presidency of non-political and charitable organisations. Since the mid-1990s women have increasingly been appointed to the office. In 2005 they form 10% of the national figure.

The Lord-Lieutenant, with the Queen's approval, may appoint a Deputy Lieutenant to be the Vice Lord-Lieutenant, to assist the Lord-Lieutenant by standing in when the Lord-Lieutenant is absent, sick or otherwise unable to act. A limited number of Deputy Lieutenants, chosen for their contribution to the county in a voluntary capacity, are also appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant with the Queen's approval, and assist the above when appropriate,