Lord-Lieutenant
As a personal representative of The Queen, the prime duty of a lord-lieutentant is to maintain the dignity of The Queen and fulfill key functions such as arranging visits by members of the Royal Family, presenting medals and honours, taking part in civic activities, liaising with local units of the armed forces and leading the local magistracy. It is a non-political, unpaid post, held until retirement at the age of 75. Although assigned no place in the table of precedence for England and Wales, by Royal Warrant in 1904 a lord-lieutenant (or lieutenant) has precedence within their own county immediately after the Sovereign (except sometimes on civic premises).
See Offices of Lord-Lieutenant
The full title is Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant and this may be abbreviated to H.M. Lord-Lieutenant or Lord-Lieutenant of (County). Note that the title Lord-Lieutenant always includes the hyphen. The title applies to both male and female appointees.
How to Address a Lord-Lieutenant
The recommended style of address is as follows (although it is advisable to check the appropriate Lord-Lieutenant's office for preferred styles of address in each case, especially for formal printed items**):
| Beginning of letter | Dear Lord-Lieutenant or usual style of address in private capacity |
| End of letter | Yours sincerely |
| Invitation | The Lord-Lieutenant of (County) |
| Joint Invitation | The Lord-Lieutenant of (County) and Lady Pilkington |
| Envelope | Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant (this may be abbreviated to HM Lord-Lieutenant or Lord-Lieutanant of (County)) |
| Verbal communication | By name, or Lord-Lieutenant |
| Reference in a speech | My Lord-Lieutenant |
If the Lord-Lieutenant is also a peer he would be addressed as follows:
The Earl of Cirencester
HM Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire
** Details of Lord-Lieutenant's offices may be found here or via the website of the relevant County or City Council
