Question about British peerage system.?

Question

According to wikipedia there are 5 ranks in the British peerage system:

Duke

Marquess

Earl

Viscount

Baron

My Stepfather told me that wikipedia is wrong and that another rank exists below that of Baron. The title of "Lord."

I am confused.

Answer 1

There are really only five ranks in the British peerage system and all five ranks are styled as "Lords."

Five ranks of peer exist in the UK, namely Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. All male peers except dukes use the style "Lord X". The title "Lord" also applies by courtesy to certain of their children, e.g. the younger sons of dukes and marquesses can use the style "Lord (firstname) (lastname)". Many Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts and Barons use the style "Lord (title)". Barons, in particular, are almost never referred to as anything but "Lord X".

Answer 2

All of the ones you list can be called Lord except for Duke.

He is always called Duke

Answer 3

Good question, I've been wondering about this myself! Okay, this isn't really an answer, but I was wondering if Rachelle could explain this further, since she seems to know a lot about British royalty and aristocracy. Are all these people somehow related to the royal family, and do they have special duties? Rachelle, if you revisit this question, please answer. Thanks!

BTW, I found a funny web site, that's like one of those amateurish personal sites (you know, with pictures taken by your friends and inane facts about your life), only the guy is this titled aristocrat and seems to think he's quite impressive.

Answer 4

There are other ranks:  baronet (which is hereditary), knight, esquire and gentleman, but these ranks are not considered part of the peerage.  "In UK law, a peerage is an incorporeal heriditament (a non-corporeal form of property, a sort of virtual real estate), being one of the several dignities, including baronetcies and knighthoods, which can be created by the Crown."  

Dukes are referred to as "Your Grace" or "His Grace",  Everyone else is referred to in some permutation of "Lord such-and-such", depending on their rank, whether or not they are a child of a peer, etc.