Can a peer renounce his peerage titles?
Peerages (such as “Duke of Edinburgh”) cannot be renounced. The second Viscount Stansgate tried to do that but it didn’t work. As a consequence, there is now a procedure called “disclaiming” a peerage. The Peerage Act 1963 allowed hereditary peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain or the United Kingdom to be disclaimed for life. (It also allowed hereditary peeresses to be members of the House of Lords, and for all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords.) In the example of Lord Stansgate, he has disclaimed his peerage and is now known as Mr. Anthony (Tony) Wedgwood Benn. The new peer has to disclaim within 12 months of succeeding or reaching the age of 21, whichever came last, and once he has applied to sit in the House of Lords he cannot disclaim. Once a peerage is disclaimed it is an irrevocable decision and the peerage no longer exists during the lifetime of the disclaiming peer. Further, no other hereditary peerage is conferred on the disclaiming peer. A life peerage, on t
