Modern British Usage
The breadth of Esquire (as Esq.) had become universal in the United Kingdom by the mid 20th century, with no distinction in status being perceived between Mr and Esquire. Esquire was used by many individuals and organisations such as banks as the default title of all men who did not have a grander title when addressing correspondence, with letters addressed using the name in initial format (e.g., K.S. Smith, Esq.) but Mr being used as the form of address (e.g. Dear Mr Smith). In the 1970s, the use of Esq. in addressing correspondence, having no female equivalent, started to be perceived as discriminatory, so that by the end of the 20th century many individuals and organisations had stopped using it and changed to using Mr, with Esq. generally considered to be rather old-fashioned, but is still used by some individuals and organisations that wish to give the impression of being 'traditional' such as Christie's and Berry Bros. & Rudd. British men invited to Buckingham Palace receive their invitations in an envelope with the suffix Esq. after their names, while men of foreign nationalities instead have the prefix Mr (women are addressed as Miss, Ms, or Mrs). The same practice applies for other post from the palace (e.g., to employees).
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