Prussian House of Lords - Kingdom of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

Modeled on the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, the Herrenhaus was created following the 1848 revolution with the adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia imposed by King Frederick William IV on 31 January 1850.

A member of the House of Lords was known as a pair (see also pairie), or officially as a member of the Prussian House of Lords (Mitglieder des preußischen Herrenhauses, or MdH). The House consisted of hereditary peers, life peers appointed by the King of Prussia, peers by virtue of position, representatives of cities and universities, etc. The majority of members were nobles, although the House also had commoners as members, especially among the representatives of cities and universities. The breakdown was as follows:

• Princes of the royal house of Hohenzollern who had reached their majority
• Members with hereditary right:
  • The head of the princely house of Hohenzollern
  • The heads of the former German states of the Holy Roman Empire in royal Prussian lands - These were primarily mediatized princely houses (so-called Standesherren, incumbents of state countries), such as Arenberg, Bentheim-Steinfurt, Fürstenberg, Isenburg (also Ysenburg), Salm-Horstmar, Salm-Salm, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim, Stolberg-Wernigerode, and Wied.
  • Other members with hereditary right - These were primarily princes and counts from lands absorbed by Prussia over the centuries, such as the duke of Schleswig-Holstein, the count of Westphalia, and the landgrave of Hessen-Philippsthal.
• Life members:
  • Holders of the four great court appointments (große Hofämter) of the kingdom - These were the state steward (Landhofmeister), the chancellor (Kanzler), the lord marshal (Obermarschall), and the lord burgrave (Oberburggraf).
  • Members entrusted by the king - These were both nobles and commoners, and included select generals and admirals, senior government officials, business leaders, and philanthropists.
  • Members called by presentation - These were primarily holders of noble estates, the university representatives, and the lord mayors of cities given the right of presentation.