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Precedence

Home Page > Information for Heralds > Herald's Handbook > Precedence

Date Written: January, 1989
Last Updated: November, 2017; August, 2018; July, 2023; April, 2025
Author: (None)

Policy Level: WK Policy
Intended Audience: General Populace
Abstract: Order of Precedence in the Kingdom of the West as determined by Law and Custom.

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Before starting this article, it is nearly impossible to write an article of this nature that deals with every permutation of King and Queen (or Queen and King Consort, or Kings or Queens in the case of same-sex couples), Prince and Princess (or Princess and Prince Consort, Prince and Prince Consort, etc.), or Baron and Baroness (single Baron or Baroness, in one Barony at the time of this update there are two sisters as Baronesses, so Baroness and Baroness ...) and so on. Also keep in mind that sometimes only one of a pair of Royalty may be in attendance for any number of reasons. Please assume wherever King and Queen, or Prince and Princess, and so on is used means Sovereign and Consort at the appropriate level, and work through this for your needs.

This is a listing of Precedence within the Kingdom of the West. It is based on the Order of Precedence maintained by the Golem Herald. In addition to the awards and honors listed here, awards from other Kingdoms are included in the position of their equivalent West Kingdom award where such equivalence is known.

Strictly speaking this Order of Precedence applies only in a Grand March of the people to present themselves to the Royalty or in any other circumstance where people are called to array themselves according to Precedence. Most of the time this is only an academic exercise.

The Order of Precedence can be viewed the West Kingdom Awards List website at this URL: West Kingdom Order of Precedence.

In a Grand March, people typically march only once, by highest rank (see below) or specific position if they are Royalty. If a couple are marching together, they should be placed at the position of the highest ranking of the two.

King and/or Queen - First and foremost are the King and Queen of the West, or appropriate combination of titles (Queen and King, Kings, Queens ...).

Heirs to the Thrones - The Heirs to the Thrones of the West are the Crown Prince and Princess (or Crown Princess and Prince, or Crown Princes or Crown Princesses, as appropriate). In a Grand March, They precede all other Princes and Princesses. However, within each Principality, the Principality Sovereign and Consort have a higher precendence than the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, as They reign in the name of the Crown there.

Princes and Princesses - The Princes and Princesses of the Principalities of the West precede each other in the order of creation:

1. The Mists
2. Cynagua
3. Oertha

The Heirs to the Princes and Princesses may also march here if They are present, or they may be placed after Visiting Royalty (as They are not currently reigning royalty) -- check for preference of the highest ranking royalty.

Visiting Royalty - Royal cousins of Their Majesties have precedence over anyone else who is not reigning Royalty. (This can include Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, heirs to the thrones ... )

Dukes and Duchesses

Counts and Countesses

Viscount and Viscountess

The Orders of Peerage - The Orders of Peerage are ranked in order by date - earliest award first. If multiple peerages were given the same day, they are ranked in alphabetical order by first name. Each of the peerages is considered to be of the same rank as the others:

• The Order of Chivalry (Knights and Masters-at-Arms)
• The Order of the Rose (although this is only obtained by reigning as Consort of a Kingdom, and the higher rank of Count/ess or Duke/Duchess takes precedence)
• The Order of the Laurel
• The Order of the Pelican
• The Order of Defense
• The Order of the Mark

Members of the Order of the Silver Molet, Knights Banneret, members of the Order of the Boar of the West, or other recognitions have no special precedence over other members of the Peerage.

Grants of Arms and Awards that include a Grant of Arms - Membership in (ordered by date):

• The Order of the Royal Missile Company (formerly The Royal Company of Archers and/or The Royal Company of Yeomen)
• The Order of the White Scarf (formerly Guildmasters of Fence -- now closed)
• The Order of the Western Gold Scarf
• The Order of the Golden Poppy (closed)
• Members of the three Scarves of Achievement:
• The Order of the Scarf of Merit
• The Order of the Scarf of the Rose Leaf
• The Order of the Scarf of the Ash Leaf

These would be followed by "Plain Grant of Arms" -- meaning a Grant without another recognition attached to it (also ordered by date).

Awards that Grant an Award of Arms - The following would be sorted by date:

• The Order of the Western Lily
• The Order of the Leaf of Merit
• The Order of the Rose Leaf
• The Order of the Ash Leaf

These are ranked together in much the same manner as the Orders of the Peerage and have precedence above Court Barons and Baronesses and "plain" Awards of Arms. There are a few other recognitions both at Kingdom or Principality that grant Awards of Arms with the recognition, but they tend to be recorded as two separate recognitions (such as the Order of the Golden Branch in the Principality of the Mists).

Court Barons and Court Baronesses - Those who have this title as their highest recognition rank above Awards of Arms.

Awards of Arms - Recognition by the Crown or Coronet confers with it, precedence above those not so honored.

Territorial Baron/ess - Precedence is not well-defined. In a Grand March they usually march after Grants and before Leaves of Achievement. The rank does not explicitly carry precedence. Sometimes they march before the Royal Peers, as they hold land in the name of the Crown. If there is a question, ask the highest ranking Royalty at the event where their Territorial Barons and Baronesses should march. Note that these should be in this sequence of multiple are in attendance (this is the order of creation of these Baronies in the West):

1. Allyshia
2. Eskalya
3. Tarnmist
4. The Westermark
5. Winter’s Gate
6. Fettburg
7. Darkwood
8. The Far West
9. Rivenoak
10. Selveirgard

No other Western awards and honors confer, in and of themselves, precedence.