Editing Lord-lieutenant (section)

===England and Wales===
Lieutenants were first appointed to a number of [[Historic counties of England|English counties]] by King [[Henry VIII]] in the 1540s, when the military functions of the [[sheriff]]s were handed over to them. Each lieutenant raised and was responsible for the efficiency of the local [[militia]] units of his county, and afterwards of the [[yeomanry]] and volunteers. He was commander of these forces, whose officers he appointed.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Lieutenant|volume=16|page=599}}</ref> These commissions were originally of temporary duration, and only when the situation required the local militia to be specially supervised and well prepared, often when invasion by [[Scotland]] or France might be expected.

Lieutenancies soon became more organised, probably in the reign of Henry's successor [[Edward VI of England|King Edward VI]], their establishment being approved by the English parliament in 1550. However, it was not until the threat of invasion by the forces of Spain in 1585 that lieutenants were appointed to all counties and [[county corporate|counties corporate]] and became in effect permanent. Although some counties were left without lieutenants during the 1590s, following the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]], the office continued to exist, and was retained by [[James VI and I|King James I]] even after the end of the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|Anglo-Spanish War]].

The office of lieutenant was abolished under the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]], but was re-established following the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]] under the [[City of London Militia Act 1662]], which declared that:

{{blockquote|[T]he King's most Excellent Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall and may from Time to Time, as Occasion shall require, issue forth several Commissions of Lieutenancy to such Persons as his Majesty, his Heirs and Successors, shall think fit to be his Majesty's Lieutenants for the several and respective Counties, Cities and Places of England and Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed.}}

Although not explicitly stated, from that date lieutenants were appointed to "counties at large", with their jurisdiction including the counties corporate within the parent county.<ref name=webb>{{cite book |last1=Webb |first1=Sidney |author-link1= Sidney Webb |last2=Webb |first2=Beatrice |author-link2= Beatrice Webb |title=English Local Government from the Revolution to the Municipal Corporations Act |url=https://archive.org/details/englishlocalgove01webbuoft |chapter=1: The Parish and the County | date=1906 |publisher= [[Longman|Longman's Green and Co.]] |location= London |pages= [https://archive.org/details/englishlocalgove01webbuoft/page/283 283]–287}}</ref> For example, lieutenants of Devon in the 17th and 18th centuries appointed [[deputy lieutenant]]s to the City of Exeter, and were sometimes described as the "Lieutenant of Devon and Exeter".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67116 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110526060600/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=67116 |archive-date= 2011-05-26 |title= The city of Exeter: Commissions, pardons etc |access-date= 2009-01-29 |author= Historical Manuscripts Commission |year=1916 |work= Report on the Records of the City of Exeter |publisher= British History Online }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Statutes at Large |date=1798 |page=426 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Imy3W_M5mtIC&pg=PA426 |access-date=18 February 2024 |chapter=Milita Act 1796 (37 Geo. 3 c. 3)|publisher=M. Baskett }}</ref> The one exception was [[Haverfordwest]], to which a lieutenant continued to be appointed until 1974. The origin of this anomaly may have lain in the former [[county palatine|palatine]] status of Pembrokeshire.<ref name=webb/>

The official title of the office at this time was His or Her Majesty's "Lieutenant for the county of x", but, as almost all office-holders were [[peers of the realm]], they were referred to as "Lord-Lieutenant".

The [[City of London]] was uniquely given a commission of lieutenancy, and was exempt from the authority of the lieutenant of [[Middlesex]]. The [[Constable of the Tower of London]] and the [[Warden of the Cinque Ports]] were ''[[ex officio]]'' lieutenants for the [[Tower division|Tower Hamlets]] and the [[Cinque Ports]] respectively, which were treated as counties in legislation regarding lieutenancy and militia affairs.<ref name=webb/>