0 someone who became a peer (= a high social rank) when a parent died, and who can pass it on to their oldest child
Then one hears that that was not an appointee, but a young hereditary peer.
He would not, as a consequence of his father's death, be able to step into his shoes as an elected hereditary peer.
A hereditary peer would not get in on the basis of a degree of legitimacy.
We have recently seen a small number of hereditary peers selecting another hereditary peer to represent them.
A hereditary peer can dispense with his title or put it into cold storage.
My second example is very different, although it involves another hereditary peer.
The old idea is that to be a hereditary peer one has to have broad acres to sustain the position.
The essential qualification for candidates is to be have been born a hereditary peer.
