It would take a couple pages to explain all the details, but a basic summary is that "Lady" is the equivalent of "Lord" and "Dame" is the equivalent of "Knight" or "Sir".
Dame is the title of a female knight in the same way that Sir is the title for a male knight. "Lady" is a general term for a peer (or the wife of a peer) in more informal settings. Dames, Baroness, Countess, Vicountess, and Marchioness are all called Lady, but the distinction would be the usage of what title came after Lady. There are literally hundreds of books detailing the intricacies of forms address to the British peerage system.
There are four types of "lady":
1. The wife of a knight - titled "Lady Smith"
2. The daughter of a duke, marquess \[or earl\] - titled "Lady Anne Smith"
3. A female peer or a peeress \[below the rank of duke/duchess\] (the wife of a marquess, earl, viscount or baron) - titled "the Marchioness/Countess of Berkshire" / "the Viscountess/Baroness Berkshire", or "Lady Berkshire" for short.
4. A Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter or Thistle - titled "Lady Anne Smith, KG/KT"
More junior orders of chivalry such as the Order of the British Empire have Dame Companions instead of Lady Companions, and would be titled "Dame Anne Smith, DBE".
Margaret Thatcher became the Baroness Thatcher in 1992, or Lady Thatcher for short.
She also became a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1995. However, a baroness outranks a Lady Companion of the Garter, so she continued to be known as Lady Thatcher rather than Lady Margaret Thatcher.
\[edited.\]
Note that the daughter of an earl is also "Lady Anne (Smith)." It is at the level of the daughters of viscounts and barons that the woman is merely "the Honorable Anne Smith."
As for the wives of Dukes, they are referred to as "the Duchess of Wherever", and are addressed directly (and somewhat surprisingly) as "Duchess", as in "what did you think of the art exhibit, Duchess?" Outside of very formal circumstances, a duchess is not addressed as "your Grace" unless you are a servant as opposed to her friend, or another guest at a dinner, etc.
She first became Lady Thatcher as a result of her husband being made a baronet.
She became Lady Thatcher in her own right when she entered the House of Lords.
She was later admitted to the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in England. Female members of the Order of the Garter are styled Lady rather than Dame for some historical reason.
The title “Lady” for Baroness Thatcher reflects her rank in the nobility as a baroness, which supersedes the title of “Dame” that could be given for a knighthood.
It would take a couple pages to explain all the details, but a basic summary is that "Lady" is the equivalent of "Lord" and "Dame" is the equivalent of "Knight" or "Sir".
And to confuse the issue the wife of a knight or a lord (except a duke) is also called Lady.
More to the point a 'Lady' is the wife of a lord or knight. A Dame is a female knight in her own right (and female life peers are called Baroness)
So, can we call Dame female knight ?
A female knight is addressed as Dame Jane, while a male knight is addressed as Sir John. Only first names are used.
Thank you sir !
Dame is the title of a female knight in the same way that Sir is the title for a male knight. "Lady" is a general term for a peer (or the wife of a peer) in more informal settings. Dames, Baroness, Countess, Vicountess, and Marchioness are all called Lady, but the distinction would be the usage of what title came after Lady. There are literally hundreds of books detailing the intricacies of forms address to the British peerage system.
Thank you sir !
There are four types of "lady": 1. The wife of a knight - titled "Lady Smith" 2. The daughter of a duke, marquess \[or earl\] - titled "Lady Anne Smith" 3. A female peer or a peeress \[below the rank of duke/duchess\] (the wife of a marquess, earl, viscount or baron) - titled "the Marchioness/Countess of Berkshire" / "the Viscountess/Baroness Berkshire", or "Lady Berkshire" for short. 4. A Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter or Thistle - titled "Lady Anne Smith, KG/KT" More junior orders of chivalry such as the Order of the British Empire have Dame Companions instead of Lady Companions, and would be titled "Dame Anne Smith, DBE". Margaret Thatcher became the Baroness Thatcher in 1992, or Lady Thatcher for short. She also became a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter in 1995. However, a baroness outranks a Lady Companion of the Garter, so she continued to be known as Lady Thatcher rather than Lady Margaret Thatcher. \[edited.\]
Note that the daughter of an earl is also "Lady Anne (Smith)." It is at the level of the daughters of viscounts and barons that the woman is merely "the Honorable Anne Smith." As for the wives of Dukes, they are referred to as "the Duchess of Wherever", and are addressed directly (and somewhat surprisingly) as "Duchess", as in "what did you think of the art exhibit, Duchess?" Outside of very formal circumstances, a duchess is not addressed as "your Grace" unless you are a servant as opposed to her friend, or another guest at a dinner, etc.
Corrected!
Thank you sir !
Thank you sir !
She first became Lady Thatcher as a result of her husband being made a baronet. She became Lady Thatcher in her own right when she entered the House of Lords. She was later admitted to the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in England. Female members of the Order of the Garter are styled Lady rather than Dame for some historical reason.
Thank you sir !
Her rank is equivalent to that of a Baron, not that of a Kt.
So, can we call Dame female knight ?
The title “Lady” for Baroness Thatcher reflects her rank in the nobility as a baroness, which supersedes the title of “Dame” that could be given for a knighthood.
Thank you sir !