Seigneur of Sark

Flag of Sark

The Seigneur of Sark is the lord of the manor of Sark in the Channel Islands. A female seigneur of Sark is called Dame of Sark, of which there have been three. The husband of a female ruler of Sark is not a consort but is jure uxoris ("by right of (his) wife"<ref>Template:Citation, citing Template:Citation</ref>) a seigneur himself.<ref name="Collings Hathaway">Template:Cite book</ref>

Description

Template:See The title is hereditary, but with permission of the Crown, it may be mortgaged or sold, as happened in 1849 when Pierre Carey le Pelley sold the fief to Marie Collings for £6,000.<ref name="Marr">Template:Cite book</ref>

The Seigneur was, before the constitutional reforms of 2008, the head of the feudal government of Sark, with the British monarch being the feudal overlord. The Seigneur had a suspensive veto power and the right to appoint most of the island's officers. Many of the laws, particularly those related to inheritance and the rule of the Seigneur, had changed little since Queen Elizabeth I, by Letters Patent, granted a fiefdom to Hellier de Carteret in 1565.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The residents of Sark voted to introduce a fully elected legislature to replace the feudal government in a 2006 referendum,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the law change was approved on 9 April 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first democratic election was held on 10 December 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The changes in the political system mostly apply to the parliament, the Chief Pleas, not to the Seigneur.Template:Fact

Many seigneurs are buried at St. Peter's Anglican Church, Sark.Template:Fact

Seigneurs of Sark

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Reign	Notes
1		Hellier de Carteret	1563–1578
2		Philippe de Carteret I Template:Small	1578–1594
3		Philippe de Carteret II Template:Small	1594–1643
4		Philippe de Carteret III Template:Small	1643–1663
5		Philippe de Carteret IV Template:Small	1663–1693
6		Charles de Carteret Template:Small	1693–1715
7		John Carteret Template:Small	1715–1720
8		John Johnson Template:Small	1720–1723
9		James Milner Template:Small	1723–1730
10		Susanne le Pelley Template:Small	1730–1733
11		Nicolas le Pelley Template:Small	1733–1742
12		Daniel le Pelley Template:Small	1742–1752
13		Pierre le Pelley I Template:Small	1752–1778
14		Pierre le Pelley II Template:Small	1778–1820
15		Pierre le Pelley III Template:Small	1820–1839
16		Ernest le Pelley Template:Small	1839–1849
17		Pierre Carey le Pelley	1849–1852
18		Marie Collings Template:Small	1852–1853
19		William Thomas Collings Template:Small	1853–1882
20		William Frederick Collings Template:Small	1882–1927
21		Sibyl Hathaway Template:Small	1927–1974	Reigned under the German occupation from 1940 to 1945.
		Robert Hathaway Template:Small Template:Efn	1929–1954
22		Michael Beaumont Template:Small	1974–2016
23		Christopher Beaumont Template:Small	2016–present

The heir apparent to the seigneurship is the present seigneur's son, Hugh Rees-Beaumont.