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{{Short description|English government position}}
{{About|the post in England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom|the corresponding post in Ireland|Lord High Treasurer of Ireland|the corresponding post in Scotland|Lord High Treasurer of Scotland|the corresponding post in Sweden|Lord High Treasurer of Sweden}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox official post
| post          = Lord High Treasurer
| body          = the United Kingdom
| department    = [[His Majesty's Treasury]]
| image         = Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg
| imagecaption  = [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury]], last holder of the office as Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain in 1714
| type          = [[Great Officers of State (United Kingdom)|Great Officer of State]]
| appointer     = [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|The Monarch]]
| termlength    = [[At His Majesty's Pleasure]]
| precursor     = {{Ubl|Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain|[[Lord High Treasurer of Ireland]]}}
| first         = [[Nigel (bishop of Ely)|Nigel of Ely]]<br/>as Lord High Treasurer of England
| formation     = {{Ubl|1817 (United Kingdom)|1714 (Great Britain)|{{Circa|1126}} (England)}}
| superseded_by = {{ubli|[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] and [[First Lord of the Treasury]]|[[Chancellor of the Exchequer|Chancellor and Under Treasurer of His Majesty's Exchequer]] and [[Second Lord of the Treasury]]| [[Lords Commissioners of the Treasury|Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury]]}}
| last  = [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury]]<br/>as Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain
}}
The '''Lord High Treasurer''' was an [[Lord High Treasurers of England|English government position]] and subsequently a [[British government]] position since the [[Acts of Union of 1707]]. A holder of the post would have been the third-highest-ranked [[Great Officers of State (United Kingdom)|Great Officer of State]] in [[England]], below the [[Lord High Steward]] and the [[Lord Chancellor|Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain]].

The Lord High Treasurer functioned as the head of [[HM Treasury|His Majesty's Treasury]]. The office has, since the resignation of [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury]] in 1714, been vacant.

Although the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] was created in 1801, it was not until the [[Consolidated Fund Act 1816]] that the separate offices of '''Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain''' and [[Lord High Treasurer of Ireland]] were united into one office as the "Lord High Treasurer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" on 5 January 1817.<ref name=CA1816>{{Cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo3/56/98/section/2|title=Consolidated Fund Act 1816|website=legislation.gov.uk|publisher=UK Government|page=Section 2|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref>

Section 2 of the Consolidated Fund Act 1816 also provides that "whenever there shall not be [a Lord High Treasurer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland], it shall&nbsp;... be lawful for His Majesty, by [[Letters patent (United Kingdom)|letters patent]] under the [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal of Great Britain]], to appoint Commissioners for executing the Offices of '''Treasurer of the Exchequer of Great Britain''' and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland".<ref name=CA1816></ref> These are the [[Lords Commissioners of the Treasury]]. In modern times, appointments of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury were, by convention, given as [[sinecure]] positions to the [[prime minister of the United Kingdom]], usually serving as the [[First Lord of the Treasury]], and the [[chancellor of the exchequer]], serving as the [[Second Lord of the Treasury]]. Other members of the government, usually [[whip (politics)|whips]] in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], are similarly appointed to serve as the Junior Lords Commissioners of the Treasury.<ref name=Anson>{{Cite book |last1=Anson |first1=Sir William Reynell |title=The Law and Custom of the Constitution, Part 2 |date=1892 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford, Oxfordshire |pages=163–164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CS40AAAAIAAJ |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref>

== Origins ==
The English Treasury seems to have come into existence around 1126, during the reign of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]], as the financial responsibilities were separated from the rest of the job that evolved into [[Lord Great Chamberlain]]. The Treasury was originally a section of the Royal Household with custody of the King's money. In 1216, a Treasurer was appointed to take control of the Treasury in [[Winchester, Hampshire|Winchester]]. The Treasurer was also an officer of the [[Exchequer]], and supervised the royal accounts. It was in the 16th century, the office's title of ''King's Treasurer'' developed into ''Lord High Treasurer''.<ref name=Anson></ref> By [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] times, the Lord High Treasurer had achieved a place among the Great Officers of State, behind the [[Lord Chancellor]] and above the [[Master of the Horse]]. Under the [[Treason Act 1351]] it is [[treason]] to kill him.

[[File:William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley from NPG (2).jpg|thumb|right|The Lord High Treasurer bears a white staff as his symbol of office. This is [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley]].]]

The office of Lord High Treasurer is distinct from that of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The Lord High Treasurer was appointed by the delivery of a [[Staff of office#White staves|white staff]] to the appointee, and the Treasurer of the Exchequer was appointed [[at His Majesty's pleasure]] by [[letters patent]] under the [[Great Seal of the Realm]]. However, when the Treasury was held by an individual, he was appointed to both offices.<ref name=Anson></ref><ref name=Sainty>{{cite book |last1=Sainty |first1=John Christopher |title=Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 1, Treasury Officials 1660–1870 |date=1972 |publisher=University of London |location=London |isbn=0485171414 |pages=16–25 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol1/pp16-25 |access-date=19 October 2021}}</ref> It is the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer that is put into commission, not the office of Lord High Treasurer.{{Citation needed|reason=Not entirely clear from the sources previously cited|date=June 2025}} When the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer is put into commission, the office of Lord High Treasurer is left vacant.<ref name=Sainty></ref>

During the sixteenth century, the Lord High Treasurer was often considered the most important official of the government, and became a ''de facto'' Prime Minister. Exemplifying the power of the Lord High Treasurer is [[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley]], who served in the post from 1572 to 1598. During his tenure, he dominated the administration under [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]].<ref>Loades, D., ''The Cecils: Privilege and Power behind the throne'', The National Archives, 2007.</ref>

== List ==
{{Main article|List of lord high treasurers of England and Great Britain}}

== See also ==
* [[List of lord high treasurers of England and Great Britain]]
* [[List of lords commissioners of the Treasury]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{EB1911|noprescript=1|wstitle=Lord High Treasurer}}
{{refend}}

{{Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom}}
{{Pre-Plantagenet England Lord High Treasurers}}
{{House of Plantagenet Lord High Treasurers}}
{{House of Lancaster Lord High Treasurers}}
{{House of York Lord High Treasurers}}
{{House of Tudor Lord High Treasurers}}
{{House of Stuart Lord High Treasurers}}
{{Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office}}

[[Category:Lord high treasurers| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy and money]]