Baron de Ros

Barony de Ros
Quarterly, 1st and 4th: Argent, a saltire gules (for Fitzgerald) 2nd and 3rd: Gules, three water bougets argent (for de Ros)
Creation date	6 February 1288/89, with a precedence to 24 December 1264
Monarch	King Henry III
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	William de Ros
Present holder	Peter Trevor Maxwell, 28th Baron
Heir apparent	Hon. Finbar James Maxwell
Remainder to	heirs general of the body of the grantee
Armorial motto	Crom a boo ("Crom forever")

Baron de Ros (pronounced "Roose") of Helmsley is the premier baron in the Peerage of England, created in 1288/89 for William de Ros, with precedence to 24 December 1264. (The spelling of the title and of the surname of the original holders has been rendered differently in various texts. The word "Ros" is sometimes spelt "Roos", and the word "de" is sometimes dropped.)

On 24 December 1264 Robert de Ros (d.1285) was summoned to Simon de Montfort's Parliament in London, and for some time it was considered that the barony was created by writ in that year, giving it precedence over all other English titles unless certain doubtful contentions concerning the title of the Earl of Arundel were accepted. The only older peerage titles in the British Isles are: Baron Kerry and Lixnaw (1181, held by the Marquess of Lansdowne), Baron Offaly (1199, later creation held by the Duke of Leinster), and Baron Kingsale (circa 1223) in the Peerage of Ireland, and Earl of Mar (predates 1115) and Earl of Sutherland (1230) in the Peerage of Scotland.

According to The Complete Peerage:

In 1616 the barony of De Ros was allowed precedence from this writ [of 24 December 1264], a decision adopted by the Lords in 1806 (Round, Peerage and Pedigree, vol. i, pp. 249-50); but these writs, issued by Simon in the King's name, are no longer regarded as valid for the creation of peerages.

Whenever a man holds the title, he is styled the Premier Baron of England. However, whenever a woman holds the title, the holder of the next-highest barony held by a man is known as the Premier Baron. For instance, when Georgiana Maxwell, the most recent female to hold the title, was Baroness, the Lord Mowbray, Segrave, and Stourton was considered the Premier Baron.