Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Arms of the Duchy of Lancaster
Incumbent Patrick McLoughlin since 14 July 2016
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	The Sovereign on advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Sir Henry de Haydock
Formation	1361
Website	www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in Her Majesty's Government that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Chancellor is answerable to Parliament for the governance of the Duchy. However, the involvement of the Chancellor in the running of the day-to-day affairs of the Duchy is slight, and the office is held by a senior politician whose main role is usually quite different. The position is currently held by Patrick McLoughlin.

Originally, the Chancellor was the chief officer in the daily management of the Duchy of Lancaster and the County Palatine of Lancaster (a county palatine merged into the Crown in 1399), but that estate is now run by a deputy, leaving the Chancellor as a member of the Cabinet with little obligation in regard to the Chancellorship. The position has often been given to a junior Cabinet minister with responsibilities in a particular area of policy for which there is no department with an appropriate portfolio.

In 1491, the office of Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster was created. The position is now held by a judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice, who sits in the north west of England, and no longer appointed to that position as legal officer of the Duchy.

In recent times, the Chancellor's duties (administrative, financial, and legal) have been said to occupy an average of one day a week. Under the Promissory Oaths Act 1868, the Chancellor is required to take the oath of allegiance and the Official Oath.