House of Lords
Videos
Page
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
House of Lords
Queen Anne addressing the House of Lords, c. 1708–1714, by Peter Tillemans
An early 19th-century illustration showing the east wall of the House of Lords in the centre.
The rejection of the People's Budget, proposed by David Lloyd George (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.
Upper house
Videos
Page
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.
The French Senate, hosted in the Luxembourg Palace
The chamber of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), the Indian Parliament's Upper House