A Temporal Peer (Lords Temporal) denotes a member of the high nobility who sits in the House of Lords by right of a secular title such as Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, or Baron. Unlike the Lords Spiritual, who occupy their seats ex officio as senior prelates of the Church of England, the status of a Temporal Peer was traditionally rooted in feudal land tenure and military obligation to the Crown. These peers are granted the right of 'trial by peers' and the privilege of individual access to the Sovereign, forming the secular arm of the High Court of Parliament.
Throughout English history, the influence of Temporal Peers shifted from feudal baronial power toward a constitutional role. Prior to the Life Peerages Act 1958 and the House of Lords Act 1999, the majority of Temporal Peers held hereditary titles, passing their legislative rights through primogeniture. In heraldic terms, Temporal Peers are entitled to specific coronets of rank, supporters for their achievements of arms, and the use of the parliamentary robe of scarlet wool with bars of ermine, varying in number based on their specific grade within the peerage.