Glossary · Term · title
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used for a royal prince or noble who protected and defended the realm and governed for a monarch unable to do so, and later for the head of state of the Commonwealth. In England the dukes of Bedford and Gloucester were jointly Lords Protector for Henry VI from 1422, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester held the title in 1483 before taking the throne as Richard III. Under the Instrument of Government of 1653 Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland for life; his son Richard succeeded him in September 1658 and resigned in May 1659. Since the Restoration the title has not been used in these ways.
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Mentioned in 1 state history
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Cite this entry
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lord Protector. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lord-protector
- MLA
- “Lord Protector.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lord-protector. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Lord Protector.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lord-protector.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lord Protector’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/lord-protector (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻