In 1871, in recognition of her charity work, Queen Victoria made her a peer on her own under the title Baroness Burdett-Coutts, of Highgate and Brookfield in the County of Middlesex., although as a woman she was not a member of the House of Lords. On 18 July 1872 she became the first woman to be presented with the Freedom of the City of London at the Guildhall and in 1874 was Edinburgh's first woman Burgess, also being presented with the Freedom of that city.