Ceremonial maces in the United Kingdom carried by the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod and placed behind the Lord Speaker on the Woolsack before the House sits. All members are required to bow their heads to the mace upon entering the chamber. It is absent when the monarch delivers his or her speech from the throne at State Openings of Parliament. The other mace accompanies the Lord Chancellor on official duties outside the House of Lords. Mace A was made in the reign of Charles II , is long and weighs . Mace B was made in the reign of William III and Mary II
Judicial functions of the House of Lords officially in session, trials were heard by the "Court of the Lord High Steward". Disputes over peerage claims are considered before the House of Lords Committee for Privileges. That Committee includes the Chairman of Committees and fourteen other Lords. It remains to be seen what practice the House and the Committee will adopt since the abolition of Law Lords in October 2009. Before then, the permanent members of the Committee were joined by four Law Lords named by the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The Law Lords on the Committee are not permanent members; different Law Lords could sit