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
Reform of the House of Lords any peer convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year or more. The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 regulates the procedure for women bishops to enter the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. It stipulates that if a vacancy arises among the Lords Spiritual during the decade after the passing of the act, this vacancy is to be filled by a female bishop (if there are any eligible). This followed the Bishops and Priests (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure 2014, whereby the Church of England first recognised female bishops. The House of