First Lord of the Treasury that office; in this case, the Second Lord of the Treasury usually served as Chancellor. As of 1841, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has always been Second Lord of the Treasury when he was not also Prime Minister. By convention, the other Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are also Government Whips in the House of Commons. 10 Downing Street is the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, and not of the Prime Minister. Chequers, a country house in Buckinghamshire, is the official country residence of the Prime Minister, used as a weekend and holiday home, although the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Minister's executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still formally vested in the Sovereign, who remains the head of state. Despite its growing dominance in the constitutional hierarchy, the Premiership was given little formal recognition until the 20th century; the legal fiction was maintained that the Sovereign still governed directly. The position was first mentioned in statute only in 1917, in the schedule of the Chequers Estate Act. Increasingly during the 20th century, the office and role of Prime Minister featured in statute law and official documents; however, the