At the age of 84, David Trefgarne is not the oldest active peer in the House of Lords. But now well into his 64th year in the upper house, he is very much the longest serving. And in the next few months, it will all end.
The 2nd Baron Trefgarne, to use his formal title, is one of the few hereditary peers still helping to make UK law, the tail end of a legislative chain dating back to the 13th century and Magna Carta. When one of these laws, the House of Lords (hereditary peers) bill, receives royal assent some time in the spring, that will be that.
“I’m very sorry, obviously,” said Trefgarne. “I was coming to the end of my time in the house, anyway. I have been there a long time. I go as often as I can.
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