In the 1920s, Prime Minister David Lloyd George was accused of selling honors in return for campaign contributions. But there were precedents: King James I created the hereditary Order of Baronets in 1611, making knights of gentlemen who would pay the salaries of 30 soldiers for three years.
Dames, the female equivalent of a knight, date from 1917.
On Monday the Cabinet Office announced it was reviewing the honors system to see how it might provide "greater transparency and a greater independent input to the honors process."
The government wants to increase diversity on the selection committees -- currently largely white, male and over 60 -- and among recipients.
But some lawmakers are calling for a bigger overhaul.
"I think they are decided on a whim, I think they are capricious," said Labor Party lawmaker Gordon Prentice, who is on a House of Commons committee studying the honors system. "I just think it is time to get rid of all these ridiculous gradations. We need an open, simple, transparent system. The whole system really needs shaking up."
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