LORD peers/ Burford 3

Charles, Earl of Burford, eldest son of the Duke of St Albans, outside the Palace of Westminster. The Government's package to oust most hereditary peers from the Lords is set to go to the wire under the Commons programme, before the end of the current session. * Leader of the House Margaret Beckett disclosed Parliament will be prorogued on Thursday, rising for a short break before the Queen's Speech the following week.The peer earlier caused uproar in the House of Lords by leaping on to the Woolsack protesting at the Government's Bill to end the right of hereditary peers to sit in Parliament. *26/01/01 Burford's wife, an actress and singer, has criticised the British aristocracy for not accepting her way of life. Lady Burford, otherwise known as Louise Robey, posted a message on her web site this week telling her fans she was having marriage difficulties. Born in Canada in 1960, she became the Countess of Burford when she married the Earl of Burford in 1994. The couple have a son, James, who was born in 1997. (Photo by Matthew Fearn - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)