_The Three Estates of the Realm._--Some, even educated persons of this
day, if asked which are the three estates of the realm, will reply, the
Queen, Lords, and Commons. That the three estates do not include the
Queen, and are therefore the Lords, the Clergy in Convocation, and the
Commons, is obvious from the title of the "Form of Prayer with
Thanksgiving to be used yearly upon the 5th day of November, for the
happy Deliverance of _King James I._ and the Three Estates of England
from the most Traitorous," &c.; and also from the following passage of
the Communion Collect for Gunpowder Treason:--
"Eternal God, and our most mighty Protector, we Thy unworthy
servants do humbly present ourselves before Thy Majesty,
acknowledging Thy power, wisdom, and goodness, in preserving _the
king_, AND _the three estates_ of the realm of England assembled
in Parliament, from the destruction this day intended against
them."