Nobility Articles
Old Money Last Names: Exploring the Wealthy & Influential Surnames
Throughout the evolution of civilisation, both individuals and groups have sought to classify members of society into certain hierarchies. While it may not seem appropriate to modern minds, given the contemporary culture of equality and democracy, there have been...
Famous Members of the Imperial Habsburg Family
Among the many royal and imperial dynasties of Europe, there were some ruling families that became established for generations, or left a lasting impression on history due to their infamy, legend or scandal. One of the most famous and historic imperial dynasties of...
Monarchy Countries: Which Nations Still Have Kings & Queens Today
The British Royal Family is a world-famous monarchy that regularly makes headlines around the globe. It seems the entire world is fascinated with the lives and dramas of the famous Windsor Family and the ancient royal history of Britain. Whether it's the...
Scandalous Crown Princes Of Europe
The history books are filled with stories of the great and famous kings and queens of the ages. Given the esteemed and highly public role of royal rulers, it's not surprising that the lives and dramas of sovereigns capture the imagination of the public, both during...
The Most Beautiful French Royal Names & Their Meaning
There's something inspiring about discovering the meaning behind beautiful and popular names. Many names are so loved and cherished because they have an important or symbolic meaning. Whereas other names evoke a certain time in history, a place in the world, or a...
The Definition of a Noble Person: The Qualities That Define Nobility
Many people around the world are curious about the glamorous and historic social group known as the nobility. This social class has acquired an identity of its own, one that’s elevated from the rest of society, that includes a range of curious rules and formal...
Do Aristocrats Have Generational Wealth
The story of the aristocracy has long included a tradition of passing on rank and status to future generations. The many Counts and Lords of the modern world are part of a historical practice of passing noble names and titles from one generation to another. Many...
Are Aristocrats Born Rich
For as long as there has been an aristocratic class, there has also been a strong association between aristocracy and wealth. Even though the origins of the aristocracy are rooted in ideas of altruism and service, for many centuries, the realms of nobles and...
Old Money Rules of the Nobility
When the system of nobility first began to emerge during the Middle Ages, it was a fluid and informal class of esteemed individuals and notable royal servants. Over time, the early ranks and titles of nobility evolved into a more formal structure, the beginnings of...
What’s the Definition of Chivalry
The notion of chivalry has long been associated with the nobles of the ages, particularly with the rank and title of knights and knighthoods. Since the earliest knights of the Christian Crusades during the medieval times, the idea of chivalry has called to mind...
What’s the Oldest Elite Social Class
Throughout the course of history, there have been many varied types of social groups that have risen to power or become popular among their people. In modern times, it could be argued that the celebrities of contemporary culture - those who have risen to fame and...
Why are Noble Titles for Sale in Europe
If you're the kind of person who likes to explore unusual and effective ways to get ahead in life, you may have come across notices that there are sometimes noble titles available to buy. Many of these offers appear online, and there is a great deal of interest from...
What are the Oldest French Noble Titles
The nobility of France is one of the many great social systems that emerged in Europe during the Middle Ages. Many of the titles that evolved during this period are still in use today. Although the systems of governance have changed drastically since the days of the...
Who was the Last Russian Tsar
The last Tsar of Russia was Nicholas II, or to give him his full Russian title; Nikolay Aleksandrovich Romanov. He was born in Russia in 1868, the eldest son of his predecessor, Tsar Alexander III. As the eldest son of the heir to the Russian Empire, he was raised in...
What Happened to the Russian Imperial Family
Throughout the ages, the Russian Empire has played a key role in the history of Europe. This once-vast imperial realm was the home of some of the most iconic rulers, such as the legendary Catherine the Great, and her predecessor in greatness, Peter the Great. The...
Who Was Princess Alix of Hesse
The royal princesses of Europe are a captivating cast of notable women, historic characters and fascinating personalities. Even though all of history's princesses have left their mark in some way, there are some who make a bigger impression on the world stage during...
The Royals of Europe & the First World War
The royals of Europe are connected in a number of expected and sometimes unexpected ways. For example, it has long been the practice of Europe's great royal houses to unite in the marriage of a young prince of one nation to a young princess of another nation. These...
How Do Royal Dynasties Begin
Some of the family names of the royal dynasties of Europe have become legendary lineages in the history of kings and queens and their offspring. From the Bourbon kings who ruled France for centuries, to the mighty Habsburg line that reigned supreme over the vast...
Where Were French Kings Crowned
The pomp and ceremony associated with French Kings throughout the ages call to mind splendour and extravagance beyond the imagination of many ordinary people. Nowhere is this more evident than in a royal coronation ceremony. Even today, a coronation is a prodigious...
Great Dynasties Of Europe
The great royal dynasties of Europe have evolved over some of the most turbulent centuries of both ancient epochs and modern times. The stories of these iconic and esteemed family lines are some of the most captivating tales of regal characters and family dramas that...
The Kings of Sweden & Norway
The Kings and Queens of Sweden and Norway have occupied a historic role in the evolution of Europe's royal dynasties. Though the nations of Norway and Sweden may have played less pivotal roles in the tumultuous epochs of Europe as it evolved and emerged during the...
Who Was The Most Famous King of Spain
The Kingdom of Spain has known a great many famous and legendary kings. From the infamous Charles V, or Carlos I to give him his Spanish title, to the 'King of The Golden Age', Philip II, also known as Philip the Prudent and credited with an unprecedented age of...
What are Peerage Titles & How to Get Them
The Peerage of Great Britain has become renowned throughout the world as one of the most esteemed and established systems of the aristocracy to have emerged from the nobility of the Middle Ages. What Is A Peerage? In its simplest terms, a peerage is just the status...
To the Manor Born – Meaning & History
There's a phrase in modern parlance that is often used to represent high society circles or people of noble birth: to the manor born. But what does this curious phrase really mean? Where did it originate? And what's the right way to use it in everyday conversation? ...
Great Noble Houses Of Europe
The European continent has been the backdrop for the origin and evolution of many great noble family lines. Many of these aristocratic lineages, known as Houses, stretch back across the centuries to medieval times, when the earliest nobles and aristocrats began...
From Italian Noblewoman To Queen Of France
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Era that followed, the social hierarchy known as the aristocracy gradually developed into a formal system of ranks and titles. These noble ranks identified a person's place in the social order, their position or status...
The Most Scandalous Queen Of Norway
The regal dynasties of Europe have long been a fascinating and complex collection of royal and noble family lines, with marriages between families and nations creating historic lineages that endure for centuries. For eons, it has long been the practice for prominent...
How are the European Royal Families Related
The royal dynasties of Europe have a long history of family connections and shared heritage. For centuries, it was the custom within the great royal houses of Europe to look to join forces via strategic marriages and profitable alliances. As a result, the family...
What are Typical Aristocratic Values
In both modern times and throughout history, the social order known as the aristocracy has been a feature of a great many cultures and civilisations. From its earliest incarnations in the times of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, through the Middle Ages, the...
Expensive Tastes Of India’s Maharajas
As one of the most distinctive systems of royalty and aristocracy that have evolved around the world over the last millennia, India has a rich and diverse range of regal titles and noble ranks. From the great Padshahs and Nawabs who have reigned supreme over the...
Who Was King Of The French After The Revolution
Historically, the lifestyles of kings, queens and aristocrats have featured levels of wealth, privilege, leisure, power and social influence that many ordinary working people could only dream of. Over the centuries of the Middle Ages, as the systems of royalty and...
What Is The Renaissance Famous For?
Of all the cultural movements that human civilisation has witnessed over the millennia, perhaps one of the most exciting and significant is that of The Renaissance. This relatively short period saw rapid changes that rippled out from its European origins and spread...
French Aristocrats That Flourished During The Revolution
During the millennia since a noble class first began to emerge in the days of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, there have been a number of occasions when being part of such an elite social group was less of a blessing and more of a curse. In fact, there were such...
When Did The Aristocracy Begin?
What we know today as the system of aristocracy and nobility has roots stretching back over millennia. Medieval Nobles The most popular noble titles and ranks within the social hierarchies that endured to modern times are largely the terms and roles that evolved...
Royal Residences Of Scotland
The British Isles are rich with the history of royals and nobles from the earliest times, when the various fledgling territories were ruled by clans and kings and their devoted knights and warriors. Some of the greatest myths and legends hail from the lands that...
Who Was Empress Josephine?
In the wake of Napoleon Bonaparte's legend and infamy, the Empress Josephine is a historic figure and key player in the story of France during the years of revolution and the birth of the new empire. This beautiful iconic lady rose to the epitome of power and...
What Happened During The Napoleonic Era?
The Napoleonic Era is an epoch of French history that not only changed the social and political structure within France itself, but the various Napoleonic Wars and their far-reaching effects changed the destinies and lifestyles of millions of people, both within the...
How Did Napoleon Become Emperor?
The stories of Emperors throughout the ages are often tales of royal birth, esteemed noble lineage, and inherited wealth and power. This is perhaps what makes the story of Napoleon Bonaparte all the more captivating and historic. The whole world loves a...
From French Nobility To Queen of Naples
There have long been strong connections between the royals of history's monarchies and the circles of nobility and aristocracy that have customarily surrounded the kings and queens of the ages. For centuries, it has been the tradition for the families of eminent...
What Is An Aristocratic Society?
Human civilization has evolved over the millennia, with various types of societies emerging, as cultures have sought ways to function successfully in larger numbers or to work together more efficiently as a group. Some of these social structures have been more...
Medieval Kings Of History
The medieval period is one of the most historic eras in the evolution of Europe, and nowhere were the most notable themes of the times played out more visibly than through the monarchs and sovereigns of the Middle Ages. The lives of the kings and rulers of these...
Medieval Queens Of History
The Medieval period of European history is one of the most fascinating stories of the development of the modern world. The medieval period, also called the Middle Ages, is generally regarded to be the era between the Roman times and the Renaissance, encompassing the...
The Most Famous Spanish Princesses
The story of Spanish royalty is a rich and captivating tale of legend and infamy, featuring some of the most fabled characters and events of European history. While the kings and queens of Spain may have dominated the headlines and the history books over the...
The Most Scandalous Queen Of France
The queens of France throughout the ages have provided the history books and their contemporaries with a rich array of delightful stories and captivating legends. The monarchy of France was one of the most famous and enduring European monarchies. So it's not...
Who Was The Most Famous French King?
There have been many famous French kings and emperors. From the legendary Sun King who bequeathed the world the magnificent Versailles Palace complex, to the iconic Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who initiated a new era of imperial rule in the 19th century, the French...
Who Was The Sun King?
Of all the French kings and queens that have left their mark on the history books, few are as iconic as the legendary Sun King. Who Was The Sun King? The Sun King, Le Roi Soleil in French, was the nickname given to one of France's greatest kings, King Louis XIV. He...
The Most Respected Aristocratic Titles
The development of the nobility and the hierarchy of aristocratic titles around the world is a rich and captivating history of social evolution and a fascinating insight into the human condition. A Brief History Of Aristocratic Titles The hierarchy of noble ranks and...
The Greatest Royal Battles In History
The lives of kings and queens and their royal courts is often depicted as a decadent whirl of social delights and extravagant opulence. The lavish lifestyles of many royals and nobles throughout the ages have been a vision of grand palaces, exquisite finery, days of...
The Proper Way To Greet Royals & Nobles
If you were to host a party, banquet or social gathering that included aristocrats and members of royalty on the guest list, would you know the proper way to greet these esteemed guests? Anybody who moves in the social circles that include royalty and nobles would...
How To Address Royalty Correctly
There’s a scene in the popular movie The King’s Speech that has become a classic education on how to address royalty correctly. This particular vignette, set in the 1930s, shows the English queen, Elizabeth, latterly The Queen Mother, (played with panache by Helena...