When fake Ph.Ds aren't enough

[Deleted05]

http://www.regaltitles.com/

Found this last night, and immediately started thinking of Baucham and Geoff and Dougie. I feel like they wouldn't have any problem adding a title to their names. And I wouldn't have any problem seeing them get ripped off doing it. Serves as a great accessory for all those manly dressing-up parties, too!

[Little_Eyes]

Is this for real? It seems a bit...snarky. :-D

[liltwinstar]

heh - for Christmas, my husband's grandma gave him a square foot of land in Scotland, along with the title "Laird." It's a fundraiser for some castle over there - you pay for your "square foot" which is really part of the castle grounds. Sort of like the brick-buying that places do here to raise money.

Anyway, every now and then I tease him about being "Laird Firstname" which makes us laugh. I had no idea you could actually purchase a real title... :lol:

[Kitten]

Don't know about this particular site, but yes, titles are often available for sale. Usually they are "name only," and don't offer anything other than the perceived cachet of social prestige.

Remember Zonker in Doonesbury, AKA Viscount St. Austell-in-the-Moor Biggleswade-Brixham?

http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/set/10

I've seen the site about the castle - in fact, my family genealogy has a connection to the family back in the 1200's (which is how I came across it in the first place), so I've thought about buying one of the pieces just for fun.

[Alecto]

You can become a lord, lady, baron or baroness of Sealand!

http://www.sealandgov.org/titles.html

That being said, my family found out a few years ago we are heirs to some defunct Eastern European titles, and my uncle is actually 8th in line for a disputed defunct regency which is illegal to claim, and that makes me like 30th in line after all of my various cousins, uncles, aunts, ect. I wonder if we could sell some of those titles? I could use the cash for grad school.

[Patsy]

Haha, NICE. My grandmother once attended a family reunion of some distant cousins she'd found through genealogy. They were all rather upper-class and thought the bonds of snootiness united them all (which is a bit of a dumb thing to value in Australian society, but oh well). They asked her what she'd found through her genealogy, and she awkwardly told them that the great-grandmother (? sketchy on details) they share came to Australia as (ready your pearls for clutching) a child maid, her passage paid by her employer. Oh dear. They didn't like that. Perhaps she could purchase a title to make up for this background :D

[demgirl]

I want one. And the fact that I want one disturbs me...

[Guest Anonymous]

heh - for Christmas, my husband's grandma gave him a square foot of land in Scotland, along with the title "Laird." It's a fundraiser for some castle over there - you pay for your "square foot" which is really part of the castle grounds. Sort of like the brick-buying that places do here to raise money.

Anyway, every now and then I tease him about being "Laird Firstname" which makes us laugh. I had no idea you could actually purchase a real title... :lol:

This reminds me of an ad campaign sponsored by Quaker Oats in the late 1950s. The company was sponsoring a children's show, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and as a promotion, for 50 cents you could buy a square inch of land in the Yukon, deed and all. The deeds were real and registered with the Yukon provincial government for land that QUaker Oats actually owned there. About 25 years later, Quaker Oats wanted to sell the land. When they tried, they were told that the deeds they issued were still valid and that they would have to track down the buyers and repurchase them to regain their title. I don't recall what happened after that but the story reminds me of this one about fake titles and land deeds.

[clibbyjo]

Well, now I have to get my husband the "Laird" title for sure! I have already forced him to dress up as Braveheart for Halloween and he is Scottish.. Plus, I need that title myself when I sign checks and write letters..

[VodouDoll]

Can you even be Viscount or Duke or whatever and also an American citizen? I didn't think that was allowed. Plus, honestly, if I met somebody who introduced himself to me as Lord Whoever and then I googled him and found out he was totally fake and bought his title on the internet, I would think that was the lamest thing in the world. Being Mr. or Ms. isn't good enough for these folks?

[Swamptribe]

Years ago, as a gimmick, my husband became owner of a square inch of land at the Jack Daniels Distillery. Still has the certificate around somewhere.

[luckylibrarian]

demgirl, I want one, too. I'm not sure what that says about me.

[ladypuglover]

<---- I already am a Lady. Not because of a piece of paper but because I said so. :lol:

[PennySycamore]

Can you even be Viscount or Duke or whatever and also an American citizen? I didn't think that was allowed. Plus, honestly, if I met somebody who introduced himself to me as Lord Whoever and then I googled him and found out he was totally fake and bought his title on the internet, I would think that was the lamest thing in the world. Being Mr. or Ms. isn't good enough for these folks?

Yes, you can have a title and also be an American citizen. Christopher Haden-Guest, born in New York to a British diplomat, is the 5th Baron Haden-Guest. His wife is Jamie Lee Curtis aka Lady Haden-Guest. What is sad is that their two adopted children, The Honorable Anne and The Honorable Thomas, are not in the line of succession for the Barony of Haden-Guest.

And lest we forget, there's the Countess Luann de Lesseps of the Real Housewives of New York. She retained her courtesy title even after her divorce from the Count. It's probably murkier than that. I don't know how things are among French nobles, but in the UK, women don't retain the legal right to a courtesy title following a divorce. However, by British custom, she would be called Luann, Comtesse de Lesseps.

[emmiedahl]

Heh. Laughing because Laird was one of the frontrunners for my youngest son's name.

[Alecto]

What is sad is that their two adopted children, The Honorable Anne and The Honorable Thomas, are not in the line of succession for the Barony of Haden-Guest.

Actually, their parents could petition the crown for a modification of their letters patent and they could become heirs. It's been done before, and considering the royals love themselves some goodwill, they would probably do it. The Queen can't issue hereditary titles anymore, except to members of her own family, but she can still legally modify hereditary titles that already exist.