IDTG

Why, oh why are there so many people out there that feel the need to be “nobles”? Not only that, they’re not happy unless they’re “Highness”, “Prince”, “Grand Duke” etc.

I guess, if you’re going to reinvent yourself as nobility, might as well go all the way….

Anyone that delves into heraldry will inadvertently run into phonies, wannabes and “What the hell are they thinking?!”

There are those who wake up one day and either are delusional and truly believe they are the “Imperial Prince of New South East Narnia” or are con men. The latter are especially interesting as they quickly create “Orders of Chivalry” and charge obscene amounts for gongs and titles that gullible people with money from around the world are ready to pay.

The prime example is the infamous MacCarthy Mór & Niadh Nask scandal that rocked the Genealogical Office of the Republic of Ireland and even managed to hoodwink a King of Arms of the English College of Arms! As a side note, the man behind this fraud, Terence Francis MacCarthy, was also behind the ICOC (International Commission on Orders of Chivalry) the organization that is supposed to certify the validity of chivalric orders. Ironic no?

To be fair, the ICOC was changed radically later to purge itself from the Niadh Nask fellows but, some of the taint remains.

Another group of phony nobles are those that have a very remote relationship with royalty and many times that’s via multiple illegitimate lines.

An example of these would be someone that claims descent from Charlemagne (pretty much anyone of European descent alive today) to claim a title of the Holy Roman Empire.

Finally, you have those continue the tradition their father or grandfather started. What’s fascinating about these con men is how the claims to titles and thrones become more elaborate as time goes by, as if every generation becomes more savvy.

So, what’s the heraldic spin? Each one of these either come up with such complex arms, quartering all the royal arms of Europe or simply usurp someone else’s.

Here are some such “nobles” for your amusement (there are so many out there that you’ll need Google to keep a list of them all):

• http://www.casarealrurikovich.com/
• http://www.sanconstantino.com/
• http://www.isangel.info/
• http://www.maisonroyaledetanna.com/
• http://www.orderofsteugene.com/