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>If a family has a reason or grounds to claim an English title, what are some sources of information that might tell about proceedures, etiqutte, and laws involved? And, at what point does a hereditary title "die" - or does it? Does anyone know the current ruling monarch's position on "old crown" titles? I hear the French tend to honor all titles, past or present, but they are the most permissive.
Let's see if I can give some basic answers to some of the complicated questions you ask in your post.
If you believe you are eligible to be considered for an English title (and I don't mean belief through anecdotal evidence, but belief through solid, proven genealogical documentation), you have limited options.
You don't explain what kind of English title you might want to claim, but if it's a peerage title (duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron), find yourself a copy of the following books, and familiarize yourself with the various holders (past and present) of these peerage titles:
- *Complete Peerage* (full citation further below)
- *Burke's Peerage & Baronetage* (available in hardcover, or online edition)
- *Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage*
Afterwards, if you still feel you have a case, then you might want to get in touch with the House of Lords Information Office, or the Committee for Privileges. But I caution you that the people who maintain these offices are serious folk, and most likely will only entertain well-prepared and well-researched requests.
If by "English title" you mean a title of (British) royalty (that's what you have more or less in the subject line), then you are out of luck. To the best of my knowledge, there are no unclaimed royal titles. For example, the title of sovereign or monarch is currently held by HM Queen Elizabeth II. If it's a princely title such as HRH Prince/Princess of Great Britain, then all the eligible people currently hold their titles. (At any rate, this style and title is limited to a few specific individuals, as per King George V's Letters Patent of 30 October 1917 and subsequent modifications).
If by "English title" you mean being able to claim a place in the succession to the Crown (I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I'm fairly certain I'm correct), then you are, again, out of luck. Why? It isn't because of a personal reason, but because I do not believe you meet the criteria. And what is that criteria? Very simply, are you a legitimate descendant of Electress Sophia? Why would you need to be? Well, that's because certain statutes (such as the Act of Settlement, 1701) limit the right of succession to the British Throne to Sophia, Electress of Hanover "and the heirs of her body, being Protestants". If you are not a descendant of Electress Sophia, then you are, to put it bluntly, not eligible to succeed, no ifs, ands, or buts. In case you want to verify who these descendants are, an American genealogist and published author has compiled "A list of all of the descendants of Electress Sophia [...] arranged in succession order, complete as of Jan. 1, 2001" at
http://members.aol.com/eurostamm/succession_2001.html You ask "at what point does a hereditary title "die" - or does it?". Hereditary peerage titles do "die", but the correct term is 'extinct'. For example, when no legitimate heir to a hereditary peerage title can be found, the peerage is "dormant", and remains so until proof can be found that there are no legitimate heirs, and then the peerage is "extinct" and "reverts to the Crown". If the peer is attainted, the peerage is "extinguished by attainder". If the peer succeeds to the throne (such as HRH the Duke of York who succeeded as HM King George VI in 1936), then the peerage "merges with the Crown".
As for "old crown" titles, and the French being permissive about titles (although I suspect you are misinformed on this point), I don't understand what you mean.
Here are some resources that will help you understand this business of titles:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and their answers and other useful information about the British Royal Family and British nobility at:
http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/britfaq.html#toc*The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant.* London: The St. Catherine Press, 1910-1959 [reprint ed. Gloucester: Summon, 1982]
Montague-Smith, Patrick (ed.). Debrett's Correct Form. London: Headline, 1992
Pine, L.G. *Guide to Titles & Forms of Address*
Finally, I hope that this brief and somewhat general reply has helped you in some way, and has shown that "claiming a royal title" is a *very* complicated subject to try understand and is not for the faint-hearted.