ROYAL & NOBLE GENEALOGY
Professional Firm
We do not do genealogy. Rather we register and certify accurate royal and noble lines as authentic. We can only provide full registration or certification for what is proven to be true and real.
We refer all of this work out to a team of professionals, or a professional genealogical firm, who have successfully been in business since 1981. They along with some others have been building a computer data base that is not on the internet, but is by far more accurate and complete than any computer based system that has been set up on the internet to help people find their ancestors. In fact, most lines entered into the system described above must be corrected to reflect more accurate data. This data has been growing and expanding, since 1979 or the last 27 years and prominent lines have been cleared up and verified, such that, the sytem has one of the best collections of royal and noble lines in the world. Often, especially for Western Europeon ancestry, the lines move back instantly and automatically when entered into the computer, which is built on millions and millions of hours of professional and voluntary research.
Any verified work done by this firm of accredited genealogists can automatically be certified at the clear and convincing level (70% assurance) or higher depending on the nature of the particular project, because their professional standard for honesty and integrity is so high. They are members of The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists: www.icapgen.org, and/or the Association of Professional Genealogists: www.apgen.org, which requires this kind of high standard.
Royal and Noble Descent
To find that one is descended from royal or noble stock is thrilling to most people, it being a part of what we are–our roots–our identity–our ancestry. We can feel a sense of being a part of history–a part of something really important, unique and special that happened hundreds of years ago.
The interesting thing is, the probability exists that everyone in the Western World, with European ancestors, are descended from royalty–Charlemagne in particular. But how could this be? Well, it is complicated to understand, but, the number of our ancestors increases exponentially from having two parents to four grandparents to eight great grandparents–so fast that theoretically 40 generations ago or about a thousand years ago–each individual on earth, right now, “has more than a trillion direct ancestors–a figure that far exceeds the total number of human beings who ever lived [on the earth].” (See: www.ancestry.com/learn/library
/article.aspx?article=5921)
In fact, mathematically speaking, you are probably a direct line descendant of everyone who lived about a thousand years ago, that is, of those who actually had surviving children, or offspring. Another factor in this equation, is that the descendants of royalty and nobility fared much better than the offspring of the common man, who suffered greater hardships and greater tragedy. For example, it is estimated that at least 20% of the people who lived a thousand years ago have no living descendants on earth today, because they were childless or the family died off for one reason or another. Intermarriage, migration, disease, war and bloodshed, survival and death have made it statistically probable, or very likely, that “everyone of European ancestry is descended from Mohammad and Charlemagne,” explained Mark Humphrys, a computer scientist from Dublin City University, who participated in this study along with Joseph Chang, a statistician at Yale University. (See: www.ancestry.com/learn/library/ article.aspx?article=5921) The conclusion is that all humanity is related, or biologically connected, many times over in the mix of those few whose posterity survived for thousands of years down to the present. (See: http://humphrysfamilytree.com
/famous.descents.html) “But can you prove it?,” Mark Humphrys asked rhetorically. Even if it is most probable, the proof, well…… “That’s the game of genealogy.” (See: www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=5921)
Two other studies conclude that “Edward III is a common ancestor of well over 80% — probably over 95% — of the living English-descended population of England.” (Ian Mortimer, The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, 2007, pp. 433-440, 503 and “Physics News Update,” No. 428, American Institute of Physics, 1999) (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/12/AR2006081200607_pf.html)
And “if you have any descent from British folk of the last 900 years, you must be a descendant of William and Matilda,” that is, William, the Conqueror. “Mathematically, it is virtually certain that we are all cousines and probably much more closely than we think, except perhaps to Aborigines of Australia, Eskimos, and other such isolated peoples.” (Arden H. Brame, Jr. II, “Are You and I Really Causins? . . . or . . . How Many Ancestors Did We Have is A.D. 1 and in 1700 B.C.?,” The Augustan Society Omnibus Book 7 in The Colonial Genealogist, XII:4, issue 46, 1986.)
If these studies are indeed accurate, you are probably descended from royalty somehow, somewhere. However, some people have more royal and noble blood than others, and this can only be determined by a solidly proven genealogical line that is accurate and not flawed, or made up. Certification can only be given to those individuals whose genealogy is compellingly accurate and can pass the test, or examination, of credentialed genealogists of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists who we hire to ensure the line is valid. (See: www.icapgen.org)
Beware of Fraud
The problem is that there are probably as many faked royal lines as there are unscrupulous and unprincipled genealogists ready to make a quick buck. On one website, it states:
Supplying phony noble ancestries for the newly rich has been a profitable business for centuries. Just as there have been forgeries in the arts and letters, so there have been forgeries in genealogy. An entire issue of the Genealogical Journal (19 [1 and 2] [1991]) was devoted to case studies in fraud. The editor, Gordon L. Remington, addressed the topic at a national conference and proposed the following guidelines to detect genealogical fraud (“Charlemagne or Charlatan: Case Studies in Genealogical Fraud,” 1994 Federation of Genealogical Societies/Virginia Genealogical Society Conference):
- Suspicious, inadequate, or no citations.
- The ancestry provided is “too good to be true.”
- The reasoning doesn’t make sense. (See: www.ancestry.com/learn/start/fraudulent.htm)
Hence, the warning on another website that states:
Learn to protect yourself with these links to common genealogy scams, hoaxes, frauds and myths including fake coat of arms, phony inheritance and estate scams, fraudulent genealogy software and services, misleading family surname books and more. Plus, learn what to do if you’ve been duped! (http://genealogy.about.com/cs/genealogyscams)
This website then provides some good links as helps against this growing crime. A few examples of disproven or unproven royal lines, as well as fake family trees, are as follows:
(http://humphrysfamilytree.com/famous.unproved.html)
(http://members.aol.com/calebj/hoaxes.html)
(www.genealogymagazine.com/watoutforfak.html)
(http://eogn.typepad.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/
2005/11/uproar_over_fak.html)
For information on fraudulent title of nobility schemes see: “Fake Titles and Counterfeits” as well as “Title of Nobility Scams and Suspicious Claimants.”
General Information
The International Commission on Nobility and Royalty provides the following services: Registration of Noble and/or Royal Genealogy and the Certification of Noble and/or Royal Genealogy or illustrious ancestors. There is provisional registration and full registration and provisional certification and full certification. (See “Membership Catagories, Fees, Evidence Requirements and Standards”)
We do not do genealogical research per se, rather we only verify and confirm that what is submitted to us is accurate and reliable. Since ancestral lines can rarely, at best, be perfect or flawless, for most cases only provisional certification can be granted or permitted, except where the evidence is truly “beyond reasonable doubt,” such as in a royal line, or a well-known, historically documented noble ancestral line. In other words, most genealogical evidence must be considered questionable to some degree, as further research may disprove it at some future time. Hence, the certification of illustrious ancestry can never be made absolute or final in most cases. (See: “General Philosophy & Practices”)
A new science of genetics may change everything and can be submitted as proof of some connections, but at this point in time, they cannot substitute for a well-documented line of descent. In other words, without exception, the individuals that make up one’s ancestral line must be identified by name, dates, etc. and be able to pass the inspection and spot checks of accredited professionals to qualify for either:
(1) full registration (preponderance of evidence—51% level of assurance)
(2) provisional certification (clear and convincing—70% level of assurance)
(3) full certification (beyond reasonable doubt—90% level of assurrance)
Provisional registration, however, with the Commission is only on an “as is” basis—no inspection is made. Such a line is merely stored and kept safe in the files designed to confidentially protect such personal information.
Genealogical research is often necessary for the certification of a person’s right to bear a noble title, use an ancestor’s coat of arms, or rightfully claim nobility especially when such a claim is based on a hereditary right. It is essential, in such a case, that the line be proven and documented. Certification must represent truth or what is real. The International Commission will not approve anything that is shady, questionable or false. Also the Commission reserves the right to revoke or cancel certification, if valid and weighty evidence calls into question any member’s full registration, provisional certification, or full certification. This is spelled out on the web page entitled: “Membership Catagories, Fees, Evidence Requirements and Standards.”
General Philosophy on Noble and Royal Descent
and the Recognition of Nobility and Royalty
Certification as being an actual descendant of royal or noble blood is simply a matter of submitting accurate and reliable genealogy that has been confirmed to be accurate. Of course, such would have to be checked thoroughly by an accredited professional genealogist to insure correctness.
But whether one is to be considered a noble or royal, which is a much higher and special degree of recognition, depends mostly upon the laws and practices of the particular nation involved and international attitudes and acceptance. Care, again, will be taken to respect those various laws and practices to insure that a correct and proper decision is made.
But it must be kept in mind, that the Commission does not recognize nobles or royalty for specific countries or kingdoms, such as, Spain, Jordan or Tonga. Rather an individual is recognized on a regional and/or continental basis only. For example, as a result of this policy, a Spaniard, who is of a noble house, would be recognized to be of European noble blood, a Jordanian royal would be of Asian or Arabian Royalty, and a person of the royal and noble blood of Tonga would be recognized to be a person of noble and royal Pacific or Oceanic descent. In others words, since we cannot legally speak for any particular country or past kingdom or empire that no longer exists, we have determined only to recognize true nobility and royalty only on a regional and/or continental level.
If a non-noble or non-royal person obtains a noble or royal title or feudal crown, which was legally, officially and legitimately conveyed upon him or her and it was accepted and approved by the sovereign head of the appropriate family, then this person will also be given recognition as being part of the appropriate nobility or royalty of the earth on a regional basis. Justification for this is simply that all noble or royal families had a beginning and became noble or royal at some point in history. This came through various means, by peaceful purchase, by sheer force and by subterfuge or deceit. But the point is, a true title holder in modern times will be given recognition, not as a part of the historical nobility or royalty of a particular country, but as a noble or royal person simply by virtue of being the actual owner of a true and legitimate noble or royal title. (See the article on “Nobiliary Law and Succession”)
The International Commission on Nobility and Royalty is wholeheartedly committed to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. To be otherwise would be to lose the respect of the whole civilized world. Consequently we must be right in everything we do, so our administrators make sure that we are very careful, thorough and accurate in all of our investigations to verify and confirm what is submitted to us. (See: “General Philosophy and Practices”)
For information on the science and practice of Genealogy in general, please go to the article below by that name.