Some sad news

One of Richard's most prominent collateral descendants passed away last
month. Robert Capell, 10th Earl of Essex, left a son who is a 61 year-
old bachelor and a male line only title.
I read this in the Ipswich "Evening Star". The article included a
feature on William Capell, a grocer from Sacramento in California and
cousin of the new Earl. He is 52 and has only a daughter but is the
heir to the Earldom, after whom would come a family in Zimbabwe and
South Africa.

I thought the British Parliament voted to do away with hereditary
titles a couple of years ago. I remember a photo of the current
Earl of Burford atop the Woolsack yelling "Treason! Treason!"
So how can some grocer in California be in line to inherit a
title?
Please straighten me out on this!

Thanks,
Janet


-- In , "stephenmlark"
<smlark@t...> wrote:
> One of Richard's most prominent collateral descendants passed away
last
> month. Robert Capell, 10th Earl of Essex, left a son who is a 61
year-
> old bachelor and a male line only title.
> I read this in the Ipswich "Evening Star". The article included a
> feature on William Capell, a grocer from Sacramento in California
and
> cousin of the new Earl. He is 52 and has only a daughter but is
the
> heir to the Earldom, after whom would come a family in Zimbabwe
and
> South Africa.

That's very interesting! Can you imagine getting word of that? It's like a movie or something. I live very near Sacramento, so this rather hits home.


stephenmlark <smlark@...> wrote:
One of Richard's most prominent collateral descendants passed away last
month. Robert Capell, 10th Earl of Essex, left a son who is a 61 year-
old bachelor and a male line only title.
I read this in the Ipswich "Evening Star". The article included a
feature on William Capell, a grocer from Sacramento in California and
cousin of the new Earl. He is 52 and has only a daughter but is the
heir to the Earldom, after whom would come a family in Zimbabwe and
South Africa.





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Stephen:
I can say that Bill the Californian grocer is now allowed to use
his cousin's secondary (courtesy) title: Viscount Malden.

Ann:
How can he be? I understood the rule to be that one may only
use the heir's courtesy title if one is the *direct* heir (the eldest
son, or if that son predeceased his father, the peer, then that son's
eldest son). Specifically, the peer's descendant, not a sideways heir
as a cousin would be.


Helen:

So I take it that Bill the Californian is still English because
I believe that if he was an American citizen he couldn't use a title,
even a courtesy one. Isn't that true?

Ann:
The US Constitution states this, in Article I, Section. 9,
Clause 8:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no
Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without
the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office,
or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.


It's pretty clear that the Framers did *not* want a system of
nobility and privilege by birth So since Bill the Californian presumably
is a private citizen and not employed by the US Government, there
doesn't seem to be anything standing in the way of his accepting the
title when his cousin passes away.

One of the more interesting Constitutional tidbits is the
Mysterious Missing Thirteenth Amendment, which was circulated to the
States in 1810 but never actually ratified, which reads:

If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim,
receive, or retain, any title of nobility, or honor, or shall, without
the consent of Congress, accept any present, pension, office or
emolument, of any kind whatever, from any Emperor, King, Prince or
foreign Power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United
States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit
under them, or either of them.

Current law tends to hold that this one would, in any case, be
moot as the 14th Amendment had settled the issue ....

Helen:

A few days ago some people were being a bit cynical about people
claiming descent from Edward 111. Frankly by now there could be many
thousands descended from that monarch. One had to just to think of the
many listed in De Ruvigny and he may had missed some. Many more too
would have been born since publications of those volumes.

Ann:
Millions. And it's probably almost underestimating the numbers
to describe Charlemagne, with a five-hundred-year head start and more
than one wife, as the Father of a Continent.

L.P.H.,

Ann Sharp
axsc@...
http://mzbworks.home.att.net/ann.htm
Story on the first draft -- nit-pick on the SECOND draft
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~