Are you up for a little 'Regal Research'?

        Although for many of us royal genealogical links may just be a dream, there are thousands of others who are unaware of their ‘blue blood’ connections to the royal family of Britain and by association, to the royal families of Europe. Is there talk within your family that you have such a 'regal relationship'?

   Surprisingly, this is not such a wild claim as the further back we can pursue our research the greater the prospect. Step back in time and with larger families, yet a smaller population, the likelihood of making some royal links via one of the many branches of descendants is a possibility.

Start with what you know! 

   Perhaps you have a particular ancestor in mind which links you to this claim? Consider starting at the end of their lives and work backwards. They may well have been important enough to warrant an obituary in a local, regional or national newspaper which reports a variety of details about their life, title, rank and achievements giving you other valuable avenues of research to follow. Titled males may well have had military careers, follow any leads you discover regarding this to regimental archives or museums which usually hold records such as diaries, paintings and even photographs that could help give you your first visual link to the ancestor in question.

   Family papers, bibles, correspondence and documents may unlock a few doors whilst biographical histories may have already been published on the individual; ‘google search’ the internet or ask for assistance at your local history library. Depending on their status and achievements, these biographies may have been written by professionals or likeminded historians who could also be related to the figure in question, and could also be part of your extended family tree. 

   If you're on the hunt for' Gentrified Genealogy,' get yourself access to a copy of Burke's Peerage – first published in 1826 - which lists the aristocracy and their antecedents and see if you can find any obvious links between their pedigree and yours.  If family stories of noble ties have been handed down, this may be the place to get a little more background knowledge about the surname and the location where the main families bearing that name were based.

   Your blood may not be blue, but you could have aristocratic ties.  Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage was first published in 1769. ‘Peerage’ is the term used for ‘the hierarchy of titles of various ranks conferred by the Sovereign upon his or her subjects, which has its roots in feudal time’ whilst ‘Baronetage’ is ‘a hereditary knighthood created by James I in 1611.’  Consider checking records such as the Burkes Landed Gentry of 1906. This resource can provide details of those families who are not quite so noble but still own significant amounts of land.

 Why not pursue your family claims - who knows what you will find!