What is a count? and how do you become one???

Question

i was wondering the scale of royalty... king - queen then What???

Answer 1

The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. The ranks of the English peerage are (from highest to lowest) are Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron.

A duke is a noble person, historically of highest rank below the king or queen, and usually controls a duchy or a Dukedom. Therefore, a duke is the most poweful person within the other peerage titles.

Viscount (Count) is a member of the European nobility. A specifically British custom is the use of viscount as a courtesy title for the heir of an earl or marquess. The peer's heir apparent will sometimes be referred to as a viscount, if the second most senior title held by the head of the family is a viscountcy. For example, the eldest son of the Earl Howe is Viscount Curzon, because this is the second most senior title held by the Earl.

Answer 2

Counts are fairly low on the totem pole, so to speak, though it does vary from country to country.  

In some cases, if you weren't born to such a title, you can buy a castle, and the title that goes with it.  You can probably find such things on the internet...but I guarantee it's going to be expensive.  I remember reading about it some twenty years ago.  There were a couple such titles for sale in France and Germany.  Even then, they were in the tens of millions of dollars.  Now, with inflation, and the weak dollar...it would be much more...

Answer 3

a nobleman equivalent in rank to an English earl. not being royalty or from a place like the UK not sure but you get the title by birth.

Answer 4

The ranks of Nobility are in descending order from the top:

prince or princess

duke or duchess

marquis or marquess

count or countess

viscount or viscountess

baron or baroness

Prefixes for nobility are:

Prince/Princess.......................... Royal Highness

Duke/Duchess............................. Grace the

Marquis/Marquise....................Th... Most Honourable the

Count/Countess........................... Right Honourable the

Viscount/Viscountess................Th... Right Honourable the

Baron/Baroness........................... Honourable the

Lady Diane Spencer was daughter of an Earl, or Count.  It was actually acceptable for a Prince to marry daughter of an Earl, but seldom a Viscount, because the blood was considered 'too diluted'.

A friend of mine, her family fled Poland, to escape two World Wars, and lost plenty of property in Poland, but her father, then she inherited the Title.  And yes, Counts/Countesses did own Castles.  Many Princes and Princesses were married into her family.  

Her family for instance, not only did administrative duties, but were the King's second hand man in War, and helped to negotiate treaties to save the country, in the late 1700s.  I can see why they were given a title at some point in time.

All you have to do is look up the great Noble families of Europe, and the answers are in their Lineage, which can be fascinating.  My above friend's mother, also had Nobility in her blood from England, so I find it rather peculiar that people still hunt for that, to continue their line.

Answer 5

Counts are nobility, not royalty.  The difference is that the post is not necessarily hereditary.  A count, originally, was the administrative head of an area known as - surprise - a county.  They were afforded a residence, more often a manor house than a castle, and the ability to collect minor taxes for their upkeep.  Counts were typically appointed by a monarch or regional lord, from among the existing aristocracy.  That some such titles are hereditary has more to do with custom than the explicit nature of the post.