Course Description

Instructor: Michael McDavid

When you watched Downton Abbey, did you wonder why the wife of the Earl of Grantham was a countess and their daughters “ladies� with different surnames? Or why the wife of the Prince of Wales is the Duchess of Cornwall? Or maybe why a certain grand “lord� in a historical novel turns out to be poor and title-less? If any of these questions have kept you awake at night, come join this light-hearted one-session course where we will survey the “system� of styles and titles for the historic top 1% of Britain’s historic ruling class. At the end of the session you should be able to identify who’s who among the upper class and their relationship to their families and each other. It’s information every Anglophile needs to know. You will also receive a summary/reference sheet from the session so you can catch all the mistakes in the British murder mysteries and costume dramas.