When it comes to travel, having a generous budget can be an easy way to uplevel both the quality and enjoyment of your trips. It’s usually possible to simply pay for upgrades, fast-track options, extra touches of luxury and superior levels of service.
But there’s another level of luxury travel that can’t be so easily bought – the recognition and respect of being treated, literally, like royalty.
On planes, trains, and boats, in hotels and restaurants around the world, royals are given preferential treatment at so many levels behind the scenes – from additional security and privacy to special provisions of ease and comfort.
Imagine always enjoying the best tables at restaurants, the most devoted staff keen to attend to your every whim, those extra superior touches that sophistication and class command. Imagine your travel providers doing their utmost to reduce the usual downsides of travel to an absolute minimum as you are ushered to your destination as swiftly and discretely as possible. And finally just imagine enjoying an air of respect and reverence everywhere you go.
Travelling like royalty can feel like the ultimate premium upgrade. Yet this uber-luxurious way of vacationing is often an experience that money can’t buy.
Even within the most luxurious travel agenda, there is usually an unspoken level of service and availability reserved for the aristocrats and titled nobles of the world. And this has been the case for centuries, as the kings and queens of history have travelled throughout their own lands and beyond, commanding the very best of everything at every stage of their journey.
Of course, in modern times there is a new breed of eminent persons – today’s rich and famous, the superstars and celebrities who have become a majestic class of their own. These VVIPs get to enjoy the same respect and recognition that the more traditional royals are accustomed to. But are the only ways to access these regal travel perks being a highborn aristocrat or becoming a megastar? Apparently not – there is actually a little known alternative.
If you can’t lay claim to a blue-bloodline and have no desire to become a superstar celebrity, one way that might make this next level of luxury possible is to travel as a Baron, Marquis or even a Prince through the purchase of a suitable Noble Title.
Purchasing genuine, quality Noble Titles can be a legitimate way to receive the kind of travel treatment often reserved for royalty. The process of buying a title is not a new phenomenon and it’s a practice that royals and aristocrats are familiar with.
Kings and emperors, earls and dukes have been bestowing titles upon lowly subjects for hundreds of years, often in exchange for a substantial fee. In more recent times, in 1996 Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer sold the title of Lordship of the Manor of Wimbledon for a princely sum.
Whilst in the past it may have been necessary to appeal directly to any willing landed gentry for access to their heritage kudos, these days it’s possible to find a variety of genuine Titles of Nobility for sale through recognised brokers.
But what kind of benefits can you expect from your upgraded social standing? In terms of travel, holidays and dining out, travelling under a titled name carries with it a certain cache.
This may not always be officially recognised or acknowledged – most quality establishments would like all their guests to believe they will enjoy VIP treatment – but there are a number of unofficial advantages of having a respected title.
For example:
- The best tables in the best restaurants can mysteriously become available at the mention of an esteemed name or title.
- Complimentary upgrades are much more likely when you’re perceived as a person of importance or stature.
- Extra gifts of food and drink, glasses of champagne or bottles of wine, drinks on the house, waived bills and expenses are a common feature of VVIP travel.
- Additional services and extras may be offered to you at no charge, or a superior service may be offered for the standard rate.
- Invitations and access to prestigious events and locations become a more regular occurrence when your title conveys a certain status, even exclusive occasions that can’t normally be bought at any price, a seat at the Captain’s Table on a cruise, for example.
If these kinds of travel perks appeal to you, or if you’re curious to discover the advantages of travelling under a title name – how do you go about purchasing the right one for you?
Like nearly everything these days, it’s possible to begin your search online but as always, it pays to do your homework. Whilst there are a whole host of services on the internet that will happily sell you a ‘legitimate title’ for a fee, it seems some are more reputable – and the titles more valuable – than others.
It may be possible to deal directly with a title-owner to negotiate your purchase, but it’s much easier to hire one of the specialist brokers who will handle the purchase on your behalf and ensure you receive the right title for you. A number of these services have been operating in this business for many years, some have a rich and respected history in brokering the most prestigious exchanges.
If you want to ensure that your new title is worth the expense and will bring you the benefits you’re seeking, it’s well worth taking the time to find a quality broker with a history of successful sales. (Though you may find their confidentiality clauses prohibit them from sharing client names and details – a level of discretion that may be important to you, too.)
Once you have chosen your broker, it is then their job to find the right title for you and to negotiate the exchange. In most cases, this will be a purely administrative process – few titles are offered with any connection to land or property ownership.
The sale of titles varies depending on the country where you want to acquire your new prestige. For example, the purchase of a French Count’s title may be subject to different laws than those that govern the sale of a Scottish Laird or a British Baronet title.
There can also be hierarchies within nobility titles – a prince outranks an earl or viscount – and there are some titles that are not for sale. Becoming a peer of the British realm with a seat in the House of Lords is not a position available on the open market. Likewise, a British knighthood is an honour bestowed solely by the reigning monarch.
So, finding the right title and ensuring you receive the value you pay can be a complicated process – the best brokers in this field certainly earn their fee. But if you have the purchasing power to fund this prestigious addition to your lifestyle and travel adventures, it may prove to be a highly worthwhile investment in terms of the ultimate travel experience. Buying the right nobility title may afford you an extra level of privilege and sophistication, as well as opening doors to an exclusive travel club and those so-called money-can’t-buy experiences.
Travelling like ‘royalty’ is so much more than expensive upgrades and affording the best. Acquiring a genuine Noble Title may be your passport to a whole new world of luxury travel experiences.
