Want to be a Duchess?

     Are you into the new sensation Downton Abbey? I am. I would think any writer would love seeing the rich surroundings the house offers as well as the life style of those who live there. Part of the beauty to me is that the people are nice. Well, most of them, Thomas seems to have a dark side, which we will learn more of this season.

     However, the day after the airing of the first episode in Season 3 I noted many comments on Facebook. Most were nearly swooning over the new developments, but a fair number were quite ugly. Seems they think Lady Mary is a snotty bitch. Do you? I think she is just what she was raised to be, an entitled lady with a certain responsibility attached to her station in life. And who’s to say those who cast stones wouldn’t be just as snotty, if not worse, had they been fortunate enough to have been born into the aristocracy? And aren’t the comparables here just as self entitled? Just look at our government officials!

     I would like to think I would be one of the nice ones if I had been born a Lady. And you know what? According to a site I ran across, you don’t have to be born with a title. Now you can have a title of your own! Several sites on the internet claim you can sign up and purchase a title. Said title will afford you the same kind of treatment the real Lords and Ladies receive.

     Apparently many titles have become available over the years and are now up for sale. One site claims the families associated with the title are selling off the title, along with homes and whatever else they can put a price tag on in order to get out of debt. Those big houses are very expensive to run. Other titles have simply been abandoned or died out.

     Just imagine your calling card reading Lady Mary Smith. It sounds wonderful, but then, I don’t think I could afford the new wardrobe I would have to buy to live up to my new status. Heaven knows, the government would jump on that and raise my taxes right away. And maybe my friends wouldn’t like me any more when I got preferential treatment.  

     Still, there are those, like movie stars and financial barons who would jump at the chance to be called Lord Somebody. I think I’ll just stick to Mrs. Baxter and watch shows like Downton Abbey and read my favorite genre, Regency, and dream of what might have been. How about you? Would you like to live like the folks at Downton Abbey and have a title? Check it out at www.royaltitles.com.