Just In! Earl of Snowdown Replies!

The Daily Mail has posted a response to Nicky Haslam's reclaims that he had an affair with the Earl of Snowdon. The quote is after the jump.

Just In! Which Aristo Claims To Have Had An Affair With Earl of Snowdon?

How we love a scandal!

Which aristo claims to have had an affair with the Earl of Snowdon a year before his marriage to Princess Margaret?

Pay Up or Move On...

West Lothian County is in a tizzy over a building owned by Malcolm Harry Erskine, 17th Earl of Buchan. Apparently, a building that has been sitting empty of nearly a decade after once housing a primary school. The local council want to sell the building for ₤140,000 to be used as a leisure center and nursery. However, when the earl's family allowed the land to be built upon more than one hundred years ago, there was a stipulation that it could only be used for educational purposes. In order to change this condition, the earl wants ₤70,000. The council is furious, but it is his land. Either pay up or forget it. Such is life, right?

Note: The picture is not the building in question. Always, The Aristo News.

The Fabulous Misadventures of Earl Spencer

To read a great piece on the 9th Earl Spencer (better known as Diana's bitter brother), click here.

Highclere Castle is Falling Down

...and the trend continues...

The Daily Mail is reporting that Highclere Castle (right), the ancestral home of the Earl's of Carnarvon, is in a dilapidated, uninhabitable state. Apparently, it will cost ₤1.8 million to immediately repair the 50 downtrodden rotting rooms, and a further ₤12 million to repair outbuildings, grounds, and the like. The 8th Earl, George Reginald Oliver Molyneux Herbert, blames his ancestors for not keeping up the castle prior to his inheritance.

Recently, the 8th Earl (who lives in a cottage on the estate with his wife and children) applied for permission to build a housing estate on the 5,000 acre estate. Needless to say, the decision has caused horror in some circles.

As The Aristo News has reported before, these problems are not unique to any one aristocrat. Everyone is feeling the pinch in these economic times...

However, if he can't afford to keep up the estate, maybe he should ask the Queen for a loan. After all, she and the late 7th Earl were close friends. If you don't ask, you don't get, right?

Earl of Southesk Adds Gun to Museum Collection

The 13th Earl of Southesk, David Carnegie, has auctioned off family heirlooms from the 9th Earl of Southesk in order to buy back a significant portion of his ancestral home, Kinnaird Castle (right) in Scotland. Apparently, the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, Canada, has purchased aboriginal artifacts from the earl for ₤1.1 million at a Sotheby's auction. Recently, the earl donated a 1852 Purdey and Sons black powder rifle to the museum's Southesk Collection.

The 13th Earl is currently the heir to the current Duke of Fife.

Have You Paid for that Sandwich?

Neil Corall, the owner of a sandwich shop, has been forced to change the name of his shop from Earl of Sandwich to E.A.R.L on the Green. Why? The 11th Earl of Sandwich (right) balked after learning that the small shop was named after his growing chain of sandwich shops located in the USA. It seems that 11th Earl didn't want there to be any confusion between his chain and Mr. Corall's, thus the legal action. Mr. Corall did change the name of his shop, but now the 11th Earl wants him to pay his legal fees (which total ₤2,000), along with a ₤1,500 goodwill payment. Needless to say, Mr. Corall has said he will not pay the goodwill payment & has yet to pay the legal fees.

The Aristo News is a bit surprised by the 11th Earl's legal proceedings, although the Earl's representatives did note that he intends to open shops in the UK and Europe. Fair enough, but is bullying a shop owner the way to create goodwill for your brand? We think not.

To check out the 11th Earl's shop, click here. (Ironically, this story isn't in the press section of the website...)
To contact Neil Corall's shop, call 01224 587259.

Horse Trails at Powderham Castle to Close in 2010

We're not picking on the Earl of Devon! He's just very popular today!

The Horse Trails at Powderham Castle, the Earl of Devon's home and ancestral seat, will close in 2010. Although no concrete reason has been provided, officials state that the circumstances regarding the closure are beyond their control. We would think that Lord Devon would take every pound that came his way in the light of his less than stellar sale at Sotheby's today... Riders in the past have included the Queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, who won (with Andrew Nicholson) the advanced section at this year's event.

We can't help but wonder if there's something rotten in Powderham Castle...

If you have any tips, e-mail us at aristotips@gmail.com.

Just in!!! Results of Earl of Devon's Sotheby's Sale!

The Aristo News has just returned from the Sotheby's sale in London. It was a wonderful affair! Were you there?

As we've reported before, the Earl of Devon was set to sell his "family silver" to help cope with the loss of wedding revenue at his ancestral seat, Powderham Castle. We dug a bit deeper to find that Lord Devon had already sold two pieces at Sotheby's for ₤938,750, which makes us believe that his financial woes may very well be for castle repairs or other financial problems.

Anyway, Lord Devon had eight lots for sale, three of which did not sell. Only one lot (Theological Traits - A Collection of 155 Works) came in over its guide price. The item with the largest guide price, Vindication of the Character and Conduct of Sir William Waller by Sir William Waller, was ₤10,000-₤15,000. This lot was unsold; the highest bid was ₤8,500.

All in all, Lord Devon raised ₤19,600 through the Sotheby's Sale. Coupled with today's sale, Lord Devon has raised ₤958,350 for his castle repairs...or whatever the money's really for... Good luck, Lord Devon!

LOTS SOLD:
₤3,500 for The Elements of Architecture by Henry Wotton (Guide Price: ₤4,000-₤6,000)
₤7,500 for Mahomet the Second, or the Generous Sultan: A Tragedy by John Boevery (Guide Price ₤8,000-₤12,000)
₤800 for The Entertainment of His Most Excellent Majestie Charles II, in His Passage through the City of London to his Coronation (Guide Price: ₤1,000-₤1,500)
₤7,000 for Theological Trairs - A Collection of 155 Works in 9 Volumes (Guide Price: ₤3,000-₤4,000)
₤800 for Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe in 2 Volumes (Guide Price: ₤1,000-₤1,500)
Total of Lots Sold: ₤19,600

UNSOLD LOTS:
Highest Bid: ₤8,500 for Vindication of the Character and Conduct of Sir William Waller by Sir William Waller (Guide Price: ₤10,000-₤15,000 with a ₤10,000 Reserve)
Highest Bid: ₤7,000 for a 17th Century Bible (Guide Price: ₤8,000-₤12,000 with a ₤8,000 Reserve)
Highest Bid: ₤750 for The Mourtray Family by Elizabeth Hervey (Guide Price: ₤1,000-₤1,500 with a ₤1,000 Reserve)
Potential Revenue of Unsold Lots Based on Reserves: ₤19,000


If anything arises, we'll keep you posted.
Click here for today's Sotheby's sale.

Jacobites to Regain Aristo Titles?

The Scotsman is reporting that certain Scottish noble families could regain their noble titles after losing them during the Jacobite uprisings in the 18th century. Certain noble lines lost their estates, titles and lives because they were seen as having "corrupt blood". This campaign to alleviate these families of centuries of ill will has support in the Scottish Parliament, so we'll see how this turns out. If this campaign is successful, it could restore ancient titles to descendants of earls of Panmure, Southesk and Kellie, as well as the Duke of Berwick. It's also interesting to note that on July 24 the heads of Scotland's noble families will meet in the Scottish Parliament for the very first time. Will this be a subject of conversation? Oh, if only we were a fly on that wall.

Just in! Croome Court Looted!

Just in!

The former ancestral seat of the Earl's of Coventry has been looted by thieves. Until the death of the 11th Earl in 2002, Croome Court was the family home. However, after the 11th Earl's death, his wife, the Countess of Coventry (now known as Rachel Coventry) sold the estate in 2007 a for rumored ₤3.5 million.

It seems that the new owners were unable to keep up the mortgage payments on the home. The new owners did try to sell the house for a ₤1.95 million, but eventually slashed the price to ₤1.65 million. Despite the desperate attempts to sell the pile, it was repossessed by the bank in January of this year.

The thieves, who are thought to have raided Croome Court between June 16 and July 3 stole over ₤200,000 worth of fittings, including the kitchen sink.

Some of the stolen items include: 11 oak doors, a chandelier, a stainless steel sink and the rear wrought-iron gates.

Croome Court consists of:
A 10,000 square foot main house
A cottage
Bird house
Pond
Tennis court
...and many more features...

We'll keep you posted on this story.

Aristocrats Sell Items at Sotheby's

It seems the Earl of Devon isn't the only aristo with apparent financial woes...

As we've stated before, the Earl of Devon is parting with family treasures at Sotheby's July 14, 2009 sale. The Marquess of Downshire is also selling an engineering document entitled THE DRAINING OF THE FENS at this auction.
THE DRAINING OF THE FENS has a minimum guide price of ₤20,000. To see the item, click here.

Tomorrow (July 7, 2009), the trustees of the 2nd Baron Hesketh are selling Gabriel Metsu's painting entitled "A Woman Selling Game From A Stall". The minimum guide price is ₤1,200,000. Click here to see the item.

With these current sales, it makes us wonder if our aristo's are being beaten by the current financial crisis. We've heard that the art market it picking up, so maybe the aristo's are selling these items at the perfect time. We'll see.

The Aristo News won't be able to attend tomorrow's auction, but we'll keep you posted on the final sale price.

As for the July 14th auction, we'll keep you posted.

The Ten Richest Aristocrats in the UK

We have identified the ten richest aristocrats in the United Kingdom.

There is only one criteria for this list: They must have peerage in the UK.

Here is the list:

1. The Duke of Westminster (₤6.5 billion)
2. Earl Cadogan (₤ 2 billion)
3. Baroness Howard de Walden (₤1.07 billion)
4. Viscount Portman (₤950 million)
5. The Earl of Iveagh (₤750 million)
6. Viscount Cowdray (₤500 million)
7. The Duke of Devonshire (₤500 million)
8. The Duke of Bedford (₤489 million)
9. The Duke of Sutherland (₤480 million)
10. The 4th Baron Rothschild (₤360 million)

Source: The Sunday Times Rich List, 2009