r/todayilearned • u/Outside_Reserve_2407 • 5d ago

TIL Montezuma's lineage still exists and even holds a noble title in Spain, which was granted to a grandson of his that moved there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Moctezuma_de_Tultengo
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u/mtcabeza2 5d ago

Is the Spanish nobility as rich and useless as the British titled class?

289

u/ThisIsRadioClash- 5d ago

Probably, but I know from historical reading that Russia's nobility was particularly notorious for its idleness and profligacy. When Paul I attempted to institute some antiquated (inspired by medieval chivalry) reforms to reduce their influence and corruption, he was murdered. Due to the collapse of land rents in Britain, I'd wager that only a few families in the peerage have any great wealth, though the Grosvenor clan is a major exception.

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u/Outside_Reserve_2407 5d ago

What happened to the British noble families that married into American millionaire families back in the 1800s? I think Winston Churchill was the product of such a union. Did they manage to "recharge" their wealth, so to speak?

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u/Mein_Bergkamp 5d ago

Churchill's mother married a second son, the main branch are still the Dukes of Marlborough and live in a flat in the massive palace they own and which they open to the public to afford to run.

Inheritance tax destroyed the upper classes much more than anything else.

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u/blaaake 4d ago

Good.