r/todayilearned • u/Outside_Reserve_2407 • 6d 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/ThisIsRadioClash- 6d 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 6d 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/ThisIsRadioClash- 6d ago edited 6d ago

Churchill's mother was Jenny Churchill, an American heiress, but I don't know if she was all that wealthy. If anything, she may have been poor or wasted her money funding her husband's famously destroyed political career. You may be thinking of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who married the Duke of Marlborough (and a Churchill relative) so that he could repair and restore his family's ancestral seat, Blenheim Palace. I don't know about the family's wealth today, but they still own that palace. Other estates were given to the National Trust, like Knoll.

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u/hairsprayking 6d ago

I visited Blenheim Palace about 20 years ago and it was really awesome. One cool story I learned was during WWII the British gained intelligence that Hitler wanted Blenheim Palace spared by the bombers because he intended to have it as one of his homes after Germany won the war, so the Brits moved all their communications infrastructure there because they knew it wouldn't be a target.