GOTHA is an independent directory of royal and noble families. It is not affiliated with, and does not represent, the Almanach de Gotha or its publishers.
How to Verify a Noble Lineage
A famous surname, a family legend or an online tree proves nothing. A lineage is proved document by document, one generation at a time. A claim to nobility is proved by tying that lineage to an official record that recognises it. This guide covers the method and the public sources for the United Kingdom and France.
The Golden Rule: One Document per Link
Every link between a parent and a child needs its own evidence, such as a birth or baptism record, a marriage record that names the parents, or a will. The College of Arms applies this standard to pedigrees it registers. Two officers of arms examine each one, "calling for documentary proofs for each fact and relationship" [1]. Only the most recent generations, as far back as the attester's grandparents, may be accepted without documents. Even then, exact dates and places of birth, marriage, divorce and death are required [1].
United Kingdom
Step 1: Civil registration certificates
In England and Wales, copies of birth, marriage and death certificates are ordered from the General Register Office (GRO). Its service can be used to "research your family tree", ideally with a GRO index reference number [2]. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own processes [2].
Step 2: Older records
Before civil registration, researchers rely on parish registers, wills and land records, held mainly in county record offices and The National Archives [3].
Step 3: Registered pedigrees and arms
The College of Arms keeps the registers of pedigrees. The oldest date from the 16th century. Pedigrees are recorded to prove an inherited right to arms, to support the descent of a peerage or baronetcy, or simply to have them independently checked [1]. Arms belong to particular individuals and families, not to surnames, so a shared surname does not mean shared arms [4].
Step 4: Peerages
Under a Royal Warrant of 1 June 2004, anyone who succeeds to a peerage must prove the succession and be placed on the Roll of the Peerage. Otherwise the person "may not be legally recognised as a Peer in official documents" [5]. Claims go to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Garter King of Arms advises the Crown on whether each claim is made out [6]. The Roll is therefore the place to check whether someone is a peer.
France
Step 1: État civil
French civil registers have been kept by mayors since 1792. Registers more than 75 years old are generally held in the archives départementales, and almost all of them have been digitised; registers over 100 years old can be consulted online [7]. Birth and marriage registers become freely accessible after 75 years [7]. A person's direct ascendants and descendants can obtain a full copy of a birth record at any time [8].
Step 2: Parish registers before 1792
Before 1792, parish registers were kept under the ordinances of Villers-Cotterêts (1539), Blois (1579) and 1667 [9].
Step 3: Proof of nobility
- The Archives nationales hold the digitised registers of the Sceau de France (1808–1961). They include letters patent conferring or confirming titles, arms and ennoblements, and the registers of successors to titles. They are freely accessible [10].
- A title may appear on French civil-status documents only after an arrêté d'investiture from the Minister of Justice [11].
- The ANF requires candidates to prove their filiation back to a male-line ancestor with a recorded act recognising regular French nobility. Each application needs four sponsors [12].
Red Flags
- An online tree with no documents cited.
- A surname match with no proven link.
- A "title" offered for sale. See our guide Can You Buy a Noble Title?