Wikipedia:Notability (royalty)

This is a work in progress. Editors are encouraged to improve it and discuss ideas on the talk page.

This page offers guidelines which Wikipedia editors may use to decide if a member of the nobility should have an article on Wikipedia.

Although some nobles receive little individual media coverage for various reasons (most commonly due to young age), they may still be notable simply by association with a given family. While members of the royal family are clearly notable, the line of succession may be quite long. In many cases, stories focused on more distant successors may be difficult to come by. However, simply being a part of a notable family and a long-standing royal tradition may confer some measure of notability not generally applicable to the average person.

Royalty

Anyone who was, at one point, an official member of a ruling family of a country is considered notable. The definition of a royal family may vary by country, but generally includes the spouse of the reigning monarch, any or all surviving spouses of a deceased monarch, and the children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins of the reigning monarch, as well as their spouses.

This includes former monarchies - if the person was born while the monarchy was still in existence, they are notable on that basis. Any children of a deposed monarch, even if born after the deposition, are automatically notable (thus, for instance, the younger children of the former King of the Hellenes, or all the children of the former Kings of Romania and Bulgaria). Other close relations of formerly reigning royal families must qualify under WP:BIO.

Pretenders to European thrones are considered notable, as are their consorts and heirs-apparent and presumptive. This can be extended to other pretenderships if it can be demonstrated that the pretendership itself is notable.

A monarch, for the purposes of this guideline, is the ruler, paramount ruler, or former ruler of an internationally recognised monarchy.

Nobility

1. British Peers and holders of courtesy titles (i.e. heirs apparent), as well as those holding the Scottish substantive title of "Master" or "Mistress" given to heirs are automatically notable, as are their spouses. Articles on spouses may be merged with articles on Peers if there is little chance of their articles becoming more than stubs. Other relations of British peers only qualify if they qualify under WP:BIO.
2. The higher nobility in monarchies where their positions have legal status are notable. Citizens of nations that retain titles only for posterity or social standing must qualify under WP:BIO. The determination should be based on the legal situation during the subject's lifetime, not on the current situation.

Lesser nobility and gentry

A member of the lesser nobility or gentry who does not meet the above standards may be notable if he or she verifiably meets any two of the following criteria:

1. The subject serves in an official capacity within the government, such as an Ambassador or Administrator.
2. The subject is a member of one or more national orders, such as the Order of the Chrysanthemum or the Order of the Garter.
3. The subject is no further than 8th in the order of succession to the throne.

If the subject meets only one of these requirements, he or she may still be notable under the terms of WP:BIO.