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Imperial Citizens

If you think either of those two were anywhere near actual fighting I have a bridge to sell you...
Of course, not in first line, but, IIRC, Prince Andrew was on the HMS Invencible when it was attacked (though not hit) by Exocet missiles...
 
Instead of a fief, you could have a trust fund, which would differ from a stipend, as the government pays you directly.

Courtesy ranks for heirs would be one that was acquired by the family, but is immediately the next lower tier from the parent's; you might be able to tap into the income of any assets customarily assigned to it.
This is also one that many people forget. In the CT LBB's it was specifically stated that people of High SOC use titles whether they are the substantive heir or not. This makes the Third Imperium more like European continental nobility than the British Peerage system, as all family members are noble, even if their title is only a courtesy title rather than a substantive one.

CT: LBB'81 #1, p.9:
Titles: Any character with a social standing of B (11) or greater may assume his or her family's hereditary title. Noble titles are commonly used, even if the individual in not engaged in local government. At the discretion of the referee, a noble may have some ancestral lands or fiefs, and may actually have some ruling power.
 
If you think either of those two were anywhere near actual fighting I have a bridge to sell you...
Of course, not in first line, but, IIRC, Prince Andrew was on the HMS Invencible when it was attacked (though not hit) by Exocet missiles...
There's adventuring, and there's adventuring.

The heir is going to be as well-protected as the family can manage (or enforce), for tolerably obvious reasons. The spare heir(s), perhaps less so -- and they may want to establish their reputations independently.
 
Usually, non heirs have the choice of Holy Orders or military, though it's usually somewhat prestigious or respectable employments where the family can exert some influence, which now include academia and the bureaucracy, for example the Foreign Ministry.
 
If you think either of those two were anywhere near actual fighting I have a bridge to sell you...
Not sure if it's really appropriate to criticize their service.

From: this AP article

Harry spent a decade in the British Army, serving twice in Afghanistan. He spent 10 weeks as a forward air controller in 2007-2008 until a media leak cut short his tour.

He retrained as a helicopter pilot with the British Army Air Corps so he could have the chance to return to the front line. He was part of a two-man crew whose duties ranged from supporting ground troops in firefights to accompanying helicopters as they evacuated wounded soldiers.
 
Prince Harry fought in Afghanistan.
The House of Windsor did not raise cowards.
William joined the Royal Navy.
Harry joined the Royal Army.

Plenty of their ancestors had terms of military service (not all of which were under the British Royal Crown).
 
Someone had to arrange to pay for the ships, then maintain them.

Potential ground units used to be stood up when they were required.
 
How is the non-inheriting child of a Duke or Marquis represented? Just as someone with a lower rank? What would be their opportunity to draw on their parent's rank, name dropping for instance, to achieve an encounter outcome?
 
They could marry the heir, if not the current holder, of another noble title.


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In the Traveller context, those who inherit a social status receive parent social minus 1.
Not everyone gets to inherit social status from their parents.
A general rule of SOC -1 of parents would certainly fix a lot of the nobility overpop issues. A few generations and most would just be upper class. And certainly an incentive to do service and gain title on own merits.
 
A general rule of SOC -1 of parents would certainly fix a lot of the nobility overpop issues. A few generations and most would just be upper class. And certainly an incentive to do service and gain title on own merits.
It’s easier to gain recognition & be promoted to SOC-C from A than 9?
 
Well, not so much "easier" as requiring fewer incremental steps ... :rolleyes:
You say potato, I say poturnip…

That would simply represent the easier justification of the elevation of some individuals in a hereditary system of rule.

“Did you hear that Spinward was given his baronetcy? Excellent family that man, glad to see he’s doing the name proud.”
 
It seems that I was slightly incorrect when I was writing about subsidiary titles being used by children of a noble. The subsidiary title isn't transferred to the child; they are merely permitted to use the lower rank as a courtesy title. So, the chap I was at university with was "Edward, Viscount Elveden" rather than "Edward, the Viscount Elveden". There is an exception in the UK in the case of subsidiary titles of the monarch - the recipient is "HRH aaaaa, the <rank> of bbbb" despite the fact that it is a courtesy title and can (in theory, if not in practice) be taken back at any time by the monarch. The heir of the heir may have a courtesy title of a still lower rank if there is such a subsidiary title.
Other children (and the heir if there are no subsidiary titles) would be entitled to the honorific title Lord/Lady (for children of Earls/Counts and above); children of a Baron would have the courtesy title of "the honorable" unless there is a baronetcy as a subsidiary title in which case the heir would be "xxx, Baronet yyyy".
It can get interesting when someone holds subsidiary titles in more than one jurisdiction, in which case the highest title for the current jurisdiction would apply.
So the Duke of Kushga may have as subsidiary titles the Marquess of Mohavi (in Kushga subsector) and Count of Terra Far (in the adjacent Shadigi subsector) - if he travels to Ferry (Shadigi's capital) he would be formally announced as "(Duke*) xxxx, the Count of Terra Far".

*they may or may not accord his ducal title.
 
It's complex, and I think it's tied to primogeniture.

First of all, titles/nobility evolved over a millenia.

All children of a duke or marquess are addressed as lord or lady, as well as the first born son and daughter of an earl; everyone else is honourable.

And remember, in the Imperium, the count is above a marquess.
 
It's complex, and I think it's tied to primogeniture.

First of all, titles/nobility evolved over a millenia.

All children of a duke or marquess are addressed as lord or lady, as well as the first born son and daughter of an earl; everyone else is honourable.

And remember, in the Imperium, the count is above a marquess.
I was forgetting that the position of Count and Marquess is reversed in Traveller.

"Lady" as an honorific courtesy title applies to all daughters of Dukes, Marquesses and Earls.

I've just learned something - if there is no subsidiary title to an Earldom, the heir is still accorded a courtesy title of "Lord (surname)" except where that may cause confusion with an existing baronial peerage, in which case the title becomes "Viscount (surname)".

Not to forget that in Scotland, a Baron isn't a member of the peerage - the lowest peerage in Scotland is a Lord/Lady of Parliament.
 
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