The High Cost of Nobility

As part of his program to keep the fires of Hispanidad burning brightly in Latin American hearts, Dictator Francisco Franco maneuvered a law through the Spanish Cortes last year allowing Latinos to lay claim to vacant Spanish titles of nobility once borne by their ancestors. Since then, the project has languished— partly because of opposition from Spain's rank-proud Committee of Grandees. Last week, however, the government defied the grandees and published a list of 97 out of 400 available Spanish-American titles. They were available, that is, for a price. Claimants whose proofs of lineage were accepted would have to...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!