Where are all the Upper Class & Aristocratic MNetters?

[Shetlands]

There appear to be loads of threads and posts about the middle class and working class but I have yet to see someone admit to being UC or an aristo (let alone royalty!).

I remember Miranda Hart being interviewed and correcting the assumption that her family were middle class. She said she felt classless herself but that her family described themselves as upper class. My ancestors were a mixture of working class, middle class and a sprinkling of titled folks. They ranged from being in the workhouse to farmers to people who owned castles.

We can't all be middle or working class on Mumsnet can we? Come on all you uppers and aristos - reveal yourselves! Tell us what makes you UC rather than MC.

Wondering why you don’t think aristos are discussing their loopy dogs, petulant teens and must haves from Aldi along with everyone else? What do you think the “tells” would be?

I imsgine most are wotking clsss/ middle class
Aa in the great scheme of things the aristocracy is a very small section of society.

My DM would describe herself as UC. Is class inherited or achieved?

The vast majority of the people I interact with in life are middle class or working class. My only meaningful interactions with genuine upper class people was at university. Even at Oxford they were a small minority of the population but were enough of them that you could get to know a few. So this is just personal experience not data based, but it seemed that a lot of what we would consider day to day parenting was contracted out or done very differently.

High percentage of boarding school, with full time nannies before that, not much dragging two kids round Lidl on a Saturday morning and trying to get out of work on time up do nursery pickups and endless working out of logistics with two working parents etc.

Happy to be corrected on this by people who would say they are upper class.

One suspects that they would not want one to know.

There must be very few titled people and therefore UC in the UK compared to the general population and I'd imagine most wouldn't post on Mumsnet.

UC people talk to each other in RL not on forums, they have very small circles of very close friends. Many of their friends are family friends since multiple generations, they all went to school together etc. They don’t need Mumsnet.

I'm sure they're here discussing all sorts but I've not seen a post where anyone admits they're UC, whereas I've seen plenty of people claim to be WC or MC.

I'm not sure what the 'tells' would be because well-off, aspirational MC people can purchase ponies, hire a housekeeper and send their offspring to 'posh' boarding schools.

Perhaps it's more about caring what other people think? In my experience, UC people don't give a damn about being seen in Poundland, wearing unfashionable clothes or feeding their children fast food. They don't feel the need to impress anyone.

I used to work with an "Honourable". They lived in a terraced house in a suburban part of the city. Basically they had the title but no money- so sent their DC to state school and did their shopping in Tesco.

We can't all be middle or working class on Mumsnet can we? Come on all you uppers and aristos - reveal yourselves! Tell us what makes you UC rather than MC.

This is Mumsnet.

People can (and frequently do) claim to be whatever they want on any given day 🤷‍♂️

1. Genuine aristocrats are about 0.01% of the population.

2. Why would anyone mention class on the majority of threads?

1. I expect there are more upper class people than just aristocrats.
2. Probably not on the majority but it does seem to crop up in many of the threads I've read.

Which section of society would be classed as upper clsss but not aristocracy?

I grew up in Australia where.people are not so class obsessed. According to my sister we are upper MC. I find the whole class obsession funny. It is a quirk of the UK.

@MrsMoastyToasty MrsMoastyToasty

I used to work with an "Honourable". They lived in a terraced house in a suburban part of the city. Basically they had the title but no money- so sent their DC to state school and did their shopping in Tesco.

Honorable doesn't mean anything. It's the son or daughter of a peer. Plenty of life peers come from working class backgrounds. I know someone who's parent was basically a fishmonger who is an Honourable. Michelle Mone's kids are 'Honourable'. It isn't a sign of being upper class unless it derives from an earl or heriditary peerage.

My late husband was an honourable (heir apparent to title of baron) and we lived in a little terrace, where I live now. When he became mentally ill he was effectively written out of the family will. They were concerned he'd end his own life and they'd be forced to pay a fuckload of inheritance tax.

Why would someone openly admit they're part of the elite class of society? On MN, there's a race to the bottom, where posters openly engage in reverse snobbery towards the upper class or aristocrats. It’s often assumed that if one comes from an upper-class or aristocratic background, they are out of touch with reality or don't live in the real world.

It’s also wiser to just keep your head down and connect with everyone as a regular person, instead of announcing your status, especially around those who might be dealing with tougher situations.

I wonder if you are referring to Upper Middle rather than Upper Class. In my view Upper Class is aristocracy and there are very few of them. Those that I do know are unlikely to sit around chatting on MN, but I guess the odd one might venture onto the boarding school threads looking for information. On the whole though, those I know have different lifestyles and have less interest in anything online beyond a few social media posts shared between a limited group of friends (and usually equestrian related).

The upper class and aristocrats are also human. In their free time, they can and do engage in regular conversations. They are, however, unlikely to turn to Mumsnet for boarding school recommendations or discussions about education in general. They operate in completely different lanes.

My family were historically very well to do. We have a family museum open to the public. My great grandfather certainly rubbed shoulders with the titled although I don't think he was himself titled.

Unfortunately a scandalous divorce in the 1920s brought my great grandmother and her kids, including my grandparent, to much reduced circumstances. Great grandfather remarried his affair partner and his second family inherited the family wealth.

If anyone is genuinely interested in how the upper class live today, I have just written a book about them which is published in September and available to pre-order now! And I'd say some are on here, for what it's worth, as most are 'normal' people, whatever 'normal' is.

There aren't any hard rules about it but I think it includes the landed gentry ie those whose income is derived (even partly) from their estate. Also people recently descended from titled ancestors eg untitled grandchildren/ great-grandchildren. Queen Camilla was from the UCs as were many untitled people with high military ranks. Both of Princess Anne's husbands are UC. Sarah Ferguson was from the UCs.

I think you need to be from 'old money' to be considered an upper class honourable. A recent elevation via 'trade' wouldn't be enough for those who like to preserve their class elitism.