Members of the Russian Nobility Association in America at a ball held in Houston, TX.
American descendants of European noble or royal families have also formed associations in a land where the attraction to the mystique of nobility has always been strong. Proof of this attraction is the avid interest a large segment of the American public exhibits in following the activities of the royal families throughout the world, especially that of England, as well as the cordial reception American society offers to many members of the titled European nobility who visit the country.(1)
The Association of the German Nobility in North American, the Polish Nobility Association, and the Russian Nobility Association in America are examples of groups in this category. Their membership requirements are often more restrictive than those of the associations previously discussed. [hereditary and patriotic organizations; family associations]
Pope John Paul II receiving Prince Roger Chylinski-Polubinski and Dame Barbara Bromont-Slawinska, Poet Laureate. During the meeting, the Holy Father encouraged the Polish Nobility Association (pnaf.us), giving a special Apostolic Blessing to the organization, its members and activities, and expressed his desire that the association grow in members and activities. He also highlighted the importance of the PNA’s activities in helping ensure the continuity of the Polish people’s cultural heritage. Permission to use by PNAF.
(1) When Lord Fairfax visited the United States in 1986, for example, his itinerary included Fairfax County, Virginia, which had been a fief of his family in colonial times. He was enthusiastically received by the people of the county.
Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII: A Theme Illuminating American Social History (York, Penn.: The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, 1993), Appendix I, p. 324.
