Individuals looking into genealogy research services may be surprised to discover that royal lineage isn’t that rare. However, suspecting the presence of royal ancestry isn’t solid proof - adequate document retrieval and investing in the best genealogy research services will set individuals on the right track to confirming their ties to royal ancestry. Backtracking of several generations will most likely be required to find traces of royal connections, and the farther back you search, the more the cost of family tree research will increase. To further complicate the matter, unknowingly following forged or falsely published genealogies is possible for individuals who need to gain knowledge of ancestral research. In that case, it is advisable to look into the services of professional genealogists for document retrieval. Start with already-known information. Timothy Boettger, a professional genealogist and an expert in European nobility explained that royal genealogy research is fundamentally similar to researching personal ancestry. You research prior generations with already available information and as long as you record new information with care, you’ll be able to uncover new ancestral connections. (Susan Wenner, Family Tree Magazine) Thankfully, there is an unbreakable connection between genealogical record-keeping and royalty. Some may even say that genealogy originated from royalty, where establishing a family tree was the foundation of throne rights. Once royal kin lineage is established, tracing further backward to older generations will be possible. Search for telltale clues. Investigating your ancestors' geographic and class origins is an excellent basis for clues. When searching for European royal lineage, entry-level vocations, including wealthy farmers and merchants, governors, ministers, and military officers, are also exceptional leads. As advised by Neil Thompson, a professional genealogist in Salt Lake City, you should uncover all relevant information about the emigrant for proper family placement, including his wife and children, vocation, or religious beliefs. (Susan Wenner, Family Tree Magazine) Research possible connections to royalty. A family historian or librarian may refer you to books, films, microfiche, indexes, etc., for reliable sources. Hilary Jefferies, a professional genealogist, based in Aurora, Colorado, recommends inquiring about library information for your ancestor’s surname. (Susan Wenner, Family Tree Magazine) The Complete Peerage, Scot’s Peerage, and various peerage books Books on surnames and family history History of places and counties Recorded visitations Local history and genealogy within periodicals Family history with related surnames Royal genealogies Gentry sources, including Burke’s Landed Gentry or Burke’s Commoners Heraldry books Contact a genealogy reference librarian. These specialists are excellent resources for those seeking specific sources. For common surname spelling and its variants, checking each source and photocopying the pages containing that surname is vital. From there, references can be categorized by locality and title. In addition, validating birth dates and spouse names should be confirmed. Watch out for scams and false/conflicting data. You should consider all facts on websites containing royal and noble ancestries as clues until verified. Research the website and see what types of documentation are provided. Reliable data should come from multiple records and be cited as genuine sources. Printed genealogy sources are also subject to misleading, conflicting, and intentionally falsified genealogical information. Become familiar with the terminology. While “royalty” and “nobility” are often used interchangeably, they do not mean the same thing. Royalty is only about rulers, such as kings, queens, princes, princesses, and their immediate relatives. Nobles are the relatives of hereditary and high ranks, usually descendants of a king’s youngest sons, but this doesn’t mean they’re blood-related to loyalty. It’s also possible to run into Latin or French abbreviations while researching royal ancestries: sp or S.p.: sine prole (Latin) or sans posterite (French); non-issue d.S.p.: decessit sine prole (Latin) or décedé/décedée sans postérité (French); non-issue death O.S.p.: obiit sine prole (Latin); non-issue death V.p.: vita patris (Latin); during the father’s lifetime d.V.p.: death before the father O.V.p.: obiit vita patris; death before the father V.m.: vita matris (Latin); during the mother’s lifetimes (likely suggests the mother was an heiress) O.V.m.: obiit vita matris (Latin); death prior to the mother S.p.l.: sans postérité légitime (French); non-legitimate issue. S.p.m.: sine prole masculina (Latin); with daughters (or defined as no sons) Watch out for British royal surnames. Philip Turvey, Anglia Research executive director, Suggested that royalties and high status were responsible for long-held surnames staying in families for centuries. (Susan Wenner, Family Tree Magazine) Therefore, the likelihood of being related to royalty is increased if any of these surnames are in your family. Baskerville Darcy Neville Percy Astley Capell Bryon Clifford Herbert Follow paper trails. There are plenty of secondary resources that may assist in tracing royal lineage back further. These include sales records, census records, and land and ownership records. Investigating every historical document and record collection you come across is crucial, as they may contain clues no matter how insignificant they seem. Consider that you likely have royal/noble ancestry. The total number of ancestors you have doubles with each previous generation. In other words, 1,024 ancestors are the sum of 10 generations. And a staggering 1,048,576 ancestors is the sum of 20 generations. Joseph Chang, a statistician at Yale University, demonstrated that every living individual has one common ancestor at minimum when ancestral lineage is traced far enough. He also proved that 600 years is required to reach that point in European heritage. (Daniella Levy, MyHeritage Knowledge Base) Reach out for community guidance. It never hurts to ask for help since millions worldwide are on the same path to uncovering their ancestral lineages and navigating through similar difficulties. Signing up to create a free member tree, then reaching out on social media, community pages, and message boards to coordinate with others. To find individuals looking into similar localities, collaborating in an ethnic genealogical society is also beneficial. Finally, for specific information regarding the country you are researching, hiring a genealogy professional with expertise (such as understanding the language and having archive familiarity) is also highly beneficial in tracing European royal lineage.