Humboldt International University

I'd like a knighthood.

 

Here you go, then Rich. $129.95 complete.

https://sealandgov.org/shop/join-the-knights-of-the-sovereign-military-order-of-sealand/

Mace, helmet and secret decoder ring may be extra - I dunno.
Titles also available here: Lord, Lady, Baron, Baroness

 

...and Duke, Duchess. Pleased t' meetcha, Prof. Dr. Dr. Sir Rich Douglas. (Sounds like a WIDU conference, except the Profs and Docs, at least, are genuine.)

What's next? How about being made a Nigerian Prince? It's been done; the (genuine) monarchs of preserved Old Kingdoms are sometimes known to be ... shall we say, enterprising.

 

I knew about Sealand.

To use a degree mill analogy, if I'm going to fake it, I want a real fake. You know, like Bill Cosby at UMass. No diploma mill degrees. Only the bona fide article, please.

Note: while the Queen may grant knighthoods to non-subjects, they are not styled with "Sir" at the front. They may, however, use the post-nominal. Thus, Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE, but Bob Geldof, KBE. (If one subsequently becomes a citizen of a country where the queen is sovereign, the style of "Sir" or "Dame" would become appropriate.)

Here's another: "KBE" is a specific order of knighthood (Knight of the British Empire). There are several recognized orders. But most knighthoods are offered as "knight bachelor." As such, they may use the post-nominal "Kt." Alternately, they may use their previous highest rank, if they have one. Thus, our favorite Beatles bass player is "Sir Paul McCartney, CH, MBE" since the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) was his previous award before knighthood. Our favorite Rocket Man is "Sir Elton John, CH, CBE," which stands for "Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire." The "CH" is the Companion of Honour, which is way, way more prestigious than a knighthood. (Capped at 65 living members at any given time.)

JK Rowling is a CH, but is not a Dame. (All Dames are DBE; there are no "dames bachelor.") It is not clear why she has not been given a damehood. She might not want the association with the current government (who would be the one recommending her for the award). Or she may be holding out for a peerage. Or, like David Bowie, Stephen Hawking, and Keith Richards, she may just think it's all silly and/or inappropriate. It's hard to tell. But I doubt the last one since she does have an OBE (which ranks between MBE and CBE).

George Harrison is said to have declined a CBE, thinking a knighthood would be more appropriate since Paul had one. It did not happen, and such things are not awarded posthumously. Others who are known to have declined a knight/damehood include Vanessa Redgrave, Aldous Huxley, and Stephen Hawking.


Not that I've ever looking into this or anything....

 

I mis-spoke. You can get to be an African prince - but I don't know which, if any, Nigerian traditional kingdoms will do this. Some might, I suppose. The traditional kingdoms that I was thinking of are in Uganda. It appears that many "Nigerian Princes" are too busy soliciting our help on the Internet.

And in case anybody had the bright idea - no, these traditional monarchs are not allowed to accredit schools - beyond the powers accorded them.

 

Well, Rich, sixty years ago, I could have directed you to one or two knowledgeable, enterprising Italians. They were smart enough to dig you up an extinct Italian Dukedom or other noble title, breathe enough life into it to keep it real - and charge about $800 - $1000 for it. Sadly, that opportunity is gone, as far as I know.

I really wanted one of these as a teenager - I figured it would impress girls. Unfortunately (or maybe not) I didn't have money then...

There's always Germany - I could anoint you Pfalzgraf (Count Palatine) of Biersaufen, perhaps ... or would a nice Bishophric in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha suffice?
No... you said real. Oh well....