An American businessman, who claims he is a cousin of the Queen, has angered the people of the Isle of Man by declaring himself "king" of the island, even though Queen Elizabeth II is the island's monarch.
The Isle of Man is in the Irish Sea off the western coast of Britain and is situated aboiut midway between Britain andthe Republic of Ireland. It is not a part of Britain but is a British Crown Dependency with Elizabeth II its Head of State. On the Isle of Man she is known as The Lord of Man.
The people of the Island - whose capital is Douglas - are angered over the actions of the Yank, and only recognise Elizabeth II as their monarch....
Isle of Man in spin over self-proclaimed 'king'
By Gary Cleland
19/12/2007
The Telegraph
The Isle of Man is an island in the Irish Sea off the western coast of Britain. It is situated between Britain and the Republic of Ireland. It is not a part of Britain but is a British Crown Depency with Queen Elizabeth II ans its Head of State, although she is known as the Lord of Man to the islanders.
An American businessman has drawn the fury of residents of the Isle of Man by declaring himself king of the island with honours being offered to anyone willing to shell out thousands of pounds.
American, Mr Howe, declared himself 'de jure' King of the Isle of Man, even though Elizabeth II is the island's monarch
Businessman David Drew Howe, 38, claims to be a cousin to the Queen and a direct descendant of the Stanley family.
He crowned himself "undisputed" His Majesty King David of the Isle of Man, after placing a notice in the London Gazette.
When the notice went unchallenged he declared himself "de jure" King of the Isle of Man at the end of March this year.
Now a West Sussex based company, Noble Titles, is offering peerages in the name of King David - promising the money paid will go to charity.
The titles do not come cheap - among those available are a dukedom for £90,000.
Becoming a count will cost you £70,000, a countess £60,000 and a viscount £50,000.
The website says all proceeds will go to the Malawi Missions Project Charity.
It also points out that it is against the law in the UK to sell peerages under the 1925 Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act.
However it adds that Noble Titles does not break the law because the titles are not based in the UK and that "under no circumstances" does the company actually sell the titles.
Flag of the Isle of Man
Rather it petitions on the applicant's behalf to the Lord Advocate's Office of a reigning monarch.
There was no answer this morning at the offices of Noble Titles, although the company previously refused to say which monarch was granting the titles it was offering and denied it was anything to do with the Isle of Man.
However it later adjusted its website to feature a picture of "King" David. On comments on website noticeboards on the Isle of Man, local residents opinions veered from anger to genuine concern.
Mick from Douglas wrote: "What started out as an interesting and amusing story of a seemingly semi-delusional American has now turned into something quite serious, as the monetary amounts stated are huge.
"Surely the authorities must intervene."
Kim wrote: "King David - get over yourself! You are NOT our King - you will NEVER be our King.
"If you've got any respect at all you will give up this silly claim."
A petition has also been set up online calling for David Drew Howe to be banned from calling himself King and to be barred from ever setting foot on the island.
The Queen is the official monarch of the Isle of Man, where she is known as the Lord of Man.
telegraph.co.uk
The Isle of Man is in the Irish Sea off the western coast of Britain and is situated aboiut midway between Britain andthe Republic of Ireland. It is not a part of Britain but is a British Crown Dependency with Elizabeth II its Head of State. On the Isle of Man she is known as The Lord of Man.
The people of the Island - whose capital is Douglas - are angered over the actions of the Yank, and only recognise Elizabeth II as their monarch....
Isle of Man in spin over self-proclaimed 'king'
By Gary Cleland
19/12/2007
The Telegraph
The Isle of Man is an island in the Irish Sea off the western coast of Britain. It is situated between Britain and the Republic of Ireland. It is not a part of Britain but is a British Crown Depency with Queen Elizabeth II ans its Head of State, although she is known as the Lord of Man to the islanders.
An American businessman has drawn the fury of residents of the Isle of Man by declaring himself king of the island with honours being offered to anyone willing to shell out thousands of pounds.
American, Mr Howe, declared himself 'de jure' King of the Isle of Man, even though Elizabeth II is the island's monarch
Businessman David Drew Howe, 38, claims to be a cousin to the Queen and a direct descendant of the Stanley family.
He crowned himself "undisputed" His Majesty King David of the Isle of Man, after placing a notice in the London Gazette.
When the notice went unchallenged he declared himself "de jure" King of the Isle of Man at the end of March this year.
Now a West Sussex based company, Noble Titles, is offering peerages in the name of King David - promising the money paid will go to charity.
The titles do not come cheap - among those available are a dukedom for £90,000.
Becoming a count will cost you £70,000, a countess £60,000 and a viscount £50,000.
The website says all proceeds will go to the Malawi Missions Project Charity.
It also points out that it is against the law in the UK to sell peerages under the 1925 Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act.
However it adds that Noble Titles does not break the law because the titles are not based in the UK and that "under no circumstances" does the company actually sell the titles.
Flag of the Isle of Man
Rather it petitions on the applicant's behalf to the Lord Advocate's Office of a reigning monarch.
There was no answer this morning at the offices of Noble Titles, although the company previously refused to say which monarch was granting the titles it was offering and denied it was anything to do with the Isle of Man.
However it later adjusted its website to feature a picture of "King" David. On comments on website noticeboards on the Isle of Man, local residents opinions veered from anger to genuine concern.
Mick from Douglas wrote: "What started out as an interesting and amusing story of a seemingly semi-delusional American has now turned into something quite serious, as the monetary amounts stated are huge.
"Surely the authorities must intervene."
Kim wrote: "King David - get over yourself! You are NOT our King - you will NEVER be our King.
"If you've got any respect at all you will give up this silly claim."
A petition has also been set up online calling for David Drew Howe to be banned from calling himself King and to be barred from ever setting foot on the island.
The Queen is the official monarch of the Isle of Man, where she is known as the Lord of Man.
telegraph.co.uk
