Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
TV family aims for royal ‘bible’
LONDON: For almost 200 years, it has been the go-to society handbook: a red leather-bound genealogical guide to the country’s nobility.
Now, Burke’s Peerage is being dragged into the 21st century, starting with a guide to the Kardashians.
The American family – made famous after a leaked sex tape sparked a reality TV series – may seem like an unusual choice for a book synonymous with the aristocracy.
Traditionally its pages include barons, knights and landed gentry of the UK, plus historical families of Ireland and the Commonwealth.
But the esteemed guides’ new owner believes the Kardashians could help secure its future. Canadian oil tycoon Sam Malin, 53, wants to update the arcane handbook and is convinced he can make a profit.
“It’s not just about bringing it into the 20th century,” he said in an interview with Tatler magazine. “We actually have to bring it into the 20th century then push it kicking and screaming into the 21st century. But we don’t want to damage the brand or cheapen it in any way. So we want to make sure people know that Burke’s Peerage still exists and that it’s still doing everything people expect of it.”
Marlin, who made his fortune founding Madagascar Oil, bought Burke’s Peerage – which was first published in 1826 – for a “substantial seven-figure sum” in 2013.
He and his wife, Irene – a former Cameroonian beauty queen – may have a claim to appear themselves: they acquired the titles of Lord and Lady Hailes when they bought Hailes Castle in Scotland in 2008.
Malin went to Cambridge University and still has gold, uranium, graphite and coal interests in Madagascar.
His other interest lies in genealogy and he started his own family tree aged 10. He has more than 10 000 names on a family database and believes he can make a profit from Burke’s, albeit with a few tweaks.
As well as a new edition of the traditional Peerage, the last one of which was published in 2003, he said he and his wife were also considering covering what he described as “distinguished” or “mediatised’ families.
Asked if this could include the Kardashians, he replied: “Now, they are certainly mediatised, but unless they end up with an English title, they won’t be in the three main volumes.
“But they may be in a volume of modern, mediatised families. In fact, if you look at Twitter, Rob Kardashian mentioned Burke’s Peerage, so the idea is there.”
Rob Kardashian, 29, is the younger brother of Kourtney, Kim and Khloe, the three children of the late OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian and his former wife, Kris. The sisters – and their two half-sisters Kendal and Kylie – have made millions through fashion and make-up lines and their long-running fly-on-the wall reality programme.
Kim, who has been married three times, is known as the queen of social media while her sister’s partner, Scott Disick calls himself “Lord”.
But their inclusion would no doubt raise eyebrows among its traditional readers.
Lady Hailes, however, is unrepentant.
The new luxury and fashion director or Burke’s, who once appeared on The X Factor, said: “The dress-up, the whole oohla-la, the whole bigger-than-life thing. With Burke’s, you have all the books with the gentry and all that, and it’s not really me.
“So I am bringing a new ear to the brand, and I think fashion is part of that. I’m just bringing fun to the gentry. Trust me.” – Daily Mail