Baron or Baronne
The titles of nobility of Baron and Baronne are occasionally granted. Historically, the equivalent of a baronial title in the Kingdom of Rwanda was a royal gift that translates as “24” or Makumyabiri Na Kane. This referred to the 24 hand-made spears and lances that were received by the grantee from the Mwami. These have the following characteristics:
Article 36
Style of the Baron/Baronne
The title and honour of Baron and Baronne is entitled to the style of “Son Excellence”.
Article 37
Title and Address
The title of Baron/Baronne may be granted with or without a territorial designation. If a territorial designation is granted, the full name, title, and style of a male holder is “Son Excellence First Name Middle Name Second Middle Name [if any] Surname, [number of the honour, beginning with the 1st] Baron de Territorial Designation”. If a territorial designation is granted, the full name, title, and style of a female holder is “Son Excellence First Name Middle Name Second Middle Name [if any] Surname, [number of the honour, beginning with the 1st] Baronne de Territorial Designation”. If a territorial designation is not granted, the full name, title, and style of a male holder is “Son Excellence First Name Middle Name Second Middle Name [if any] Surname, [number of the honour, beginning with the 1st] Baron Surname”. If a territorial designation is not granted, the full name, title, and style of a female holder is “Son Excellence First Name Middle Name Second Middle Name [if any] Surname, [number of the honour, beginning with the 1st] Baronne Surname”. If the Letters Patent for a particular recipient contains a different style, title, and address than the above, the Letters Patent will triumph only for that particular recipient.
Article 38
Definition of Lawful Spouse
A lawful spouse is a person who is legally wed to the Baron/Baronne either prior to or after his/her rise to the title and honour. The wedding must be lawful in the place of residence of the title holder. Only one lawful spouse may be alive at any time.
Article 39
Courtesy Spousal Title and Courtesy Titles for Children
The lawful spouse of a Baron is accorded the courtesy spousal title of Baronne de Territorial Designation (if a territorial designation was granted) or Baronne Surname if a territorial designation was not granted. The lawful spouse will have a style of “Son Excellence”. The lawful spouse is noble for as long as she is married to the Baron or is the widow of the same. If a widow of the Baron, the addition of “Douairière” is added to the courtesy title before Baronne.
However, if the Baronne is a substantive title holder in her own right, that is, it is not a courtesy spousal title but rather a granted title by the Head of the Rwandan Royal House, the lawful spouse receives no courtesy title.
All bloodline children of the Baron/Baronne are noble, but this nobility ends with that generation, except if one of the children succeeds to the title and honour in the future. Said another way, the grandchildren of a current Baron/Baronne are not noble unless one of their parents succeeds to the titles and honours of Baron/Baronne. The courtesy style for children of the Baron/Baronne will be “Le Noble” as a prefix to the name for the entirety of the lives of these children. In Kinyarwanda, this is “Imfura”.
Article 40
Passage of Title and Honour
The titles and honours of the de jure Kingdom of Rwanda may only pass to another person in strict accordance with this document. They cannot be sold, transferred, or otherwise altered. A grant of a substantive title of Baron or Baronne to a person from the Head of the Rwandan Royal House is hereditary. Unless the Letters Patent for a particular grantee specifically stipulates another method of transmission, the default method of transmission is bloodline absolute primogeniture springing solely from the original grantee. That is, the honour and title of Baron or Baronne will only pass from a current substantive title-holder to the eldest child of the title-holder (or the next in line to the title and honour if there are no living descendants of the current title-holder but there are living collateral descendants elsewhere who spring from the original grantee of the Baronial title and honour) upon the death of the current title-holder, unless the current title-holder renounces the honour in accordance with Article 41. There may only be one inheritor of the title and honour at any time.
Written notice of each transfer of the title and honour should be made to the current Head of the Rwandan Royal House so that good record-keeping is maintained and registration occurs of the new holder of the title and honour. A small registration fee might be necessary to record this transfer. However, title passage will occur without the need for official blessing by a future Head of the Rwandan Royal House. For example, if a title holder dies, his heir according to either the individualized Letters Patent or this document immediately becomes the next holder of the title and honour. This ensures the smooth and immediate transmission of the title and honour. But notification to the Royal House is required after transmission so that proper record keeping can be maintained. If more than 100 years passes after a legitimate transfer of a title and honour and the Royal Rwandan House has not received notification and recorded the transmission, the title and honour becomes extinct and reverts back to the Royal Rwandan House. Only if the Head of the Royal Rwandan House then regrants the title and honour can it be restored after 100 years of lack of registration after it legitimately transfers.
In the event that the descendant lines of the original grantee of the Baronial title and honour all fail – that is, that each line eventually has no bloodline heirs left – the title will become extinct, as all possible heirs have died out. Similarly, the title becomes dormant if no person has claimed the title or no claim has been satisfactorily proven. A period of 100 years of dormancy results in the dissolution of the title with no restoration possible except for an explicit new grant from the Head of the Rwandan Royal House. In the event of a dispute regarding who is the true inheritor of the title and honour of the Baron or Baronne, the current Head of the Rwandan Royal House has ultimate jurisdiction as to the rightful holder of the title. Note, for purposes of this document, the word bloodline heir means all issue (descendants), not just the immediate children of the original Baron or Baronne.
In the event that an inheritor of the title and honour resides in a domicile/jurisdiction/state/country of residence that prohibits the use of titles and honours at the time of receiving the title, or a current Baron or Baronne moves into such a domicile/jurisdiction/state/country of residence, the title becomes honorary solely to allow the grantee to not violate the law in the place of residence. However, this honorary state exists and accords the Baron or Baronne all rights accorded a non-honorary substantive title and honour. Put another way, the honorary title and honour are honorary in name only, but the title and honour still are substantive in the de jure Kingdom of Rwanda. This state of the Baronial title and honour being honorary will exist until the current Baron or Baronne moves into another domicile/jurisdiction/state/country of residence that recognizes titles and honours, the domicile/jurisdiction/state/country of residence changes its stance on titles and honours, or a new inheritor, residing in another domicile/jurisdiction/state/country of residence has a claim to the title through the previous title-holder dying or renouncing the honour. Under no circumstances is the title and honour of Baron or Baronne considered extinct until all possible heirs to it have died out. A foreign government cannot extinguish this title and honour as the title falls under the legal jurisdiction and protection of the de jure Kingdom of Rwanda.
Article 41
Renunciation of Title
The title and honour may be renounced by the current Baron or Baronne at any time and for any cause. The renunciation must be in writing and witnessed by two individuals not related to the current Baron or Baronne. Both witnesses should sign and date the renunciation along with the renouncing Baron or Baronne, and the document should be delivered to the current Head of the Royal House of Rwanda. Upon signing, the title and honour of Baron or Baronne will pass by the rules of Article 40 as if the renouncing Baron or Baronne died. Thus, a renunciation of the title and honour does not dissolve it; the title and honour merely passes to the next lawful recipient under Article 40 or the Letters Patent of the original grantee. Per Article 40, only an extinction of the title and honour by the death or renunciation of all bloodline descendants springing from the original grantee, or all eligible recipients outlined in a specific Letters Patent if the specific Letters Patent outlines a different mode of title transmission, can effectively end its existence.
Article 42
Armorial Achievement
Heraldry is not a significant part of the historic cultural tradition of Rwanda, but there are some precedents. For example, His Majesty King Kigeli V has a heraldic achievement with a Bantu-style shield. The coronet for a Baron or Baronne will be an Or coronet surmounted by 12 balls of pearl Argent. The band of the coronet will display white and blue beading similar to the Crown of Rwanda. The heraldic representation for the Baronial coronet will be:
Grantees and inheritors of the Baronial title and honour may display their heraldry with a Bantu-style shield or else a heater-style shield, a Baronial coronet, a helm, a crest, torse, a manteau, and supporters or a combination of these. In accordance with the original vision of H.M. King Mutara III, leopard skin may be used as a manteau. Grantees and inheritors also had the right, beginning with H.M. King Mutara III, to decorate their battle shields, and this is akin to a heraldic system.
A sample leopard skin manteau image may be seen below:
