9 celebrities with real-life ties to royalty

For many British artists, earning a title is the crowning achievement of a long and illustrious career. For Christopher Guest, on the other hand, it was an inevitability. The writer and actor behind comedy classics, like “This is Spinal Tap” and “Best in Show” became the 5th Baron Haden-Guest, following his father’s death in the late 1990s.

Guest’s title was awarded on a technicality, because his elder brother was born out of wedlock, making him ineligible for a hereditary title. The actor was active in the UK House of Lords during the early years of his tenure, before governmental reforms barred most hereditary peers from voting in Parliament. Guest described allowing hereditary peers to vote in Parliament as “unfair” but also characterized the reformed system as “sheer cronyism,” advocating instead for an elected upper house.

As a result of their marriage, Guest’s wife, Jamie Lee Curtis is a baroness. People could even theoretically address her as the Lady Haden-Guest. The Academy Award winner does not use the title, however, stating, “it has nothing to do with me.”