(Redirected from Clunies-Ross Family)'King of the Cocos Islands' was the title claimed by
John Clunies-Ross, a
Scottish sea captain, who proclaimed himself "
King" Ross I of the
Cocos (Keeling) Islands in
1827.
Queen Victoria granted the islands in perpetuity to the Clunies-Ross family in 1886. Thus, the royal title was claimed by his descendants until
1978 when
"King" Ross V sold the islands to the
Australian federal government, which had already been administering them since
1955.
Neither John Clunies-Ross, nor any of his descendants, was ever internationally recognized as King. Ross V currently lives in exile in
Perth, Western Australia but his son
John George Clunies-Ross (born 1957) lives on
West Island the capital of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
List of "Kings" of the Cocos Islands
External links
★
Cocos Island page at Genealogical Gleanings
★
Clunies-Ross Dynasty
★
The man who lost a 'coral kingdom'