It has taken two years to produce the 107th edition of Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. We the publishers are delighted to have used the same highly successful editorial team that produced the 106th edition. We have also employed as a consultant editor Hugh Peskett, known to the press as 'the Sherlock Homes of genealogy' for his many successes in uncovering even the most obscurely hidden family links, notably those of former US President Reagan. Hugh has advised on entries for Scottish and Irish Chiefs and Scottish feudal barons, many of whose genealogies have never been published before.

The inclusion of what might broadly be called this Celtic element, in addition to over 3,000 articles on knights and their immediate families, means that the 107th edition runs to three volumes, and large ones at that, instead of the two last time. It has also, as will be obvious by now, obliged us to amend the work's title.

To give just one example of what this expanded intake has entailed, we mailed draft articles or sections of articles to around 25,000 families and individuals. But we could do no less if we were to ensure our information was to be as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

The 107th edition of Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage will be available from the end of November 2003. We are proud of our editorial team's achievement and believe it will exceed all expectations.

Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage is not just a reference work offering information. If it were, it would tend to be the preserve of genealogists, historians and librarians. It is much more. It can be a source of delight, an educational tool, an adjunct to investigations in other fields, whether heritage, family records, royalty, celebrity-hunting or gossip. It is even, dare we say it, a status symbol. Anyone with a taste for the extraordinary richness of British social history, whether professionally or as a leisure-hours seeker after enlightenment and entertainment, will find it indispensable.

Charles Mosley was born in London and educated at Eton and King's College Cambridge. He was at one time on the editorial staff of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, eventually becoming London Editor, also of Debrett's Peerage Ltd, where he oversaw the first edition of what is now Debrett's People of Today. He was in addition for some years with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He has lived in Italy, Ireland and France, mostly in castles. He has written or edited seven books and has contributed to many newspapers and periodicals, including the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent and The Times. Charles was Editor-in-Chief of the 106th edition of Burke's Peerage & Baronetage and continues as Editor-in-Chief of the 107th edition, rechristened Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. He recently married for the second time.

Peter Hinton was born in Devon in 1933, of an Irish mother who first saw the light of day in Malta and an English father who had been born in South Africa, brought up in China and died in Hong Kong. Perhaps this international background fitted him for a life in the Royal Navy, which he began as a Cadet at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, aged 13. He has had a lifelong interest in genealogy, but it was not turned to account as gainful employment till many years later, when he began his third career, as a senior editor with Burke's Peerage & Baronetage. Meanwhile he had served in many kinds of ships in the Royal Navy, though latterly mainly piloting a desk. He was made an MBE while serving with NATO in Portugal, where he also became a Portuguese interpreter. His last naval appointment was on the staff of Flag Officer Gibraltar, whose Spanish interpreter he became. This led neatly in 1983 to his second career, as Bursar of The International School at Sotogrande, in Andalucia. He returned to Britain in 1994 and the following year joined Burke's.

Hugh Peskett has been a professional genealogist specialising in both Scottish and North American immigrant research for more than thirty years; journalists dubbed him 'the Sherlock Holmes of the Family Tree' after he traced President Ronald Reagan's Irish roots and also solved the 190-year-old puzzle in the Annandale Earldom pedigree. In 2003 Lord Lyon King of Arms has accepted his proof of the Clan Chiefs of MacArthur (dormant since 1782) and Oliphant (dormant since 1748). He has welcomed the challenge of including the genealogies of all recognised Scottish and Irish Chiefs into the new Edition of Burke's Peerage. His website is at www.hughpeskett.co.uk.

Roger Powell is, apart from his role in bringing out the 107th edition of Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, the Director of Research at Worldwide Ancestry Research. He served a six-year apprenticeship at the College of Arms under the direction of several of Her Majesty's Officers of Arms, including the present Garter King of Arms. He has also worked for Debrett's Ancestry Research, the Manorial Society and the Church Commissioners. Among his past positions are Director of Research Debrett's Ancestry Research and Burke's Ancestry Research and Assistant Editor Burke's Landed Gentry of Scotland. He was also one of the Senior Editors for the 106th edition of Burke's Peerage & Baronetage. More information on Roger Powell can be found at www.wars-genealogy.co.uk