Editing Upper class (section)

==Great Britain and Ireland==
{{Main|Social structure of the United Kingdom#Upper class}}
[[File:Harrods 1909.jpg|thumb|The upmarket [[Harrods]] department store in London, 1909]]
In [[Great Britain]] and [[Ireland]], the "upper class" traditionally comprised the [[landed gentry]] and the [[aristocracy (class)|aristocracy]] of noble families with hereditary titles. The vast majority of post-medieval aristocratic families originated in the merchant class and were ennobled between the 14th and 19th centuries while intermarrying with the old nobility and gentry.<ref>{{cite book | first = Arnold | last = Toynbee | author-link = Arnold J. Toynbee | title = [[A Study of History]]: Abridgement of Vols I-X in one volume | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1960 }}</ref> Since the [[Second World War]], the term has come to encompass rich and powerful members of the managerial and professional classes as well.<ref name=Krummel2008 /> In the years since Irish independence in 1922 the upper class has all but vanished in the Republic of Ireland. Aristocratic titles within the Peerage of Ireland granted by the British monarch have no recognition in the Irish Constitution. Contemporary Ireland is generally perceived to have a two-tier social class system composed of working class and middle class (with the exception of a small number of wealthy billionaires).