World Notes BRITAIN

Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, the studbook of the British aristocracy, has decided to join the 20th century. Explaining that "about one in every four children in Britain is born out of wedlock," Debrett's co-editor Charles Kidd pointed out that the 2,300-page 169th edition of the tome, published last week at $205 a copy, for the first time includes the "illegitimate issue" of the titled and blue-blooded. According to Kidd, the change was requested by many people previously excluded. Said he: "Since Debrett's has everything to do with being a book of record, the inclusion ensures that the book is comprehensive."

Among those who have gained admission to the upper crust's official ranks are the offspring of the late Sir Lennox Berkeley, composer-son of an illegitimate member of the Earl of Berkeley's family. Said his widow, Lady Elizabeth: "My only regret is that my husband did not live to see it."