The Phantomhive Family Origin
Everything you need to know about the Phantomhive Family.
Black Butler is one of the most beloved and popular anime of all time. It has a massive fanbase, leading onto a fair amount of fanart, abridged series on YouTube, and much more.
The anime has become a cult classic at this point. It would not be wrong to say that even in this cult classic, one family stands out from the rest as one of the most mysterious, exciting aspects of the show that has the fans perplexed, surprised, and even more so, thrilled whenever a new detail is released about anything relating to the Phantomhive Troupe.
And rightfully so, because the Phantomhive family from the anime/manga Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) is one of the most mysterious and drawn-out families—whose bizarre stature in society makes them quite a bit more interesting than anything else in the anime, to say the least.
And the mere fact that since the Phantomhive family plays a very crucial part in the show, that can be seen throughout each arc, not knowing much about the family and what actually they stand for can come in the way of enjoying and appreciating the plot.
So, brace yourself for spoilers, and let's take a look at the mysterious Phantomhive family, tap into their origin and see what they have in store for us, according to what we know so far.
Origin
The Phantomhive family is an old aristocratic family of nobles that has been serving the Crown of London for many generations. It is unknown precisely how far back the lineage goes, but three generations of the Phantomhive household have been confirmed until now.
Starting off from Claudia Phantomhive, who is the grandmother of Ciel Phantomhive, then Vincent Phantomhive, who is the father of Ciel Phantomhive, to the current twin Ciel Phantomhive' s who are currently involved in a conflict with one another as of the writing of this article, three direct generations of the Phantomhive household have been confirmed to serve the Queen of United Kingdom, The First Queen Victoria.
Duties and Powers
The Phantomhive family is a house of nobles that secretly operates right under the direct command of Queen Victoria as an executive agency that carries out her orders and fulfills her wishes that cannot be carried out through normal or legal channels.
Notoriously dubbed as the "Queen's Watchdogs," the Phantomhive household eliminates anything and everything that might worry the Queen through any means possible. And early on during the Phantomhive Manor Murders Arc, Ciel even went as far as to say that;
"I am he who sniffs out those who violate the commandments of the British Underworld and disposes of them. The Watchdog of the Queen."
~Ciel Phantomhive, Black Butler Chapter 49
But it does not stop there; the household manages an extensive information network throughout the world, where they control any knowledge about their existence, and only a selected few Nobles from the Polite Society know about their role as the "Queen's Watchdogs.”
Because of their private duty and tasked with carrying out the Crown’s wishes, the Phantomhive household is often called the backside of Scotland Yard. The family works from the shadows, carries out their missions and helps Scotland Yard when it is in line with their objective. Or even go against the law to carry out Her Majesty's wishes.
Where the police commissioner of Scotland Yard, Lord Arthur Randall, contemplated his thoughts on them as,
"By all rights, they function as the royal 'shadow' — a 'phantom,' which should never have come into being."
~Lord Arthur Randall, Black Butler Chapter 15
Base of Operations and the Aristocrats of Evil
The Phantomhive family has continuously operated on its own. But they do have Real Estate and Land granted to them by the Crown. The Phantomhive Manor has been their base of Operations since Vincent's time as the Head of the Phantomhive Household. However, it is not known if, during Claudia's time, the Phantomhive Manor existed since Vincent used multiple bases scattered all over London to carry out his duties. He may even have gained the Mansion and the Land during his service to the Queen.
But ever since the young Ciel Phantomhive took over after the Manor burned down during the Massacre of the Phantomhive family, the current Manor is the exact replica of the Original Phantomhive Manor rebuilt by Sebastian Michaelis. It is used as the main base of operations to carry out all the tasks related to the duties of the Phantomhive household and is located outside the City of London.
Furthermore, the Phantomhive household is not just made up of the direct blood-related members of the family. Including the head of the Phantomhive household, certain patriarchs also are known to gather in the Phantomhive Manor and aid the Head of the Phantomhive Household and help him complete his duties to the Queen.
This selective group of individuals, known as the "Aristocrats of Evil,” "Evil Nobleman," or "Villainous Nobles,” and are a highly exclusive group of individuals who make up the information network and the overall power of the Phantomhive family.
Even Kelvin, one of the most influential individuals in London who was obsessed with the Phantomhive household, was unable to approach the group, and when he desperately tried to uncover what makes the Phantonhive Family soo special, he noted that;
I tried frantically to glean all I could about the Phantomhives. I wanted to know what made them so special. And then I came to learn the truth about them. And their true identity as the 'Aristocrats of Evil.'
~Kelvin, Black Butler Chapter 32
The last generation of Aristocrats of Evil Included, The Head of The Phantomhive household Vincent, the informant Claus, the German nobleman, and a good friend of Vincent, Baron Diedrich, and of course Undertaker and the freelance reporter Pitt including two more mysterious individuals.
After Ciel took over the household, Lau, a Chinese Nobleman, was officially inaugurated. And Briefly, Ciel's aunt Baroness Angelina Dalles-Burnett and Italian Mafioso Azzurro Vanel were also added to the group but have since died in one way or another.
