Phil in SF quoted Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass
In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, …
He had been born at the center of power in Japan: his father had been the grand chamberlain to the future. Taisho Emperor and his childhood friends included such swells as Prince Konoe Fumimaro, who grew up to become prime Minister.
— Judgment at Tokyo by Gary J. Bass (Page 369)
new word: swells
(informal) a fashionable or stylish person of wealth or high social position