Breaking News (Empress Crystobel Assassination Full Report)

In the first week of July 2013 the former Empress Crystobel of the United Empire of Scot-Britania arrived in the Democratic Republic of Britania. She was visiting the country after her exile was lifted and on a formal invitation from the Chancellor and Government of Britania. The visit followed short on the heels of the neigbouring country Scotney also lifting their exile and allowing the former monarch to visit her country of birth in 2012. Friendly sentiments toward the former Imperial Family have developed since the 2009 revelation that the Empress and her son survived the bitter 1996 Revolution. The Revolution cost the lives of the Emperor and disbanded the Empire in favour of the current two separate democratic States of Scotney and Britania. 

Empress Crystobel, although cautious was visibly happy to be back in Britania after more than 15years of exile. Media coverage was very limited for the sake of security and the itinerary was partly of a personal nature and partly official. The Empress' first stop was to visit the tomb and mausoleum of her deceased husband Emperor Christian. 

The Imperial Mausoleum was hastily finished in 1997 to receive the controversial remains of the former Emperor. International law dictates that even ousted Heads of State receive proportionate honours after their tenure of rule or death.  

Empress Crystobel was afforded relative privacy for spending some time alone at her husband's final resting place. Only one photographer was given 5 minutes to record the event for posterity. 

A poignant moment as the Empress leaves the mausoleum for the next stop on her itinerary. She refused to be interviewed at the time due to the personal nature of the moment regardless of it being a historic turning point. The intent was to give a full press conference at the end of the entire tour of Britania. This never happened as we now know.

The Imperial Memorial was erected especially for the intended visit of the Empress. The Britanian Government decided after a referendum to make amends for the misunderstandings and atrocities of the 96 Revolution. Thus the Empress was invited as we know and it was planned that she lay a wreath of friendship at the memorial to seal the new relationship between the Empress and Britania. This was to set the country's history and its future upon a new road of reconciliation. The Memorial was to serve as the focal point of this national sentiment. 

Chancellor Johnson, Britania's Head of State opened the proceedings after his arrival. Security was visibly tight.

Miss Kitty Spice was the attending reporter of the event. 

Empress Crystobel arrived to resounding applause from the crowd. 

The Empress looked radiant in white and her colourful wreath was to symbolize friendship, joy and laying old resentments to rest. It is said that she chose white in contrast to the black she wore at the mausoleum in order to display hope instead of mourning. She paired the whole ensemble with official Crown Earrings and Brooch as a reminder of her Imperial rank and link to history. 

After Mr. Johnson's heartfelt speech, the Empress was invited to the microphone.

The Empress expressed her joy at being back in Britania. She reminded the people that she was a Scot who married Britania as she married her husband. She alluded to the role of a monarch as a mother who could never turn her heart against her family and brought he crowd to tears when she also asked for forgiveness in return as nobody could claim innocence in any event. 

The Empress lays the wreath at the base of the memorial.

A symbolic handshake of friendship...

...followed by a wave of happiness to the cheering crowd.

A member of the crowd leaked this photo onto the internet mere minutes after the shooting but police removed it as evidence. It has since been officially released as the only proof of the sniper who shot the fateful shot. 

 Stills of the terrible moment have officially been released to the media after investigation. 

These stills show the bullet entry point and the ricochet against the memorial at the back. 

The Empress was conscious and only passed later in the ambulance. It is official that the sniper was  not highly trained due to the shot not being instantly fatal. 

Kitty Spice shielded the Empress with her own body mere seconds after the shot. She reported later that the last words she heard the Empress speak was: "...do not let this derail all the good that has come of my visit. "

International governments have unanimously condemned the atrocity. Family members have only released statements of condemnation and sadness but will most definitely not be interviewed till after the funeral. The Empress' son has officially been invited to Britania to take charge of his mothers remains. The Crown Prince Imperial will be supported by his wife and his cousin the Duke of Swann in the time leading up to the funeral. The Crown Prince Imperial has also been given full governmental support in the matter and will be allowed to bury her in full State in the Imperial Mausoleum. An official time of mourning has been declared in Britania, Scotney, Swann and Hanoveria. The mourning period will last for a month from Sunday 14th of July till the 14th of August. This blog will also cease all posting during that period to show respect. The funeral is set to take place during this time of mourning. It will be documented but will be reported at a later stage.

The Empress will be missed.