Breaking News (Restoration Underway)

Enthusiasm for the history of the Scot-Britanian Isle has reached a fever pitch as the popularity of the Crown Prince Imperial soars with last week's discovery of the fragments of the Crown of St. Christian. A combined initiative of the governments of Scotney and Britania has been launched in conjunction with the Crown Prince Imperial's own funding 

His Imperial Highness has mounted this wave of public excitement by launching several restoration projects in tandem with the currently undergoing restoration of the Crown of St. Christian. These projects, in lieu of their historic value do receive government funding but are also privately funded by the Crown Prince Imperial's business partners. 

Let us take a look at the list of restorations currently underway outside of the Crown of St Chritian which  receive coverage of its own as it progresses. 

The Aldarian Palace survived the 1996 Revolution and was kept well maintained as government offices there after. It was given back to the Crown Prince Imperial in 2013.

The Palace received a complete makeover since then restoring it to its original glory. The gardens however is one of the projects currently being undertaken and once done will serve at scheduled times as a public park.

The Aldarian Palace has as part of its extended gardens a small house that was built for Empress Crytobel's privacy in the Empire's hey day. Here a commemorative statue for her mother was erected on what would have been her mother's 88th birthday. The number 8 signifying new beginnings, the Empress Crystobel was hoping for a turn-around of the growing discontent that eventually ended in the 1996 Bloody Revolution. The Royal Cottage, as it is know along with the famous statue is one of the projects currently underway.

The statue has been restored and has only yesterday seen its gilding completed making it ready for photographs. Here we see the Crown Prince Imperial on the manicured lawn ready to show us the completed work on the statue of his grandmother.

Not much was needed in restoring the sculpture as it was not damged in the revolution, only left to neglect. Slight touch ups and regilding is all that was required.

This close up shows the final outcome. A spectacular testament to history and awesome craftsmanship.

This archive photo of the Crown of St Christian can be compared with the replica crown on the statue of Queen Crystobel above which many thought was the only real two records of the supposed lost crown. It was found last week and is currently being restored to its former glory.

The small statue of King Edward VII of Britania, the Crown Prince Imperial's great great grandfather kept in the Cathedral of the Lionheart, also had some much need repairs done. It lost its left hand and the scepter and cross on top of the crown. These have all been remade and painstakingly replaced.

The original Imperial Mews still to this day houses the remains of the collection of horse drawn carriages and coaches used by the Royal and later Imperial House/s of Scotney and Britania. After the revolution the doors were merely locked and nothing saw th light of day until last week. 

The Imperial Coronation Coach as it is now known used to serve as the Coronation Coach of Scotney but was redone for use in the United Empire. Although these spectacular photos may seem impressive to the untrained eye, the coach is in need of some serious work due to its neglect over the past two decades. 

Reichenthalian craftsman are arriving in March to begin the painstaking restoration work under the management of the Crown Prince Imperial and the Grand Duke of Reichenthal who still possesses all the original plans and records for the coach.

We truly look forward to all of these spectacular and historic artifacts being brought back to life. Their stories are worth telling and remembering and their beauty can now be appreciated by all as they are all to be displayed to the public.

What's Up Wednesday (New Crown Jewel Display in Britania)

To start 2015, the Britanian and Scotney governments have collaborated in constructing an entirely new Crown Jewel Display. These valuable and very precious objects have moved from Sorgenfrei Castle in Muren to Scot-Britanian soil with their owners and custodians the Crown Prince Imperial Couple since their official welcome back from exile. Now they will be permanently housed in their neighbouring countries of origin in perpetuity.

The Aldarian Palace will now officially play a role in Britanian and indeed Scotney life and culture again for the first time since the 1996 Revolution. The Crown Prince Imperial has moved into the palace in his capacity as custodian of Britanian and Scotney Royal history and Royal historic artifacts and has combined his private collection with that kept in trust for the nation. These will now be exhibited at the Aldarian Palace when not used/worn by members of the Imperial Family.

The Aldarian Palace as it looks since its full restoration and alteration to receive its new occupants.

The brand new Jewel Room in the Aldarian Palace has been granted dual territory status along with the grounds of the entire palace making it official sovereign territory of both Britanian and Scotney. It technically has the same diplomatic status as an embassy but is the only one of its kind in the world. Currently the Palace is in the last league of gaining International Heritage Site recognition as well. 

After the display area was completed the various objects were placed in their various exhibit spaces. 

Security is of the highest standard and the thick glassed exhibit cabinets and domes may be approached up close for an intimate view of the international treasures.

The thick bullet proof glass does not seem as thick as it actually is to the untrained eye.

Some truly remarkable historic and valuable pieces may be viewed by the public. This Nuptial Crown from the Scotney Royal Treasure was presumed destroyed but was rediscovered after decades.

The Imperial Aquamarines also return to the world stage after languishing in a secret vault for almost 20 years.

The Crown Jewels include the world's largest top quality diamonds, a rarity that can now be enjoyed by the public up close.

The Imperial scepters of which the one on the left contains the world's largest diamond.

Many unknown parts of the Crown Jewels like the Imperial Chains of Officie can now also be inspected in detail.

The very rarely seen Crown Prince Imperial Coronet has a pride of place under its own glass dome right next to the central feature of the Jewel Room display. 

The central feature  is obviously the two Imperial Crowns housed directly in the center of the Jewel Room under a spectacular glass dome.

For the first time on this blog we feature a detailed photo of the Imperial Crown of the United Empire of Scot-Britania.

The Empress'Crown also receives it first ever featured photo in this post. 

A small opening ceremony was held for the Imperial Family and media last night. It is the first major Royal event of 2015 and Princess Augusta was visibly very happy at this milestone in Imperial history.

The histories of the two countries, Scotney and Britania are inextricably and indelibly linked and now peacefully and gloriously celebrated in this exhibit, said the Premiere of Scotney, Margaret Fontelroy. Mrs Fontelroy is seen here in yellow, posing with the Chancellor of Britania and the Crown Prince Imperial Couple.

The Crown Prince Imperial is seen here chatting with the Chancellor.

The Crown Prince Imperial Couple posed for and official portrait with the Imperial Crowns.

The spectacular collection will undoubted be appreciated and enjoyed by many citizens of the two countries they represent and serve to educate future generations. They also promise to attract tourists by the thousands each year garnering an economic boost for Scotney and Britania and providing an income for the upkeep of the palace and its historic content.

Memory Monday (The Reichenthal Secret Vault)

 Apart from the return of the Crown Prince Imperial to Scotney and Britania (to be reported in detail next week), the most exciting news to happen over the last month or so was the very unexpected discovery of a secret, walled up room in the Castle of Reichenthal. This entirely unknown room was a surprise even to the Grand Duke of Reichenthal who grew up in the castle. The story has since gone viral as upon breaking open the room it revealed the largest single historic treasure ever documented. In today's post we finally report on this most dazzling story. 

It was early June in the small province of Reichenthal in the Kingdom of Syldavia.

The "magical" Castle of Reichenthal, official residence to the Elector Grand Duke Lothair and his family, was unexpectedly going to reveal what has become the most spectacular discovery of our age in the form of a treasure horde thought lost to history forever. Little did this peaceful and almost quaint region expect to be the epicenter of such a internationally pivotal twist in history. 

The Castle of Reichenthal is a veritable maze of halls, rooms, corridors and even secret passages and hidden vaults. It is also a very old castle with some parts dating back to over a 1000 years. It is understandable that maintenance and repairs pose a huge challenge as even plans of the castle are for some parts at best, speculation. Thus in a less used part of the castle a maintenance worker doing routine sonar scans  following plumbing in need of repair unexpectedly discovered a hidden walled up room. Upon the Grand Duke's orders the wall was breached to reveal an unimaginable treasure.

For the sake of historic account and possible legal logistics, the Grand Duke wisely called in an expert to witness the entering of the room and to also take meticulous account of its content, its value and historical connections. Princess Augusta, high profile Royal and world renowned antiques dealer was the perfect lady for the job and jumped to the opportunity to assist. 

The Grand Duke, as owner of the castle and legal custodian of the discovery under international law was the first to enter the room through the wall. 

Upon first glance it is clear that the treasure is of immense size and intrinsic value but far more important historical value. It seemed by virtue of the hasty masonry and some of the immediately recognizable artifacts that the treasure was stored during the time of the outbreak of the 96 Revolution in order to protect some of the artistic and historic treasures of Europa and even to hide some of the politically volatile pieces. Reichenthal has for centuries been the artisan capital of Europa and has been responsible over generations for the manufacture and repair of many of its historic artwork. As such at any given time pieces in the process of manufacture or maintenance was present in the Reichenthal workshops and during the advent of the Revolution may have been transported to safety in order to protect them from revolutionary destruction. This seems to be the case in point of this room and also the fact of its secrecy. Over a generation all memory was lost and it seems to be the fortune of this generation to have discovered it again.

One of the main features in the room is the solid oak throne with the very obvious insignia of the Three Headed Eagle of the United Empire of Scot-Britania. The throne was especially made for the coronation of Emperor Christian and Empress Crystobel in 1993 and must have been back in Reichenthal for basic maintenance at the time of the revolution. It is a discovery of vast historical impact and serves to accurately prove when the treasure room was sealed. An artifact such as the throne was at extreme risk of destruction during the time of the revolution in Scot-Britania and the consecutive civil war in Syldavia.  

It is clear from the state of the room that its content was hastily stored and walled in. Some chests were not even closed and reveals solid gold bullion and jewellery. 

This particular crown was recognized by the Grand Duke from his history lessons as being from the Reichenthalian Crown Jewel Collection and was thought lost during the Syldavian civil war that was sparked by the 96 Revolution. 

The room also contained art work such as this illuminated manuscript in calligraphy seemingly meant for the Duke of Swann.

A very large statuette of a peacock emblazoned with Venetian glass rhinestones stands as testament of Reichenthalian artwork at its finest. 

One of the many chests revealed a lapidary masterpiece in the form of a crystal swan. 

The swan being the symbol of the Dukes of Swann and a document of its commission and payment proves it as being the property of Swann and thus will be returned to its owner. 

A big part of the treasure is tantamount to bullion in the form of solid silver cutlery and goblets of no particular artistic or historic value. 

Vast amounts of solid silver plate and gold plate along with some rare Chinois crockery can be seen gathered together in this photo. 

The chests filled with jewellery are gathered for proper accounting and separate documentation and their content will be reported in a Tiara and Trinkets Tuesday of its own. 

This close up photo of the most historic and controversial part of the treasure, the Imperial Throne of Scot-Britania shows the awesome craftsmanship. It also raises the question of its now surely appreciated return to its homeland amidst all the current developments surrounding Royal popularity in Britania and Scotney.


The discovery of the treasure room and all its content is very exciting and seems to be provedence as a lost era is reconstructed before our eyes. Every single object is impossible to record on this blog but the jewellery will be documented. Other pieces of note will obviously be mentioned if and when they feature in future posts. We hope all our Royal fans enjoyed this post as much as we did here in the Duke of Swann's media office.

Fascinating Fridays (Countess Cartwright Interview and Castle Tour)

Country living forms a major part of the Royal/Noble lifestyle. Aside from Royal Families employing the use of holiday retreats in the form of vast hunting estates or villas by the coast, many Noble Families also own country houses and the like. For many of these Noble Families the house may even be the original seat where the family permanently resided many ages ago as representatives of Royal Authority in distant parts of the Kingdom. Countess Cartwright granted this blog a special interview featuring her as the newly wed Countess and mistress of Cartwright Castle. Since popularity for the aristocracy is increasing in the democratic countries of Scotney and Britania we thought we would take a look at this boomingly popular Noble Lady. Let us take the tour and also get to know the new Lady Cartwright. 

We were welcomed right in front of the slightly foreboding medieval residence of the Earls Cartwright. The original castle was built more than 650 years ago but has undergone many alterations eventually ending up as a vast country mansion. Hints of the original towers remain but it has long since lost any of its genuine ability as a fortress. Lady Cartwright has enjoyed moving into her new home as she is a history scholar and relishes the great opportunity her new husband has afforded her as "caretaker" of this family treasure. 

Some of the castle interior like the chapel has seen almost no alteration since it was built, as can be seen in this photo. This part of the castle has great historic significance as it displays medieval building techniques like very few others on the island of Scot-Britania. The Coumtess has decided to make the castle available for architecture student tours by appointment. 

The historic lounge of the castle is in essence a museum and as such is never actually used. All the period  furniture is extremely old with documented histories. This is Lady Cartwright's favourite room as her studies in histories centered around historic furniture and its development. She has considered doing her thesis using this room as a starting point. This room is also famous for 400 year old tapestries and other original decorative features.

Castle Carwright's armoury has been altered into a relaxing lounge as can be seen in this photo. Modern couches blend strangely well with original wood fittings and suits of armour. The room's angle allows for very pleasant sun in winter making it the Carwright's favourite room in the castle. 

Married now for a mere nine months Mairi D'Bacquemme, of Noble decent herself, did find it daunting to marry into the formidable Carwright Family with its close ties to the Imperial Family of Scot Britania. The tumultuous history of Scot-Britania was not unfamiliar to her and her own Family's rough past but her exceedingly Continental upbringing was decidedly more worldly than that of her conservative husband. However love always prevails and in this case will endure as these opposite characters seem to have made for a match in heaven. In this photo Lady Cartwright poses in the castle's vast and very ancient library. This library is the only one in private ownership that has been declared and International Heritage Site in its own right and may never be sold. The Carwrights are obliged to preserve it for posterity and failure to do so will divert ownership of it to the state. 

The original medieval vineyards, long since abandoned as a commercial viability have been "repaired" and altered into a formal garden behind the stately home. The Countess felt it would serve as a quaint link with the castle's distant history as Scot-Britania's then only wine producing farm. The vineyard allows for long strolls and grape snacking in season. There is also a maze and a water fountain where relaxing moments may be spent on park benches.

Especially for our blog the new Countess donned the Carwright Amethyst Tiara and a formal dress for this portrait in the castle's entrance hall. Its seems the former red carpet addict has come a long way since her jet setting relationship with Viscount Hayz but has retained her sophisticated glitz. Now the married and settled Countess Cartwright has seemingly found her niche alongside her husband and his Scot-Britanian Noble heritage.