What's Up Wednesday (2015 Syldavian Electorate Meeting)

The recently restored throne room of Ploch Palace in Syldavia could finally be put to official use for the first time since the restoration of the monarchy. Reichenthal craftsmen took several years to restore the neglected splendour of the very intricately decorated room to its former glory. The central feature of the room is obviously the throne presiding over a silver overlaid round table seen below.

The throne room served in its first Syldavian Electorate meeting this year, albeit it the third meeting of its kind in the history of the newly reestablished monarchy. From this year onward the room and the annual Electorate Meeting will be seen as the very heart of the Kingdom of Syldavia.

In the above picture we see the Crown of Syldavia, symbol of the monarchy present upon the round table.

The yearly Electorate Meeting gathers the Heads of the Five Noble Families in one room to officially open the national year and establish its plans and budgets and also to vote in and officiate policy. The meeting is very similar to an "Opening of Parliament" as in other monarchies except that in Syldavia, the King is seen as part of the 5-fold collective and not as an individual acting solely in his own person.

Their Majesties the King and Queen of Syldavia and the Count Von Bismarck represent the currently elected Royal Family.

The monarch of Syldavia is elected from the heads of 5 electorate families. He/she then serves for life followed by another election. Above we see the other four Electors along with the Royal Family gathered in the throne room.

King Nikolas III of Syldavia.

Queen Maxima was present as an observer...

along with the King's brother who officially represents the Von Bismarck Family.

The Countess of Bo'hemia more popularly known as the famous fashion designer, Madame Frumsetta, is one of the Electors.

The Grand Duke of Reichenthal, formerly King of Reichenthal, represents his now mediatized region of Reichenthal as an Elector.

The Grand Duke of Serbieski, another former Kingdom  is the fourth Elector at the council..

Finally we get a rare glimpse of a Royal who does not frequent the lime light. Princess Victoria Von Thurn und Taxis, the last Elector.

Even though the Electorate Meeting is an official and working meeting it also serves a ceremonial function requiring formal dress and tiaras. We hope at least the sparkle makes this seemingly mundane event more fun to watch.

Breaking News (Arcwhite Swann Sanctioned Press Release)

On this Sunday, traditionally a day of peace, the growing tensions growing between Arcwhite and Swann are being addressed directly by an official press release from Duke's Court Palace. The Duke of Swann has granted the Lady Arcwhite full asylum and has also officially sanctioned a press conference from where her statement as to her reasons for "defecting" from her native country was taken. Her position as Head of State however is still fully recognized by the sovereign nation of Swann pending the decision of the people of Arcwhite.

Lady Arcwhite, who has seemed very timid at her last press conference a few months ago at the headquarters of Arc International, was decidedly more confident and relaxed when meeting with the press in Swann early today. It was noted by the press a few months ago, that Lady Arcwhite seemed very stressed and even declined attending this years Birthday Ball. This lead to many rumours about her well being. As the story has now come to light all this seems to make more sense as she was planning this daring "escape" or as some may choose to call it, treachery.

 Lady Arcwhite has also confessed to a list of "crimes" committed by her government that has verified and affected those made by the Serbieski bombers who were apprehended a few weeks ago and those confessed by Frantisek Voorheest, the assassin of Empress Crystobel. All confessions made were done so completely in sound mind and of her own free will but does now place her in a precarious limbo as enemy of her own country and seeming friend to the implied enemies of the same. The full scale and nature of the confessions are still classified but will be released as soon as the relevant parties have processed it and may also bring criminal prosecution against Lady Arcwhite in her private capacity. The entire list of confessions have been categorized into three levels; historic and minimally volatile, economic and secularly criminal and lastly extremely volatile with International repercussions.

The first category has one confession and may be published here today. It refers to a war crime commited before the current Lady Arcwhite was in office. This was kept secret but has now been revealed. The Serbieski Crown Jewels were apparently stolen by Arcwhite agents in the chaos surrounding the Great War and hidden in absolute secret, without the knowledge of the Reichenthal government at the time, in the secret vault. The Arcwhite agents were so thorough that they used the vault, which was a plan of the then King of Reichenthal to save many historic artifacts from destruction, to cover their own clandestine plan. The intent was to recover the Crown Jewels at an opportune time to incite unrest in the region establishing ruling powers of their own design. The discovery of the Crown Jewels earlier this year and their restoration to their native region has on the one hand afforded some proof to this claim and has also disarmed its negative power to a large degree making it possible to reveal it on this post.

This gives the general public a taste of the nature of scope of Lady Arcwhite's intent and value in choosing her risky actions. She also hopes that in playing open cards that she might gain a type of plea bargain in standing account for her involvement in the implied atrocities. 

It is rumoured that the Arcwhite government intends to sell all its shares in Arc International when the stock market opens tomorrow. In effect rendering the company bankrupt. Its ownership will then legally pass to them, leaving Lady Arcwhite penniless. The Mother of the White Veil as Head of Government  has asked that the Duke of Swann would seriously consider meeting  to negotiate terms for Lady Arcwhite's extradition and submission to an Arcwhite court in order to avoid the threat of war. The Duke of Swann has responded by saying he will submit the request to a council of the united governments of Europa. Arcwhite's closest geographical neighbours; Scotney, Britania, Normandia, Swann and Canadium, remain on high military alert for the time being.

A dark cloud is descending over Western Europa following the revelation of the Order of the White Veil's alleged involvement in many of history's most controversial and sometimes mysterious tragedies.

Breaking News (Serbieski Power Plant Bombers Apprehended)

Shocking revelations have come to the fore and are going viral as we speak around the globe. The confessions of Frantisek Voorheest to the Mithrandir just before his execution a week ago has led to the arrest of the bombers of the Arc International Power Station in Serbieski. The bombing that took place in March 2013 caused severe tensions in the politically precarious region on the Wallachian border of Syldavia. Political dissidents have plagues that region and indeed the Syldavian stability since the 1997 Syldavian civil war that resulted from the Bloody Revolution in Scot-Britania. Intense investigations into the bombing brought forth very little evidence but suspicions have now been confirmed by Mr. Voorheest's confession.  

The Arc International Power Plant is a constant controversy in its own right as it has brought much needed power and infrastructure to an impoverished region of Serbieski. However its impact on the surrounding natural environment and its groundbreaking technology still raises many serious concerns. 

The bombing was at first believed to have been motivated by fanatic environmentalist but was soon proven to rather be motivated by political dissidents with strong anti-monarchist agendas. Serbieski has a very deeply ingrained nationalist history and its mediatized inclusion in the greater Syldavia remains difficult to this day. The return in Septemeber this year of the Serbieski Crown Jewels however has placated the region's proud people.

Frantisek Voorheest, the executed assassin that killed Empress Crystobel in 2013 on her official visit to Britania admitted to the Mithrandir minutes before his beheading that he was part of an underground political move bent on eradicating all form of monarchy in Europa. He shared information about the bombing in Serbieski that only an insider could know adding lost puzzle pieces to the investigation.

This information has lead to the arrest of a several people linked to the bombing and proves that it was financed by the theft of the Duke of Swann's emeralds as was also suspected. There statements also now add even more evidence to the mix. A golden thread can now be drawn from the theft of the emeralds to the bombing and assassination of the Empress. This has obviously also led to a few new questions and implicates a few new suspects. However much of this is still classified as it seems more has been uncovered than the authorities could have imagined and if links to the 1996 Revolution are implied then this has international repercussions on the level of war.

Wonderful Weekend (State Portrait of Serbieski)

Riding the popular wave of  the return of the Crown Jewels of Serbieski to their homeland the Grand Duke of Serbieski and his wife released a set of official State Portraits. 

Here we see their Grand Ducal Highnesses posed before the Serbieski mascot of the Lion and the Lamb inside the Grand Ducal Palace in Karadjorge. The portrait also features the Crest of the Grand Duchy of Serbieski in the top left. The Grand Duke is wearing the sash and badge of the Order of the Syldav Cross and his Chain of Office while Grand Duchess Davina is wearing her family heirloom tiara. 

Grand Duchess Davina wears the earring and necklace of the Grand Duchess Consort that were part of the collection of historic Crown jewels thought lost and now returned to Serbieski after their discovery in a secret vault in Reichenthal this year. the jewellery is made of fine gold and set with emeralds, amethysts and diamonds.

His Grand Ducal Highness, Grand Duke Paul Karageorgevich of Serbieski poses with the Relic Crown of Serbieski. This historic moment marks a turning point in the history of the region, greater Syldavia and all of Europa.

What's Up Wednesday (Reichenthal returns Historic Treasures to their rightful owners.)

The content of jewellery found in the secret Reichenhal vault was listed and described in a previous post on one of our Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday. For those details follow this link:

http://daniel-s-world.blogspot.com/2014/08/tiaras-and-trinkets-on-tuesday.html

Since the full disclosure and probe into the case and history of the discovery, the Grand Duke of Reichenthal has begun officially returning the historic pieces to their "rightful"owners. Where appropriate, some pieces have been afforded ceremony in keeping with their symbolic value. In other case they were merely delivered to those who rightfully claim them Some pieces however ended up having no contemporary link and as such have been placed in regional museums as close to their historic ties as possible. Today's post will document the most important of these returns.

The first and one of the most historically significant pieces to be sent home was the Imperial Throne of Scot-Britania. It coincided beautifully and seamlessly with the Crown Prince Imperial's official taking up residency in the Scot-Britanian Isles. The Syldavian Ministry of Foreign affairs was happy that the events surrounding the throne's return only strengthened the bonds between the three countries of Syldavia, Scotney and Britania. The throne was returned to its own official home, the Cathedral of the Lion Heart.

The Nuptial Coronet of Scotney went with the Imperial throne and was received by the Crown Prince Imperial to again become a part of the vast Imperial Crown Jewel Collection.

Next on the list of historically important pieces to be returned was the Sword of the Lion Heart and the Crown of Cataljone, belonging to the Crown Jewels of Hispania.

The Princess of Cataljone , heir to the Kingdom of Hispania(pictured above) flew to Reichenthal to receive the sword officially on behalf of the nation of Hispania. A small hand-over ceremony was held in Reichenthal Castle.

Grand Duke Lothair personally handed the medieval sword over to the Princess.

The Crown of Catajone was still undergoing some repairs at the time of the hand-over ceremony but did fly back with the Princess of Cataljone to Hispania the next day to find its place once more alongside the other Crown Jewels of Hispania.

The Crown of Romagna, considered to be the single most intrinsically valuable piece to have been found in the Reichenthal vault was secretly sent by to the Princess Donatella, Duchess Di Giorgio by armoured car.

The Crown of the former Kingdom of Romagna is back home photographed next to the pretender to the same Kingdom. The Duchess Di Giorgio, like so many other pretenders have found themselves welcomed back to their native countries of late in order to become ceremonial custodians of those countries' Royal history.

The very beautiful Crown of Romagna will be exhibited in a new display especially being designed for it in the former Royal palace of Romagna.

The Arch Duke of Fulco D'Este is set to release a State Portrait of his wife wearing the restored Consort Diadem. It was also sent by armoured car to the Democratic Republic of Fulco DÉste where it was received by the Minister of the Interior. The Diadem will be kept in the same vault as the Steel Crown of Fulco D'Este but will be used for the first time in the official portrait and may be used in future for State Events.

The very unusual Dodecahedron Statue found in the Reichenthal Vault has received no media coverage as yet but is to feature in State Portrait of the Duke of Swann to be released somewhere in the near future.

 The Enlightened Manuscript featuring a Scripture from the Book of Romans has also been returned to Duke's Court Palace  in the Principality of Swann. the Duke of Swann is seen above standing next to the Medieval manuscript said to have been created at the request of the first Duke of Swann upon his investiture. The current Duke said that this piece is very dear to his heart for its symbolic meaning.


The greatest and also most politically volatile set of jewellery is also the oldest and posed the most problems in their return to their homeland. Made in 1250 the Crown Jewels of Serbieski is an awesome find for its historic value but politically pose a conundrum. Their return to Serbieski has the potential to incite civil unrest due to their almost relic-like status. The Grand Duke of Serbieski is the legal owner of the jewels which by tradition is the personal property of the ruler of Serbieski. Diplomatic negotiations and high security surrounded their return and to afford them the proper respect a full State Ceremony of their hand over was held in Reichethal castle attended by the King of Syldavia.  

The Grand Duke of Reichenthal (at left) gathers with his Serbieski counterpart (at right)for the hand over ceremony. The official event is legally witnessed by Princess Augusta as history expert and overseen by the King of Syldavia.

The beautiful and very old Crown Jewels of Serbieski, include the Crown, Scepter and the Demi Parure of the "Queens" of Serbieski.

The Grand Duke of Reichenthal made a poignant speech explaining the value and controversy surrounding the jewels:

"When the historic find of Royal Jewellery was discovered here in Reichenthal my family and I were as surprised and indeed amazed as the rest of the world. To have grown up, unaware of the treasure literally hidden on the other side of a mere brick wall seems very surreal. Yet now, the Imperial throne, historic jewellery and art and the controversial Crown Jewels of Serbieski have been found. The symbolic nature of these far outweighs their monetary value and the return of these relics to their proper context in this new millennium is our greatest concern.

Today we as apparently secret Reichenthalian custodians of these treasures until now are humbled to present to the great people of Serbieski with their Crown Jewels. We are keenly aware and sensitive to the controversy posed by these “national symbols” and their potential affect on the people they represent. We all as Syldavian citizens have to foster a broader perspective however. Where these symbols represent the past and the very proud accomplishment of a regional people these symbols may also hold the keys to a bigger and more prosperous future. It is that key with the potential to unlock a future which concerns us here and now. Serbieski, our proud and strong neighbours and Syldavian compatriots, today you stand at the brink of a decision. Though lost, the crown jewels, glorious symbols of unity, strength, solidarity and your place in Europa has tied you together as a people for centuries. Throughout a very difficult history that lead us to today you continued to exist, indeed continued to make your mark as a proud nation albeit like Reichenthal your neighbours, making sacrifices to continue to do so.

We share your sentiment; Reichenthal like Serbieski is a proud, fruitful, strong people. The sacrifices made were not easy. By laying down our independence, we thought all was lost. But in actual fact: more was gained. Today we are more than the small, unknown “Kingdom” we used to be. Our unique identity, Regional solidarity and our dignity have been preserved within our new Syldavian electorate. We continue in our traditions as we have done for centuries. You as honoured member of this new electorate have come to see the same benefits over the last two years. People of Serbieski, the choice is yours. We're all aware that the return of the Serbieski Crown Jewels stirs deep emotions that may tilt the scales towards an even more prosperous and stable future or one where clandestine opportunists incite revolt against it.

Therefore place this crown and sceptre on your secured freedom established on righteousness. Place it on the altar of sacrifice and continue to sacrifice for the greater good of yourselves, Syldavia and indeed all Europa. May your children and grandchildren look back to this historic day, and say: The day our crown jewels returned, was the day when Serbieski chose peace and freedom, but above all, LIFE."

The official transfer of the jewels was sealed with a handshake as the footage of the event was published live on television and the internet.

The Grand Duke of Serbieski posed for an official photo opp with the jewels in a kind of State Portrait pose.

The Serbieski Crown Jewels handover made international news and the world sighed a breath of relief as another potential local unrest was avoided in the south of Syldavia. We wish the people of Serbieski all the best.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (The Reichenthal Vault Cache of Royal Jewels)

The Reichenthal discovery of historic treasures walled up in a secret room has been the talk now in the news media for the last two months. Today's post will feature a list of all the historic jewellery pieces found hidden, probably to save it from destruction, amongst other artifacts. Princess Augusta, the world renowned historic jewellery dealer, was tasked with the massive responsibility of documenting, appraising and verifying the provenance and by extention, the ownership of the jewellery pieces found in the Reichenthal secret vault.

Here we see the Princess as she was photographed, still inside the vault with the large chests containing only the Royal jewellery left there for posterity. 

One of the chests was found inside the vault left open with jewellery and gold bullion spilling from it as if it was hastily dropped there many decades ago. 

Let us now run down the list of every single piece of jewellery for documentation sake and to appreciate the new archive photos taken of these exceptional pieces of history.

As seen in the photo of the open chest, this open circlet crown is now known to belong to the Crown Jewel Collection of Reichenthal. It has been documented in historic paintings and photographs but hasn't been seen for almost 20 years since the 1996 Revolution. It is known as the Queen Consort Crown of Reichenthal and was made from gold and amethysts in the early 1500's

This solid gold diadem set with diamonds and an amethyst was made to resemble the style of the Queen Consort of Reichenthal's Crown in 1888 for the then wife of the Crown Prince. Today it would be appropriate for the Crown Princess Delrese to wear it. 

Two Reichenthal style gold tiaras are confirmed to not be part of a documented list of the Reichenthal Crown jewels but are presumed to be from the collection of the controversial Germanic Imperial Family. Two tiaras are vaguely described in a list of " possesions"  of the Empress to have been sent out of the country during the Great War only to dissappear forever but there is no archival evidence otherwise. The description matches these but is not conclusive proof. As such they belong to the current Syldavian State and will probably end up in the National History Museum. 

This platinum and diamond tiara of very fine craftmanship has also failed to produce verifiable provenance. 

This art deco style tiara of exceptional craftsmanship is made from gold and set with rubies and diamonds. No documentation or other historicity for it has come to light and it too may find its home in a museum. 

A set of period jewellery of exceptional historic and regional significance is this parure of pearls. The very obvious Ruskian design made it easy to identify from contemporary documentation as belonging to the Imperial Family of Ruskiana. It will be returned to Grand Duchess Xenia, the pretender to the Ruskian throne on behalf of and in trust of the people of Ruskiana. We hope that the government of Ruskiana will allow us to see these worn and not to just let them languish in a museum as seems to be the fate of some of the other pieces in our list. 

The Champagne State Diadem was a shock to find amongst the many pieces in the Reichenthal Vault. The reason being that history has presumed this particular piece to have been destroyed along with many other jewels in the Franconian Revolution more than 200 years ago. We will discuss the mystery along with another piece of Franconian Crown Jewels also found in the vault a little further down the list. 

Steel, diamonds and rubies make up this very unusual but elaborately designed diadem. The choice of steel is what identified this tiara as only one such example was ever made and was in itself a very unique choice of material for a ladies tiara. The Consort's Diadem of Fulco D'Este was also presumed lost in the Great War. Along with the Steel Crown of Fulco D' Este it was made from steel taken from a canon that is said to have tipped the war of independence in the favour of the Royalists. The Crown and now reunited with its matching Consort's Diadem is considered more of a symbol of the nations independence than of the monarchy per se'.  

The solid gold Consort's Diadem of  the Noble House Von Thurn und Taxis had some documents connecting it to its history and owners with it in the chest. This was a very valuable find as no records or memory of its existence was known historically. We can thus assume that it was made in Reichenthal and due to unforeseen circumstances was never sent to those who ordered it, presumably due to the 1996 Revolution. 

The grandest and most historic piece of the Franconian Crown Jewels has also come to light alongside the aforementioned Champagne Diadem. These miraculous finds pose some serious challenges to the continuity of Franconian history as far as the final end of their Royal jewels are concerned. It was long held that almost everything was either deliberately melted down and sold or was lost to looting. however these two spectacular finds prove that assumption false. How they stayed hidden for two centuries and ended up in Reichenthal adds to the mystery. It seems far more research may be required but for now it will remain an enigma. the jewellery at least was so famous in their time that they are easily identified and may return to the legal descendants of their former owners. 

The medieval Crown of Cataljone once graced the head of the independant Prince of Cataljone until the Principality eventually fell to its powerful neighbour, Hispania, in 1589. The Crown since then was used as the symbol for the heir to the Hispanian throne along with the title Prince of Cataljone. The Crown was thought lost during the 1996 Revolution but records now prove that it was in Reichenthal for routine maintenance and repair and obviously was spared for the same reason as every other treasure relegated to the secret vault. 

Another historic artifact from Hispania is the Sword of the Lionheart which was with the Crown of Cataljone in the same chest. This is the official coronation sword of Hispania and the people of Hispania are said to be elated due to its recovery. 

The Nuptial Coronet of Scotney is a very sentimental and historic piece of jewellery as it has been used for over 100 years in the marriage ceremonies of all Scotney Princesses. It to was in Reichenthal for routine maintenance at the time of the 96 revolution and found its way into the vault. It seems the foresight of the then King of Reichenthal and his jewellers are to be commended. 

The most intrinsically valuable yet not the most historically old piece of jewellery is still a national symbol and had Princess Augusta aghast when she opened the chest. The Crown of the former Kingdom Romagna was according to tradition smuggled out of the country during the Great War. It was originally made to replace the old medieval crown that was destroyed in a fire in the Royal palace in 1802. The Crown according to the smuggling rumour plainly went missing and was never seen again until now. Perhaps the Reichenthal rulers had an unspoken agreement with most Royal families to do whatever they could in time of need to save historic pieces whenever possible. This Crown will return to Romagna and fall in the custody of Princess Donatella, Duchess DiGiorgio, as keeper of Royal treasures on behalf of that nation. 

The greatest find and also most politically volatile set of jewellery is also the oldest set of Crown Jewels in Europa. Historically, the set was created to symbolize Serbieski independence after centuries of war and since then has also caused wars. Over time it has reached a status of veritable holy relic in the eyes of the people who's identity and independence it symbolizes. Made in 1250 the Crown Jewels of Serbieski is an awesome find for its historic value but politically pose a conundrum. Their return to Serbieski has the potential to incite civil unrest and an emergency meeting of the government of Syldavia that rules over the now province of Serbieski has been called. The Grand Duke of Serbieski is the legal owner of the jewels placing him under severe pressure as he is asked to not bring the Crown jewels back to their homeland until consensus is reached as to their fate. Internet chat sites are reporting massive feeds of information surrounding the discovery of the jewels predominantly calling for their return and public display on Serbieski soil. Armed forces in Syldavia have been put on "discreet" alert and governments in greater Europa have called for calm and reason to permeate the Serbieski stance.

We conclude today's post with The Duke of  Swann's statement to the press in connection with Serbieski Crown jewels:
" We hope that the joy of finding this huge treasure will foster an overriding attitude of thanksgiving in the whole of Europa and Serbieski in particular. May it usher in a new era of hope for a prosperous future set on a foundation of unity. If Reichenthal could risk the necessary sacrifices to preserve these treasures from the destruction of war, let us honour that sentiment by preserving them and our futures with the same self sacrifice."