Fascinating Fridays (Thrones Rooms of the World)

If there is one venue that plays the central role in the world of Royalty then it is the Throne Room. The room itself may in may ways seem to exceed in importance than the actual chair and in some cases the two are mutually inseparable in their function and mystical value.

Throne rooms are where the monarch manifests his authority, displays his glory on a very intimate level and in most cases is the place where he receives his crown for the first time. Throne rooms may be permanent fixtures in palaces or great halls of state or may even be mobile to some degree. In some traditions all a monarch has to do is sit down and the very chair mystically becomes the throne and the room an official audience chamber in which to receive officials of state. In one instance, a bed ridden Queen turned her bedchamber into the official throne room of her reign until her death.

The function of the throne room is in essence very practical. It is a place for officials to congregate, meet with the monarch and other officials and also to receive instructions and official commissions. These very practical function then also get embellished with tradition and ceremony to express and underscore values, prestige and privileged responsibility to monarch and the people.

Throne rooms are official state chambers where a monarch is seated in the context of a gathering of his administrators for the purpose of manifesting a principle of government. This could be an investiture, an official speech or even judgement. In the photo above we see the throne room of the Principality of Swann as it was ready to receive the current Duke of Swann on his coronation day.

Throne rooms are more often used than one would expect in this modern era. They also take wear and even damage over the years and for that purpose may need maintenance, repairs or even extensive restoration work. In rare cases entirely an entirely new room may be required to be built from scratch. In the photo above we the the newly restored throne room of Syldavia which acts as an annual council of government chamber among other things.

Sometimes, in days gone by, a monarch might have had several throne rooms in varying degrees of size and grandeur serving different purposes. This was almost like one might get varying sizes of board rooms in a corporate setting. Above we can see the small throne room in the Reichenthal Castle which served as a secondary throne room where visiting guests could meet their monarch in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Throne rooms are often depicted in State Portraits as the formal setting and obvious official symbolism of the room allows for the perfect setting for them.

The traditions surrounding the throne rooms may vary from culture to culture. The Islands of Arcwhite kept their throne room completely unpublished in main stream media. It was only a few years ago that the current Lady Arcwhite broke the tradition of keeping it secret and unphotographed by posing for her first State Portraits on the Throne of Arcwhite.

Thrones may be moved according to the different requirements which may include varying ceremonial purposes and even the mundane aspect of storage. The Throne of Scot-Britania is permanently kept/stored in its own chapel, apart from the main hall of the cathedral where it is moved to for ceremonial use. Above we can see it in the aforementioned chapel.

In this photo we see the Throne of Scot-Britania when staged on the raised dias in the Cathedral of the Lionheart for significant events like Coronations, Imperial Declarations or Thanksgiving Services. When the throne is in place it in effect renders the cathedral a holy throne room for lack of a better expression. This throne room is the place from where the Emperor rules as representative of Divine Authority on Earth. It hasn't been set up like this since the last Coronation.

Ancient throne rooms where assembly places for ancient tribes and often took place as pseudo spiritual gatherings in nature. One such ancient throne/throne room remains and is often seen as the oldest Europan throne on earth. It is the stone seat of the Mithrandir in the forest bordering Andorra and Swann. It is under a gigantic Cypress tree and is said to be the most holy spot in Europa.

The throne is symbolic of the seat of the mind where plans and decisions are made and executed from. So each one of us knows full well how important these symbols of authority and power are from our own experience. We hope that the historic place of thrones and their mystique in our fairy tale concep of Royalty remain as cosntant symbol of our personal responsibility in ruling our own lives with dignity.