Memory Monday (Duke of Swann State Tour of the Island of Banbury and Annual Knight's Meeting)

This year has seen many "unprecedented" and surpprising events take place. For the Annual Knight's Meeting it was decided to use the small island of Banbury as the venue. Banbury is a remote island that falls under the sovereignty of Swann but that is also semi-autonomous in some respects. By tradition the island is ruled by the closets male relation to the Duke of Swann that is not the heir to the Swanobian throne. The Duke of Banbury and Grand Master of the Order of Malta then rules this distant outcrop of the Swanobian State in trust of the Duke of Swann under a marshal law type of system. 

The current Duke of Banbury and Grand Master of the Order of Malta (pictured at left above)  is the Duke of Swann's younger brother, Prince Dennis of Swann. In his capacity as ruler of the related state he is referred to as His Illustrious Highness, the Duke of Banbury. The Duke of Swann made his first visit to the island in more than ten years last week along with his sister Princess Marie-Elizabeth, the Arch Duchess of Fulco D'Este (pictured at right above). This was since it was agreed that this year's Annual Knight's Meeting was to be hosted by the Island in the name of the Principality of Swann. Apart from the logistic and formal reason it was also a bit of a family reunion between the sibling who haven't gathered under one roof since before the Duke of Swann's ascension to the throne.

This map shows the location of the small island in relation to Swann and the rest of Europa.

The estranged brothers were formal but couldn't hide controlled smiles, obvious expressions of being glad to see each other. The customary handshake was not just for show but also welcomed the Duke of Swann as representative of the Annual Knight's Meeting to the island. 

The Duke of Banbury has been known to be a bit of a joker as can be seen in his "naughty" expression in this, what was meant to be a formal photo opp. 

Princess Marie-Elizabeth struck a far more regal pose for this, her photo opp. The Duke of Swann was to host an evening gala as per tradition for all the heads of the Orders of Chivalry the day after his arrival. The event did not include his sister or the Duke of Banbury even though the Duke of Banbury yielded his palace to his brother for the evening. 

The full gathering for the Annual Knight's Meeting included from left; Prince Louis D'Pont Du Lac, Queen Gloria of Normandia, The Grand Duke of Hanoveria, Queen Maria of Hispania, The Crown Prince Imperial, King Nikolas of Syldavia, The Duke of Swann, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Ruskiana and the Princess of Wallachia. 

At this year's event many crucial matter were discussed, among which the Crown Prince Imperial's return to Scotney and Britania was of highest priority. Its affects on the various Orders of Chivalry will indeed have far reaching consequences with both positive and negative potential. For the last and almost cosmetic topic, it was decided to allocated a coloured ribband to the reactivated Franconian Order of the Holy Spirit. The Crown Prince Imperial as preeminent Grand Master bestowed the silver ribband upon Prince Louis D'Pont Du Lac.

Here we see Prince Louis wearing the new ribband as Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Spirit.

What's Up Wednesday (Annual Knight's Meeting 2013)

Sorgenfrei Castle Armoury played host to the 2013 Annual Knight's Meeting last week but this year's meeting had a twist. 

In a break with the precedence set over the last 5 years, this year's meeting only gathered the heads of the various Knighthood Orders. Even the heads of the dormant orders were requested to be represented as a big decision was to be agreed upon and then to be officially announced. It is know agreed that from 2014 the individual Orders will be fully active and to host their own meetings at their own discretion as before the 96 Revolution. Over and above, the heads of the various orders will meet once a year to convene on interchivalric affairs. 

The Armoury at Sorgenfrei was the perfect venue for this "small", quick and intimate gathering. It also serves to promote the castle as a "venue for hire" for other prestigious events.

This photo shows the full contigent of Chivalric Orders represented. From left we have: Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna representing the Ruskian Order of the Polar Star, then Prince Louis D'Pont Du Lac representing the Franconian Order of the Holy Vigil, The Queen of Hispania represented the Order of the Triad, The Grand Duke of Hanoveria represented the Hanoverian Order of the Polar Star, Empress Crystobel and her son the Crown Prince Imperial represented the Order of the Diamond Star, The Princess of Wallachia represented the Order of the Ublient, Queen Gloria represented the Order of the Lake, King Nikolas III represented the Order of the Syldav Cross and finally The Duke of Swann represented the Swanobian Order of the Purple Swann for the first time in over 15 years. 

The Franconian Order of the Holy Vigil, which has been dormant for over 200 years, has had a debate raging over its reinstatement based on history not ever recording the colour of its sash. This meeting also settled that by agreeing on the colour being silver.

The recently rediscovered Imperial Ruby Parure was worn for the first time by Grand Duchess Xenia, Head of the Ruskian branch of the Order of the Polar Star that strictly speaking submits to the Hanoverian branch. She is however afforded an honourary membership as a Head of an Order at these meetings. It was amazing to see these rubies worn for the first time in almost a century. They truly do the glory of the old Ruskian Court justice. 

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Top Jewellery Moments of 2012)

We started our blog in March 2012 and posted on many events from this year and others from history. As we come to the end of  this year we thought it an interesting enough topic to note the most spectacular jewellery moments for 2012. Tiaras are the Duke of Swann's favourite jewellery pieces. Lets see which moments caught his eye, in no particular order. 

Early in 2012, Princess Marie-Elizabeth of Swann broke precedence and with special permission, wore her mother's dowry collection of jewellery in honour of her mother, to the Swann Ballet. The jewels hadn't at that stage been seen in public for over 15 years. 

Whenever Lady Arcwhite appears in the Perlistani Pahlavi Necklace, it is sure to be a moment of notoriety on anybody's jewel radar. This year she wore it once only so far, to the Heads of the Royal Houses Meeting. 

The Syldavian Investiture was of extreme historic importance and saw the official use of crowns from the Crown Jewel Collection, an historic Medieval Tiara and some new jewellery made for the event. This in itself made it one of the greatest jewellery moments of the year and indeed, of all time.

In the momentum of the Syldavian Investiture another old tiara from before the 96 Revolution resurfaced. It seems that this year was the year of old jewellery, long thought lost, to make reappearances in public. Here Queen Maxima of Syldavia sports a tiara that once belonged to a predecessor Queen Consort. The Queen Ingrid Tiara was bought privately by King Nikolas, for his wife but also as a compliment to and treasure for the nation of Syldavia in perpetuity. 

This year saw a new player on the international Royal stage. The Duchess Di Giorgio was revealed to be the official heir to the Romagnian House that are the claimants to the throne of Romagna. in this capacity she inherited some jewels that haven't seen the light of day for almost 100 years. Her official press release photos saw her wearing the ancient jewels for the first time and caused a media sensation. 

If one person has to be awarded a prize for jewellery wearer of 2012, it would have to be Queen Maria of Hispania. She wore the Hispanian Rose sapphire Parure, also thought once lost. 

She wore the very impressive and rarely seen Grey Pearl Parure.

Queen Maria also took out the Crown Rubies, which has never been worn by her and last seen, worn by her mother, only once several years ago. 

One of the most interesting moments in jewellery happened when the Grand Duchess Xenia of Ruskiana appeared in public having united a necklace and a tiara that were originally from a single set. The tiara and necklace and indeed the earrings from the Alexander III Sapphire Parure were separated many decades ago through inheritance and misadventure. However the necklace found its way back to the tiara and was worn in public at the Knights of the Realm Meeting.

Our final moment for 2012 was to see an entirely new set of jewellery to the Royal scene. Queen Maxima was gifted many new pieces by her husband in his private capacity. This emerald parure consists of antique pieces assembled into a set for her to use at her leisure and breathed more life into the Syldavian Royal collection. 

We cannot wait to see what jewels are going to appear at the Christmas Ball!!!

Memory Mondays (Greatest Events of the Past 25 years)

We have found on the blog that sometimes people miss out on some of the posts. It is possible to keep track of which posts get "hit" the most or the ones who register few "hits". For this purpose, to keep the continuity of the stories and the reports going, we have decided to have a quick single run down of the main historic events of the last few decades in a single post in chronological order. This will help the readers who might have missed something and will also group things in order in a single post which will give an overview of the reported history of the Royals.

1986 - Wedding of Queen Crystobel II of Scotney to the Crown Prince of Britania.

1996 - Bloody Revolution topples the United Empire of Scot-Britania

2004 - Duke of Swann is Crowned

2006 - Wedding of the Princess of Wallachia to the Baron Bagrazia

2008 - Wedding of the Prince Karageorgevich (now Grand Duke of Serbieski) and Lady Davina Cartwright

2009 - Crown Prince Imperial's "Coming of Age" Ball held in Muren

2010 - Wedding of the Grand Duke of Hanoveria to Lady Alice D'Rothchild

2010 - Wedding of the Crown Prince Imperial to Odeliah Sorgenfrei

2010 - First Christmas Ball held in 14years

2011 - Largest Gathering of Royalty to date for the Official Royal Family Portrait

2011 - Wedding of Count Nikolas Von Bismarck (now King of Syldavia) to Princess Maxima of Hanoveria

2011 - Restoration of the Normandian Monarchy and Investiture of Queen Gloria

2011 - Second Christmas Ball

2012 - First and to this date only "Heads of the Royal Houses" Meeting and Banquet.

2012 - Duke of Swann's 15th Anniversary on the Throne.

2012 - Restoration of the Syldavian Monarchy and Investiture of King Nikolas III

2012 - Wedding of Queen Gloria of Normandia to the Prince of Northwold

2012 - Fourth and largest Annual Knights Meeting.

Hopefully this post helps to put things in better order and to show readers if they missed any major story. Please use the Labels at the end of this post or the Archive at the right side of the blog to visit the related posts that feature the particular historic event.



What's Up Wednesday (The Annual Knights Meeting 2012)

Every year in June the knights of the various Orders of Chivalry gather together for their Annual Knight's Meeting. This past Saturday we saw the largest meeting to date as now more than ever, Royals and Nobles alike join in resurrecting the old traditions of knighthood and its accompanying responsibilities. This year the event was held in St Ottokar's Cathedral in the new Kingdom of Syldavia. King Nikolas III felt it would be  solidifying the already pro-Royal sentiments expressed by the Syldavian people if the pageantry of the meeting was displayed in his capital city. 

The hosts of the meeting, Queen Maxima and King Nikolas of Syldavia. King Nikolas also serves as the head of the Order of the Syldav Cross.

The standard dress code for these meetings are formal with bow tie and tiara for the ladies or court dress. 

The Princess of Wallachia as the head of the Order of the Ublient.

The pretender to the Ruskian throne and former contested head of the Order of the Polar Star, Grand Duchess Xenia of Ruskiana. 

Queen Maria of Hispania is the head of the Order of the Triad.

The Grand Duke of Hanoveria (center) is the head of the Order of the Polar Star.

Queen Gloria of Normandia (center) is the head of the Order of  the Lake. 

The headship of an Order of Knighthood is normally attached to a Sovereign's titles and is the only "knighthood" that is not bestowed but inherited. All other knighthoods are earned and bestowed. 

The Crown Prince Imperial is de facto head of the Order of the Diamond Star and in that capacity heads up these meetings.

It is very interesting to note that former monarchies with living claimants to related former titles are recognized by courtesy in existing monarchies. As such all attached titles are recognized and as such at a meeting like the Annual Knight's meeting the precedence of the Order of the Diamond Star exceeds all the other knighthoods and its head, the Crown Prince Imperial takes center stage as the highest precedence even though the Crown Prince Imperial is not the current head of state but an exiled Prince. 

Princess Augusta and the Duchess of Roswind. 

Prince Louis D'Pont du Lac (left) is the pretender to the throne of Franconia. However unlike the Crown Prince Imperial of Scot-Britania who's throne was lost in the 96 Revolution, the Franconian throne was lost more than 200 years ago. As hardly any hope of a restoration exists and as Royal traditions have faded into obscurity, the Knighthood Order attached to the Franconian throne, namely the Order of the Holy Vigil has lapsed into complete disuse. In white we see Infanta Isabella of Hispania, then Prince Felix Youssopoff and Princess Kirsten Youssopoff. 

The full congregation of Knights included from left: Prince Louis D'Pont du Lac, Princess Isabella of Hispania, The Prince and Princess Youssopoff, Grand Duchess Xenia of Ruskiana, the Baron Bagrazia, the Princess of  Wallachia, the Queen of Hispania, the Duke of Swann, Empress Crystobel, the Crown Prince Imperial, the Crown Princess Imperial, the Grand Duke of Hanoveria, the Grand Duchess of Hanoveria, Princess Beatrice, Dowager Grand Duchess of Hanoveria, the Queen of Normandia, the Prince of Northwold, Queen Maxima of Syldavia, the King of Syldavia, Princess Augusta of Scot-Britania and the Duchess of Roswind. Notable absentees were Prince Dillon of Swann and Don Miguel, Duke of Toledo.

It is interesting to note also that the current pretender to the throne of Monagask and that of the throne of Fulco D'Este don't hold any knighthoods other than those traditionally held by their pretended titles as sovereigns of the mentioned former monarchies. As such they do not attend these meetings as similarly to the Prince D'Pont du lac their Orders of Knighthood have been in complete disuse. The Prince D'Pont du Lac attends in his capacity as a Knight in the Order of the Polar Star. This topic was on the agenda of this year's meeting and we may see these defunct Knighthoods being restored in a symbolic capacity regardless of whether their countries see an official restoration of their monarchies. 

Memory Monday (Annual Knight's Meeting)

A new week on a rainy morning. I am looking forward to this week's blogging and can't wait to see how the Syldavian Investiture turns out. Let's get to today's history report.

In the heyday of monarchy, before the 1996 Revolution or even the Great War, it was not just tradition but also a practical necessity for the various Orders of Knighthood to have regular meetings to discuss matters and organise their efforts. However there would be one meeting in a year that was most significant for each individual Order and that would be the one where new knights were created.

The custom of official meetings, along with many other traditions and trapping were more than just affected by the war and revolution. After 1996, all Knight’s meetings were ceased indefinitely, even in the countries that retained their monarchies. Knighthoods originally spanned national borders and in the post revolution became a kind of an embarrassment as what used to be an honour now was seen by the newly created democratic nations as a reminder of a bygone “tyranny”. Another sad reality was the fact that these organizations also did valuable international work which now also became practically impossible and it all seemed entirely obsolete.

The Prince Imperial’s Birthday Ball in 2009 revitalized the concept of monarchy and even before the first restoration of the Kingdom of Normadia was set in stone, the old Knights of the various Orders decided to hold their first meeting. They decided that due to so many of their ranks being lost that all the various Orders should have a combined meeting annually until they grew to a level where the individual Orders could meet separately as of old. 

The first Knight's Meeting held in 2009 in the United States of Americania of all places. The meeting was sparse as some were still apprehensive to appear in a public meeting espousing monarchy. However the influential presence of  two governing Heads of State namely, The Duke of Swann and The Duchess of Aragon (representing the Queen of Spain) gave the meeting more credence on an international and genuinely diplomatic level. From left we see, The Count von Bismarck at that stage still a Knight of the Ublient, Princess Isabella of Hispania, The Duke of Swann, The Prince Karageorgevic, The Crown Prince Imperial, Princess Augusta, The Duchess of Aragon, The Baron d'Rothchild and The Grand Duchess Xenia of Ruskiana.

We have seen three such meetings and expect our fourth in mid 2012. At first, re-establishing a base, setting clear goals and reorganizing some members was necessary. Knighthoods are attached to certain countries and dynastic Royal Houses and so we have seen the official resurrection of those attached to Normandia and Syldania only since 2011. Some members needed to change their Order allegiances due to dynastic shifts as for instance, King Nikolas III of Syldavia had to do. All in all, things have become more solid and the various Orders seem to now be in full swing, growing and beginning to function in fields of charity and service as before. The combined meeting is also unique in setting a precedence of accountability as the members from different Orders keep each other encouraged and in check.

The meeting of 2010 was held in the Grand Duchy of Hanoveria. Empress Crystobel was at this stage revealed to be alive and Hispania's government was not officially represented by the Duchess of Aragon anymore. Her Knighthood was never officially bestowed as she was merely a representative. This meeting saw the appointment of the Crown Princess Imperial and also in expectancy of  future restorations, the Orders of Normandia and Syldavia were reintroduced on an honourary basis. 

The 2011 meeting was obviously the largest to date. At this stage the Princess of Wallachia officially joined the ranks and was appointed to the Order of the Syldav Cross to honour her and to strengthen the possibility of a Syldavian restoration. The meeting was also held in the capital city of the new Kingdom of Normandia. Queen Gloria of Normandia had only been restored for a few months at that time and decided to strengthen the monarchic atmosphere in her country by hosting the meeting. Two matters of contention was resolved at this meeting, the headship of the Order of the Ublient, which was in dispute between the Princess of Wallachia and the Prince Karageorgevic and the Headship of the Order of the Polar Star, which was in dispute between the Grand Duke of Hanover and his cousin the Grand Duchess Xenia. These details will be discussed when we deal with the various Orders in separate detail. 

I hope to discuss the various Orders by themselves over a couple of Fascinating Fridays so won’t deal with that detail now. This was just a brief introduction to the concept of the Annual Knights Meeting as we have now come to know it since 2009. I might also deal with the three meetings more specifically once the fourth meeting took place, then we can see who attended these meetings and discover the intriguing politics, controversies that had to be dealt with and the work the Orders partake in.