Memory Monday (Reichenthal Royal Wedding)

Time for a historic post. In 1997 Syldavia had abolished its national monarchy in favour of a democracy but did face the problem of having absorbed many small regions who were independent monarchies and fiercely traditionally ethnic before the 1996 Revolution. Subsequently the Syldavian civil war broke out and subdued these regions into submission to the greater democratic system. In principle these monarchies where also abolished to some or a complete degree but where some Royal Families were entirely exiled, the small region of Reichenthal signed a treaty with its new overlords. This agreement yielded all authority to the Syldavian government but allowed the King and the local customs to continue ceremoniously with absolutely no claim to governance or government funds. Thus King Lothair, who had ruled for a mere seven days after his father's assassination, yielded to the Syldavian Governor and was relegated to the obscurity of his mountain "Kingdom" to such a degree that Reichenthal soon completely faded into memory and legend. But life went on and "King" Lothair soon took a wife.


The Royal Wedding of  Lothair, King of the Reichenthalians and Azantha, Princess of Perlistan took place in 1998 and was a fresh moment of joy and colour after all the dread that the 1996 Revolution had brought. The event was celebrated locally and did not even receive press coverage in the rest of Syldavia much less internationally. It was not however down toned in its Royal splendour.

The small Kingdom of Reichenthal is hidden away and was completely absorbed by the Syldavian democratic government which relegated it to a regional oddity but this wedding was a time for the local people to shine their local customs brightly among the democratic severity of their "Big Brother" state.

Reichenthal Castle is the venue for almost all the Royal events in the region and also served as the wedding venue in 1998.

Lothair, who could no longer be referred to as "His Majesty" or "King Lothair of Reichenthal", was still colloquially allowed "King of the Reichenthalians" following his name. Here we see him on his wedding day awaiting his bride's arrival in the throne room for the ceremony. The Crown of Reichenthal can be seen just behind Lothair on a golden pedestal.

Standing with Lothair was his soon to be sister-in-law, the pretender Shahbahnou of Perlistan, his best man the Baron Bagrazia and the Silver Cardinal.

The bride's sister was living in exile at the time of the wedding, hailing herself from the ousted monarchy of Perlistan. This was the last time the Shahbahnou was seen wearing this particular set of jewellery as she was forced by the Perlistani government to return them as a national historic treasure. She would only wear them again in 2014 after her exile restrictions were lifted.

Lothair's aunt, Princess Sonja, had been severely traumatised by her family losing so much status as a result of the civil war and almost couldn't attend the wedding for depression. She was however cheered up but the fact that so many, still reigning Royal Families, attended the wedding and was said to find the encouragement to attend herself by the prospect of seeing them. In this photo it is clear that Princess Sonja did not look her best on the day.

Some of the official diplomatic attendees at the wedding included Princess Suzanna of Wallachia...

...and Infanta Isabella of Hispania.

Alison Stadler-Diedricks of Alison Couture was responsible for the wedding dress and as a close friend of Princess Azantha was a very special guest at the wedding. Miss Stadler-Diedricks even procured a brand new diamond tiara especially for the event.

A trumpet fanfare announced the arrival of the Princess Bride.

The spectacular creme and gold embroidered wedding gown took everybody's breath away and did set a style precedent for years to come.

Princess Azantha complimented her dress and flowers with an official 17th Century tiara from the Reichenthal Crown Jewels and her dowry Perlistani Ruby necklace and earrings.

A full length photo of the bride's arrival and amazing gown.

This photo gives a good impression of the impressive gold net veil.

Finally the couple joined each other before the Silver Cardinal for the ceremony.

The actual ceremony was the first to be photographed in Reichenthal as Royal custom forbidding the sacred moment to be photographed was deliberately ignored by Lothair in light of the status of the Royal Family at the time. He also thought that a bit of modernizing might go a long way for charting a new future for himself and his people.

After the formalities the couple left the Castle for a small carriage procession through the streets of the Reichethal capital.

The Governor of Reichenthal, for the sake of the people's insistence, allowed a short procession utilizing primarily routes through public parks obstructing traffic to a minimum.

The Royal guests gathered to send the carriage off, which was to return to the castle about 35 minutes later for a balcony appearance and private reception.

Royal waves were obviously appropriate.

The obligatory posed photos for the press were first on the agenda after the procession.

These photos were also released to the public as pseudo state portraits commemorating the happy day.

God bless Lothair and Azantha, King and Queen of the Reichenthalians.

A large crowd was happy to receive the acknowledgement of the newly weds from the castle balcony.

The very next morning saw the couple leave early by Royal Train for their honeymoon at the Royal Hunting Lodge deep in the Reichenthal forest.

Fascinating Fridays (State Ceremonials)

What is the actual job of Royalty? That being a very comprehensive topic we will aim to answer the most important aspect of that question today. A famous Renaissance quote says; "A King must be seen to be believed." Thus the "visibility" of the King becomes the very primary purpose of Kingship. This has, as we know, turned into what is known as the theater of monarchy, the Royal Ceremony. As the visible face of a nation, so the Royal Ceremonial is always looking its best, dressed up and shiny and putting the best foot forward. Let us look at these public and symbolic appearances Royalty fulfill in representing their countries at home and abroad.

There are many such public appearances, some may seem mundane and others important while other, taken out of context may even be construed as absurd. The more historic roles of a monarch are just that, historic and the ceremonials surrounding those events could seem irrelevant or archaic. However it is thopse very archaic ceremonies that lend a monarchy its fairy tale mystique. To categorize all ceremonies would be difficult but for the sake of making it more palatable for our blog will will mention some, There are obviously Royal Parades which are never a ceremony in their own right but part of a bigger and normally very formal event normally celebrated on a national scale. There are Royal announcements and commemorations that aim to focus attention on particular historic happenings or to remember past important events. Their are religious services, like weddings, christenings, thanksgivings and the most sacred coronation all of which include parades and the like. Finally, events of state, like parliament and diplomatic State Visits are all done as representing the nation. These events sometimes end with the famous appearance of Royals on a palace balcony signing off on a magnificent event.Very often, the event may be a state, religious and family event all tied in one giving the Royal Family the unique ability to truly unify the varied aspects of a nation into a coherent unity.

More often we see Royals opening buildings, inducting memorials, launching ships or visiting charities. These are all parts of putting a face forward of the State of the Nation. In the photo above, Empress Crystobel was holding out a hand of forgiveness by laying a wreath at a commemorative statue.

What ceremonial evokes more memories of a Royal Family than the balcony appearance. It could be guessed that more people have physically seen a Royal this way than any of their other public appearances.

Official attendance as representing a government is a requirement of Royals in office. They are obliged to take trips and be present at certain events to show face on behalf of and perhaps even speak on behalf of their people. 

In this photo, an offended Wallachia was contesting damage to its coastal environment by a Syldavian power station. A summit was held and attended by the Princess of Wallachia and the King of Syldavia.

To strengthen diplomatic relations with Arcwhite for the purpose of increased trade, the Kingdom of Ophiri sent  their Crown Prince and Crown Princess to visit Lady Arcwhite officially. The visit was on par with a State Visit with the intent on the glamour drawing media attention.

Royals are also required and often welcome the obligatory State Portrait. As the face of the nation it is obvious that face is shown to all regularly. A State Portrait serves this purpose on a very permanent and intimate level. These portraits are often distributed free of charge with the originals hanging in prominent government buildings.

Official attendance as representing a charity is a very common and also important role fulfilled publicly by Royals. Accompanying glamour and ceremonial appearances help to focus much needed media attention on relevant charities.

The Duke of Swann enjoys to visit charities of his choice even in far flung countries.

In this photo we see Royals celebrating the opening of a new Opera House in Swann partly funded by a charity for music and music education.

Official State Visits happen quite regularly with the main purpose of establishing or strengthening diplomatic ties. These do not just deal with trade but with far more weighty agreements like military treaties and the like.

The ceremonial surrounding a State Visit may even include the transport, like official aeroplanes and cars. Depending on the importance of the visitor and the level of the visit often the very arrival will be surrounded by a ceremonial welcome and press conference.

State Visits also include official and glamorously formal photo shoots especially when Royals wear regalia and tiaras.

State Banquets and receptions play a big role as part of the State Visit but may also be held for official reasons like celebrating a birthday or other landmark event.

This photo is of the 2013 Banquet held in honour of the State Visit of Lady Arcwhite to Swann.

Knighthood Investitures is an official way for a constitutional monarchy to honour people for service to the nation. These may extend to citizens and foreigners. The event is normally very ceremonial and symbolic held in auspicious venues and requiring formal dress. The media coverage of these events helps share the recipients of the knighthoods happy day with the public.

The 2014 knighthood of the Grand Duke of Reichenthal by the Crown Prince Imperial was the first such honour bestowed by the Britanian and Scotney governments in almost two decades.

Royal do get engaged and married. These very private affairs are also considered great opportunities to celebrate in public. So these events are covered in news media and the wedding ceremonies are considered Sate occasions.

The engagement is normally considered more private but some media coverage may be given to newspapers who publish photos of  receptions or parties surrounding the occasion. In the photo above, Princess Marie-Elizabeth of Swann posed with her fiance Arch Duke Otto of Fulco D'Este for an official press photo. As a member of a ruling Dynasty, Princess Marie-Elizabeth was required to share her happy moment with her country and the world.

Royal church services and thanksgivings, birthdays, weddings and funerals are more "private" affairs that gain public media coverage. Church services especially focused on national events have high governmental sanction and are seen as full State Events. These may include the funeral of a previously reigning monarch and landmark birthdays or a wedding of an heir to the throne.

With these events especially, birthdays and weddings, we most associate the balcony appearance. For Crown Princess Delarese of Reichenthal's birthday she took center stage for the first time on the palace balcony.

The wedding of Queen Gloria solidified her new role as Queen and thanks to media coverage her popularity soared higher than any monarch before her in Normandia. The event was joined by Heads of State from all over the world.

The wedding of Princess Marie-Elizabeth and Arch Duke Otto was the first Royal wedding in Swann for decades and brought a much needed glitzy State Ceremonial to the otherwise more corporate climate of the Principality.

Funerals are a far more serious and somber event but public mourning along with the close family is a reality for people who live in the public glare like Royals. When a Head of State dies it considered a full State Event and every part of it is covered by the media and scripted like a theater production.

The biggest State Funeral of the new millennium has been that of the assassinated Empress Crystobel in 2012.

Opening of Parliament and the like, as Syldavia's Elector Council Meeting are not just ceremonies but also serve a practical function. These events open and close financial years officially and serve to gather relevant officials at particular times to hear and make speeches and to vote on important matters. they are however laden with historic tradition like the wearing of robes and crowns and do also sometimes include parades and coaches.

Since the restoration of the Syldavian Monarchy we have seen that country rebuild on the old foundations of their Royal history. Once a year the 5 Electors who make up the ruling council gather to open the financial year and to discuss and vote on issues.

This year saw the restored throne room of Syldavia serve for the first time in this annual glamorous ceremony in Syldavia.

 Finally we come to the most formal and most spectacular State Ceremonial that Royal afford their constitutional monarchies, those of the Jubilees, Investitures and Coronations. Jubilees celebrate milestone anniversaries on the throne for a monarch. Investitures are ceremonies where a new monarch is enthroned and a coronation is the same except that an actual crown is used to crown or to bless the new monarch. 

For her 40th jubilee, Queen Crystobel of Scotney was paraded through the streets of the capital in the coronation coach, then attended a thanksgiving service in the Cathedral of the Lionheart followed by a State Banquet.

When Syldavia restored its monarchy, the new King, Nikolas III and his wife Maximaq was received in State at the airport. A thanksgiving service was held in church and a banquet. A few days later a grand Investiture Ceremony was held in full view of the world media and visiting Royals and political dignitaries.

A set of commemorative stamps was issued for the Syldavian Investiture.

No occasion can come close to the state formality and official glamour or glitzy spectacle of a coronation. In Swann, the Dukes are crowned following a paraded coach drive through the capital and followed by a banquet. 

This photo of the coronation of Queen Crystobel of Scotney captures the austere glamour of the spectacular coronations of the pre-revolution Scotney. We will count ourselves truly lucky if we see the like of those days ever again. 

So this has defined for us what is entailed by the public and state appearances of Royalty and also gives some insight into what they actually do. 

Fascinating Fridays (Royal Courting and Betrothal)

Royalty, as we know, marry like everybody else albeit in very lavish and official wedding ceremonies. What leads up to these unions, just like in other lives, is the "meeting of that special someone" and a time before the wedding in this case, not called dating but courting. For Royalty, even this very private aspect of life has a very public and rather politically official side. The reason being that the principle of Royalty implies a serving of the public and setting a standard. Top set this standard one must be visibly doing so and thus even this part of any normal life is shared, to a degree, with the public.

So let us break up this phase in life into three categories for the purpose of our blog post today; there is the meeting, the courting and the betrothal/engagement. Being Royal often limits a person to only brushing shoulders with other Royals, so it is rare and these days has become sought after, to meet the right person, not just because they are Royal but because they are the one you love. In days gone by Royals only married other Royals, for practicality sake and because there were rules. Now the rules have been relaxed making the responsibility of marriage a more private decision. 

The Crown Prince Imperial, through very unique circumstances met and eventually married Odeliah Sorgenfrei, a daughter of a dairy farmer from Muren. The photo above was taken at their engagement party in 2010. It finally destroyed the mould of high ranking Royals only marrying within the bounds of their own rank. That being said, nothing changed as far as the public "share" in the relationship as publicity skyrocketed around their courting and eventual wedding ceremony. The media glare is still fixed to this day on our most favourite Royal couple in the world.

The media interest in Royal relationships can lead to some embarrassing misconceptions. In 2012 a budding relationship was assumed to be taking place between the Duke of Swann and the nightclub owner Sable Blackwood. One needs to be careful not to partake to excitedly on this tabloid fodder. Royal relationships, by virtue of their officiality will be announced, officially. If not, then gossip may run rife. The Duke of Swann, being an avid dancer has at times partaken of the nightclub dance floors and as a VIP was escorted by the various owners. This is how seemingly compromising photos, like the one above led to wrong gossip about the still bachelor Duke.

Royal courting may run into some unexpected and sometimes insurmountable obstacles. When Gloria Van der Bilt, now Queen of Normandia, dated the Count Von Bismarck, now King of Syldavia, many years ago nobody expected them to end up on the thrones of two separate kingdoms. Nor did they. To young "inocents"in love had to terminate their relationship once they realized that their blood heritage could lead them to the responsibility of monarchy. Gloria was the only heir, albeit very distant, to the throne of Normandia and after a referendum in that country became Queen. A year later and very ironically, the Count Von Bismarck was on the throne of Syldavia. If they married it would have caused political complications and in the vein of serving a greater good, they both capitulated.

Royalty and Nobility are just human and sometimes relationships fail. The Viscount Hayz and Madame Mairi D'Bacquemme, pictured above, terminated their engagement in 2012 after what was perceived to be a very successful relationship. They both went on to eventually marry other people. 

Taking close notice of the annual Royal party set allows the public to see who is dating who, giving a hint to possible future betrothals and marriage. Appearing together at official events carry a lot of weight and Royals use this opportunity to subtly share their relationship plans with the world. In this photo we see the Duke of Marlboro and Francine D'Bacquemme arriving at the 2012 Christmas Ball as each other's date. Less than a year later they were married.

Another tip-off to the fact that a relationship is serious and moving on to a possible betrothal is the wearing of the other family's historic jewels in public. In this photo, just before the announcement of their engagement was made public officially, Princess Kirsten of Hanoveria was photographed at an event wearing these jewels from the collection of Prince Youssopoff. He had been courting her for months and soon after they were wed.

The most obvious sign of  and actual engagement would be that of engagement rings. In this photo we see the massive diamond ring that was given to Empress Crystobel upon her engagement. The ring has not been seen in years but may still be in the private vaults of the Crown Prince Imperial. Look out for the rings worn by our contemporary Royals.

Engagement are often celebrated by parties hosted for close family and friends but publicized for the benefit of the media. Engagement rings are a the main feature of engagements but as far as Royalty goes, lavish gifts are often given over and above. 

The Duchess of Roswind received a spectacular set of sapphires at her engagement party.

The Duke of Argyle bought a horse for his future wife to celebrate their engagement.

Whether the engagement is celebrated indoors or outdoors, day or night, has no precedent as these happy affairs are all about celebration and the betrothed do so in any way they prefer. The Duke of Argyle and Countess Dysarts held an afternoon cocktail party to celebrate their engagement, giving the press their required photo opportunity.

When the engaged couple are from reigning Royal Families or high ranking dynasties in pretense one can expect an official announcement. In the photo above a press release was sent out from the Duke of Swann's Government Office, announcing his sister, Princess Marie-Elizabeth's engagement to the Arch Duke of Fulco D'este.

Finally after the magical meeting, a lengthy courtship and ceremonials and parties surrounding the betrothal we end up with the wedding officially bringing it to an end result. Yet this end is just a beginning.

But as far as the media frenzy surrounding Royal relationships goes Royals might, like others, decide to run away and elope for a bid at romance, privacy or just fun. That too forms part of this exciting time in our perception of budding relationships. Earlier in 2014 the Marquis D'Bacquemme and Princess Oktavia Von Hohen und Silberstein eloped without ever having been engaged. They managed to evade the press but in doing so sparked a new interest in their lives.


However it all may seem or be, we wish all those in relationships only the best and hope that their futures are blessed.