Wonderful Weekends (D'Bacquemme Family Portrait)

I haven't posted a State or official portrait in ages! I have run out of portraits it seems but at least current ones are done brand new every once in a while. We are treated today in this post with one of the most private people amongst all of the Royals. The Marquis D'Bacquemme doesn't even allow any photos and vehemently pursues infringement of his privacy with legal action. However, today's photo is an official release and legally posted exclusively on our blog.

This is the 2013 official Family Portrait of the Franconian D'Bacquemme family. Clockwise from top left; Madame Mairi D'Bacquemme (sister to the Marquis), His Lordship the 11th Marquis D'Bacquemme, Madame Francine D'Bacquemme, (aunt to the Marquis) and Her Serene Highness Princess Beatrix, the Dowager Marquise D'Bacquemme (mother of the Marquis).  Princess Beatrix is from the Princely House of Thurn und Taxis in Syldavia.

They hold the defunct Marquisate of D'Bacquemme in the Higher Nobility of the former Kingdom of Franconia. Of far greater importance however, due to the vast dynastic shifts caused in the lines of hereditary succession by the 96 Revolution, they also hold the legal claim to the Princely throne of the small Principality of Monagask. The Principality was absorbed into the Democratic Republic of Franconia after the 96 Revolution and currently is legally seen as a municipality within Greater Franconia. The Marquis has never proclaimed himself officially "in pretence" to the Monagask throne but could do so and would then be titled, His Serene Highness Prince Gerard of Monagask.

Fascinating Fridays (Orders of Knighthood Part 5)

To think that I originally planned to do all the knighthood orders in one blog post was crazy. This is already part 5 and there are two more to come. If you have always wondered why Royalty often appear at very formal function wearing coloured sashes you will now find out. We have discussed the origin and rank of the title, Knight, in a former Fascinating Friday post. There are currently six active Orders of Knighthood and two Family Orders of Honour. They all rank in an order of precedence which ranks one above the other in prestige. Normally the date of the specific Order's founding gives it precedence over younger ones but also its exclusivity gives it higher prestige Last week we dealt with the Grand Duchy of Hanoveria's Order of the Polar Star and its interesting history.

Today's order has the least eventful history. It is called the Hispanian Royal Order of the Triad. The fact that it has remained undisturbed since its inception makes it the second oldest order in the world. This gives it its prestige as the second highest honour on our list but it is the highest honour within the borders of the Kingdom of Hispania. The Order of the Triad was introduced to honour those who have done most for the country's foreign relations. As such its first three member were kings, King Ferdinand III of Hispania, King Christian of Scotney and King Richard of Britania. The three kings, who were also best friends is what gave the order derives its name from. The monarch ruling in Hispania is always the Head and Grand Master of the order.

The insignia of the Order of the Triad includes a royal blue sash hung over the left shoulder and set with a three sided star badge set with clear stones.

The order has expanded in recent times to become the highest honour of merit in Hispania but retains its "foreign relations" flavour. There are never more than 30 members although since the 96 Revolution numbers have dwindled. Current members include the Crown Prince Imperial and the Duke of Swann and all of the Hispanian direct Royal Family. Since after the 96 Revolution till 2011 when Queen Maria assumed full responsibility for her duty, the Order of the Triad was officially overseen by a government committee eventually headed by the Duchess of Aragon. She stood in for her cousin as ceremonial substitute Grand Master and formally handed back all her functions to the Queen. Ironically, the Duchess of Aragon was never inducted into the order but wore the insignia for her tenure as official substitute for the Queen.

At the 2009 Annual Knights Meeting, the Order of the Triad was represented by the Duchess of Aragon in the blue dress at right and Princess Isabella, the Queen's sister second from left.

In this photo we see the current Queen Maria's grandparents sporting the Order of the Triad in the 1980's.

The Order of the Triad is also included in Queen Maria's personal Royal Crest. This is required as she is the Grand Master of the Order. Note the blue ribband and badge hanging from the bottom of the crest.

What's Up Wednesday (Syldavia/Wallachia Summit)

After the Serbieskian Power Plant Bombing on the border of the Principality of Wallachia, an emergency summit meeting between the the Heads of State for Syldavia and Wallachia was called. The meeting took place in Syldavia at the Governors Palace in Serbieski this past weekend.

The Governor's Palace in Serbieski is a stark building in lieu of Serbieski's tumultuous past. It stands a s a beacon of solidity and was in that vein the perfect setting for the summit meeting. Strict security was at the order of the day.

The Natural Gas powerplant is owned by Lady Arcwhite and as such her niece, Drealle Mormaer also officially attended the important summit meeting. Here she is greeted by King Nikolas of Syldavia who presided over the proceedings.

The Grand Duke of Serbieski, who is both Governor of the Province of Serbieski and Director of the Natural Gas Directorate bows in greeting to his King. 

Representing her country's sovereign border security and the surrounding areas natural environment, Princess Xenia of Wallachia was the concerned "plaintiff" at the meeting. Here she is warmly greeted by her Syldavian counterpart, King Nikolas. 

The meeting proceeded for a total of two and a quarter hours followed by a 20minute press conference. Both sides committed great efforts to honour each others sovereignty, to stamp out terrorism and to protect the environment. Information that linked the jewel theft of the Duke of Swann's emeralds last month was also officially revealed. No arrests as far as the bombing itself have been made but the information came from the investigation of the jewel theft. The suspected terrorist group responsible, seemingly has an agenda to destabilise the Syldavian Monarchy in order to set up an independent Serbieski State. The Grand Duke of Serbieski has denounced the terror campaign and publicly distances himself from their agenda and tactics. 

We hope that the summit will lead to a greater stability in the Serbieski region.

Tiaras and Trinkets on Tuesday (Lost to History Part 1 The Crown of St. Christian)

There are many legends surrounding the history of some of the Royal Jewels. This fairy tale mystique has been the quality that is unavoidably always associated with the concept of Kings and castles. Indeed it is even generated by it. One of the most inspiring yet also unrealistically miraculous legends is the story of the Crown of St.Christian. This was for centuries the official King's Crown for the Independent Kingdom of Scotney. The last monarch to be crowned with this solid gold crown set with precious gems was our own Empress Crystobel when she became the last Queen of Scotney. 

The only remaining detailed photograph of the magnificent Crown of St. Christian.

Legend has it that in the year 1456AD the then Duke of Stirling, Prince Christian of Scotney, who was the heir to the throne of Scotney lost his way while horse riding alone in the dense Veiled Forest near the northern hunting lodge of his father the King. The Prince was in repose after being virtually exiled by his geriatric father who despised him for disagreeing with his expansionist campaigns into neighbouring lands. After hours of searching for the edge of the forest the Prince came upon a clearing with a large rose bush in bloom at its centre. His eye was immediately caught by a bright scintillation coming from the bush. Thinking his fatigue was getting the better of his senses he decided to investigate. He dismounted and as he approached noticed to his astonishment, a gem encrusted crown entangled in the thorny branches. With a calm breeze stroking his cloak the Prince, now entirely distracted from his own dilemma, reached for the crown but gashed his hand on the thorns resulting in a drop of blood falling at the base of the bush.

Unexpectedly a voice greeted the Prince from behind and as he turned nursing his hand, he saw what seemed to be a very old hooded man leaning on a gnarled walking stick. "Forgive me sir" the Prince exclaimed. "No need young man, may I help you?" came the reply. The Prince relinquished his hand to the old man who breathed on it leading to its total healing. Shocked, the Prince recoiled only to hear something thudding to the ground at his heel. The crown rolled and touched his feet as he looked down at it. Dazed, the Prince looked back at a now vanished old man while the wind seemed to breathe the words: "...a treasure lost, is a treasure found..."

Hours passed but the Prince with new vigour found his way and arrived back at the hunting lodge later that evening with the crown in his buffle bag. He was however greeted by acclamations while receiving the news that his tyrannical father had passed and that he was the new King of Scotney. That night, the new King dreamt of an ancient battle that he was told about in his tutoring on history as a child. The Battle of the Veil was fought near the very forest where he became lost and the then King was defeated, losing his crown to what was said to be a demonic force come to judge him for his crimes. In his dream he saw the devil cursing the land until someone worthy sat on the throne with the words: "The crown earned with blood will never take blood." and so he woke with a cold sweat streaming down his face. The King fasted for a week while roaming the forest searching for the old man. All he was said to have ever found was his own shadow and his reflection in a pond whereupon he realised that his life was his own responsibility. He vowed to serve God and his people at the cost of his life and never to put wealth and prestige before his people. He was crowned with the Rosebush Crown that was then named the Crown of Christian the Great after his death and became known as the Crown of St Christian after his canonisation in 1966. In his lifetime, King Christian established what to this day is regarded as the full exstent of Scotney territory. Scotney never had to defend its borders against attack and never declared war during his reign. It is said that peace and prosperity never abounded to such an extent since. 

The Coronation photo of Queen Crystobel I, the mother of Empress Crystobel, was crowned with the Crown of St. Christian like every monarch before her since the tradition began in 1456. 

Scotney merged with the Kingdom of Britania in a single Empire in 1993 and the Crown was displayed along with the regalia of Britania and the new Imperial Crowns in the Imperial Capital. However the Revolution of 1996 saw the destruction of much of the Royal historic pieces and it is presumed destroyed today. It is almost poetic that the Crown which is surrounded by so much historic symbolism and legends speaking of kingly principles is now, in line with its epithet, lost. 

"...a treasure lost, is a treasure found..." The old makes way for the new and one generation gives way to the next. This almost prophetic statement began what we know as the Kingdom of Scotney's prosperous establishment and resounded in its fall. It might be spoken again somewhere in the furure. We can but wait and see. 

Memory Monday (Style Icons Part 1 Queen Maria of Hispania)

Let us spend some time on a Monday to remember the style legacies of some of our prominent Royals.

Queen Maria of Hispania is considered one of the most respected figures on the world stage. Her Royal heritage goes back, unhindered for hundreds of years and even the 96 Revolution did not entirely extinguish the Hispanian Royal flame. However, Maria was kept out of the public glare for the first part of her young life. She succeeded her grandmother to the throne as her father was killed in the revolution. This led to her living an isolated life as a very young queen as her mother and the government sought to protect and shield her from the related dangers. In 2011, she decided to take full responsibility for her life and her Royal duties. She thus mounted the world stage at the 2011 Royal Christmas Ball and has been an icon of Royal grace and style ever since. She carries her dignity with authority and sincerity and has been nothing other than an inspiration to her country and indeed women the world over. 

The first State Portrait released of the Queen when she officially assumed public duties after being kept under strict security for the first quarter of her life. This dress is more traditionally Hispanic. She pairs it with a veil, Crown Jewels and an iconic Hispanian Mantilla Comb. This says, "Queen", "Queen of Hispania" and "I mean business" in a very stylish yet unassuming manner. 

The next State Portrait was released in late 2012. It exudes a greater confidence and the lack of official jewels make this picture far more personally stylish, yet the black colour and design of dress still gives it a somber Hispanic flair. 

More style choices for this very confident and beautiful Queen. From top left, At the Heads of the Royal Houses meeting in 2012 she chose Barbie International, The Annual Knights Gathering in 2012 saw another Barbie design, The 2011 Christmas Ball a red Barbie dress, The Duke of Swann Anniversary Celebration in 2012 saw a white dress from the Queen's "in-house"design team and finally for the Scotney Memorial in 2012 Queen Maria wore another "in-house" dress. The Hispanic Royal Family have access to a vast and spectacular jewellery collection, which is very evident from these pictures. Queen Maria has a knack for choosing the right jewels or for pairing official jewels with the right dress.

At left, for the wedding of Queen Gloria of Normandia Maria wore another "in-house" number and at right, her daughter's Coming of Age Birthday Party saw yet another from this design team. The Queen being thrifty, makes a lot of use of her team of seamstresses and her own design ideas to produce what we call "in-house" designs. She does however sometimes wear famous labels but it seems to be far less frequent. 

For the 2012 Combined Birthday Ball held for the Duke of Swann and the Crown Prince Imperial Maria chose to be a bit more formal. At this event she opted for a less "sleek" outfit and wore a traditional ball gown created by her private dress design team and paired it with ruby jewels owned by the Crown.

For the State Visit of the Grand Duke of Hanoveria in 2012 Queen Maria impressed yet again with her signature sleek look. She wore this black velvet dress last month to great effect when representing her country in hosting the visiting Head of State from Hanoveria. This was Maria's latest outfit on the public stage and strangely it mirrored the one worn by the Grand Duchess of Hanoveria for the State Portraits taken just before the tour.

I don't think Queen Maria will ever put a foot wrong as far as dressing up for public appearances is concerned. She is an asset to her country and example to us all. 

Fascinating Fridays (Orders of Knighthood Part 4)

We continue our Fascinating Friday series with Part 4 of the different Orders of Knighthood. If you have always wondered why Royalty often appear at very formal function wearing coloured sashes you will now find out. We have discussed the origin and rank of the title, Knight, in a former Fascinating Friday post. There are currently six active Orders of Knighthood and two Family Orders of Honour. They all rank in an order of precedence which ranks one above the other in prestige. Normally the date of the specific Order's founding gives it precedence over younger ones but also its exclusivity gives it higher prestige Last week we dealt with the Kingdom of Syldavias's Order of the Syldav Cross.

Today we will discuss the forth lowest ranking Order of Knighthood and it has its home in the Grand Duchy of Hanoveria.

We are now moving into the upper echelons of the Knighthood ranks but that does not mean that this more prestigious Knighthood is not without controversy. The Golden Order of the Polar Star and its sister Ruskian Order of the Polar Star has a single origin.  The Polar Star was the constellation that inspired the Ruskian Tzar Ivan the IX to explore the northern regions of the Ruskian ice covered arctic. He commissioned his youngest son with a blank cheque for this purpose and created an entirely new Order of Knighthood for his son Grand Duke Peter and the leading members of his expedition. Grand Duke Peter was to be the Grand Master and Proprietor of the order. Thus the original Order of the Polar Star was created. The young man availed himself of the task and the foundations for mapping and exploring the vast polar regions were thus set in stone. What was not planned however was that Grand Duke Peter would become the first Grand Duke of  a newly established independent Hanoveria. Upon his return to Ruskiana, the Grand Duke stopped over in Hanoveria who's ruling Grand Duke only had daughters. With the consent of his people, the Grand Duke married his eldest to the Ruskian Prince and declared him the heir to the throne. Grand Duke Paul arrived back at his own fathers court with a wife and a future domain of his own. The Order of the Polar Star thus became the official Order of Knighthood in Hanoveria.

A golden sash hung over the left shoulder and pinned with a badge set with a cluster of clear stones in the form of a stylised eight sided cross are the insignia for the Hanoverian Golden Order of the Polar Star. In the above picture we see the current Grand Ducal Family wearing the insignia. The badge is designed in such a way to strongly suggest a cluster of stars.

When Grand Duke Peter's elder brother became Tzar of Ruskia, his jealousy of his younger brother got the better of him and his revoked his Knighthood and declared the Order of the Polar Star a purely Ruskian  honour. The Tzar declared himself Grand Master and essentially set up a rival order. For years the two functioned as separate entities with many people ending up being members of both orders. 

To this day remnants of the two separate orders exist as the feuding rivals were only merged back into one in 2011. It was agreed at an Annual Knights gathering that Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna should relinquish her claims on the Polar Star as pretender to the Imperial Throne of Ruskiana. This was expected as a sign of goodwill and solidarity in order to present a united face in the surge of recent Royal popularity. In the picture above we can see the subtle differences in colour and badges between the Hanoverian (at left) and Ruskian (at right) insignia. It was agreed that members of the separated order will retain their individual insignia and that the united order will in future have two branches, the Golden Order of the Polar Star as the personal gift from the Grand Duke of Hanoveria and the standard order for merit in the fields of science, arts and socio-economic development. The head of the Ruskian Dynasty will retain a hereditary place within the order and preside over the sub-branch in trust of the Grand Duke of Hanoveria. 

A bright yellow sash hung over the left shoulder and pinned with a badge set with a cluster of white stones in the form of a square is the insignia of the former Ruskian Order of the Polar Star. Above we see Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna proudly displaying her insignia as former Grand Master of the Ruskian branch but now honoured with the new membership to the united order for her agreement to merge the two into one.

What's Up Wednesday (Argyle/Dysart Wedding)

Today is the day we have been waiting for. The much publicised engagement of the Duke of Argyle and Countess Dysart has finally reached its climax.

The anticipated wedding of the Duke of Argyle and the Countess Dysart has arrived. It is also the grandest social event of the Nobility of Scotney for many decades. The former Kingdom of Scotney, a member state of the dissolved United Empire of Scot-Britania has become very accepting of its traditional Nobility since the resurgence of Royal popularity. The current democratic government has welcomed its former Queen, Empress Crystobel on several occasions and also officially apologised for the disaster of the 96 Revolution. This wedding will cement the role of the Nobility and former Royal family in the minds of contemporary Scotney on at least the level of celebrity if not on the level of a Royal Restoration. It promises also to open new doors for the roles of Nobility in contemporary society.

The picture above shows the Dysart Wedding Chapel at the Castle of Glen Coe, where the ceremony took place. The religious service was not photographed due to its sacredness.

After the  ceremony in the castle chapel the bridal couple and guests posed for photos in the castle foyer while they had drinks and then moved to the banqueting hall for the private dinner reception. The wedding was very intimate and included friends and family from either side but the dress code did still require tiaras to be worn.

Vicount Hayz, a friend and business associate of the Duke of Argyle was accompanied by Donna Hernanda y Aragon. They have been publicly dating for several months. 

The Earl Cartwright, a cousin of Countess Dysart attended with Madame Mairi D'Bacquemme.

Here we see the  friends of the bridal couple from right, the famous theater director and art dealer, Mrs Marelize Von Engelbrecht, the nightclub owner, Miss Sable Blackwood and arriving from the Big Apple, Mr. Ken Carson and Miss Barbie Roberts. 

In the picture above we see the celebrity guest and owner of the famous Barbie International fashion company, Miss Barbara (Barbie) Roberts and her partner for years Ken Carson. Miss Roberts is said to have borrowed the tiara she wore in her newly coloured brunette hair from a "Royal friend". 

Another relation and member of the former Nobility of the United Empire is the Duke of Marlboro who arrived alone. 

The wedding was giving a strong "official" flavour with the attendance of the ruling Duke of Swann who is a friend of the bridal couple. He was also joined by his aunt and former Queen of Scotney and Empress of the United Empire, Empress Crystobel. The Empress is also a good friend of the couple but understands the importance of the event as to furthering the popularity of monarchy in Scotney. 

The Duke of Swann is photographed with another one of his good friends, Miss Sable Blacwood. It has been suspected that theirs is more than just a mere platonic relationship or business. 

Finally the bridal party arrives. The Duke and now officially, the Duchess of Argyle enter the foyer followed by Lady Ferrox, the bride's sister as bride's maid. 

Barbie curtsies to the new Duchess of Argyle while Ken bows as they greet their friends. 

The full compliment of guests pose for a group photo.

Their Graces, The Duke and Duchess of Argyle.

Above we see the only publicised photo of the reception. This was taken after the banquet when the bridal couple opened the dance floor. The detailed photo also clearly depicts the Argyle Family Tiara which is symbolically worn by the new Duchess on her wedding. She paired it with her new necklace gifted from the Duke of Swann and earrings from the Dysart Family Collection.  

We wish the happy couple all the best and we will also try our best to remember to call our Countess, Duchess from now on.