Yesterday evening, HIH Emperor Grandmother Joyce passed away aged 96 after a short illness.
Grandmother to Jonathan I and mother-in-law to former Emperor Terry I, Joyce was born in Essex in 1922. Her family moved to London in 1940, and from 1943-46 she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
On Boxing Day 2008, soon after Austenasian independence, Joyce was given a knighthood by then Emperor Terry I – only the fifth person to be awarded such – after expressing interest in the new Empire.
She was also appointed one of the two annual Consuls in 2016, but otherwise had very little actual involvement in Austenasia and never became an Austenasian subject.
Emperor Jonathan I has requested that a state of mourning be observed through the Empire until the Emperor Grandmother’s funeral, and for the privacy of the Imperial Family to be respected during this time.
