General election candidates approved
His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has approved three applicant Representatives to stand in next month’s general election. The approved Candidates are Lord John Gordon, Lord Andrew Musgrave, and Lady Addison O’Halloran. Lord John Gordon, Viscount of Thetford, previously served as Prime Minister from June 2020 to September 2021, restoring order to government and overseeing cultural and demographic growth for the nation after the May 2020 political crisis. If elected, he will be the first individual to have served two non-consecutive terms as Prime Minister. Lord Andrew Musgrave, Baron of Corinium Terentium, has served as Home Secretary since August 2022 and is the Empire’s longest serving Governor. He was elected last year as Representative for non-residential subjects living in the British Isles. Lady Addison O’Halloran, Baroness of Blue Ridge, has served as Under-Secretary for the Environment since September 2021. She contested the previous general election earlier that month, gaining just under a quarter of the votes. This year’s election takes place on February 12th, in four weeks. The election will coincide with a referendum on constitutional amendments, the details of which are expected to be announced in a matter of days.
Parliament to meet in scheduled sessions
An Act of Parliament passed this morning has legislated for Parliament to henceforth meet in four formally scheduled sessions throughout the year, interspersed with recesses. Prior to this, Parliament was in effect constantly “in session”. Representatives live around the world, and so meet online in a private channel on the messaging software Discord, having previously used Skype. When an issue of legislative business arises, they are sent an alert by the Speaker. This means that those who are able to more frequently check their social media are more likely to respond to legislation first. The Act passed today means that in the future, Representatives will be made aware weeks in advance of a time and date to meet online. It is hoped that this will improve the ability of as many Representatives as possible to attend parliamentary discussions and votes. The introduction of formal parliamentary recesses in between sessions is also hoped to allay fears that Parliament could be accused of being “inactive”. Recent years have seen Acts being passed less frequently. Although it has been argued that this is natural now that a solid foundation of civil, criminal, and administrative law has been set for the Empire, there has remained a certain pressure for the legislature to be seen to be “doing something”, pressure that official recesses will relieve. There will be four annual parliamentary sessions interspersed with four recesses: the New Year Session followed by the Easter Recess, the Summer Session followed by the Summer Recess, the Autumn Session followed by the Autumn Recess, and the Advent Session followed by the Christmas Recess. The exact start date of each session and recess is at the discretion of the Speaker, albeit bound by parameters laid down by today’s Act of Parliament. The Monarch, Prime Minister, or Speaker will still be able to call Representatives to meet during a recess for an emergency or extraordinary meeting if necessary.
New Year sees Line of Succession shortened
New Year’s Day has seen the Senate of Austenasia pass a resolution shortening the Line of Succession, in addition to Lord Wilson appointing his last annual consuls as Prime Minister. The Senate is a body of experienced “elder statesmen” responsible for keeping the Monarch to account, and was given the power by Parliament in 2020 to approve changes to the Line of Succession. The senatorial resolution, passed earlier today, has significantly shortened the number of people in the Line of Succession from twenty down to twelve. It was considered that those removed – mostly paternal cousins of Emperor Jonathan I – were not only extremely unlikely to accept the Throne should they be offered it, but also would be difficult to contact at short notice. In a situation whereby the Throne falls vacant and the Heir (for whatever reason) refuses it, each member of the Line of Succession is to be given the chance to accept the Throne in turn. This resolution thereby removes the legal obligation for a future government to waste time tracking down relatives of the Imperial Family who would almost certainly refuse the Throne anyway, at a time when a swift and orderly transfer of power would be of paramount importance. The resolution has also issued clarification on some confusing language in the Constitution, with the effect that the maternal relatives of the Emperor have now been placed before the Empress and her family in the Line of Succession. However, due to the Line having been so shortened, all remaining in it now hold higher positions than they did previously. In other news, the outgoing Prime Minister, Lord William Wilson – who has confirmed he will not be running in next month’s general election, and also reigns as King in Gradonia – has appointed himself as one of this year’s two consuls, and kept in place one of 2023’s, Shiro Mephistopheles, as the second. 2024 will therefore be known as the year of the consulship of Villelmus Rex and Shiro Mephistopheles. A Prime Minister appointing themselves as a consul is not unusual or irregular. Of the four previous Prime Ministers to have appointed consuls, three appointed themselves as one of the consuls for a year.
Imperial Family celebrates Christmas
The past few days have seen Christmas celebrated by the Imperial Family, with the Emperor’s annual broadcast including some important news for next year. Christmas Day, Monday 25th, saw Emperor Jonathan I join his parents and his sister the Crown Princess as they attended the morning service at Carshalton Methodist Church, where both Crown Princess Caroline and Emperor Mother Margaret gave readings from the Bible. Afterwards joined by Empress Hannah, the Imperial Family travelled to the Boxall residence, home of the Emperor’s maternal relatives, where they were hosted for Christmas dinner by Lord Michael, Duke of Merton and his wife Lady Boxall. On Boxing Day, Tuesday 26th, the Boxalls were hosted at the Imperial Residence while Jonathan I and the Empress visited Empress Hannah’s parents. Christmas Day saw the publication on YouTube of the Emperor’s annual Christmas broadcast. In the broadcast, His Imperial Majesty reflected on the need to bring peace through love to others, and looked back on a year which has seen Austenasia’s fifteenth anniversary, his Decennalia, and the expansion of parliamentary representation to non-residentials. The Emperor also used the broadcast to give formal notice of a general election to take place on February 12th next year. The incumbent Prime Minister, Lord William Wilson, has already stated he will not be running, whereas his predecessor Lord John Gordon has stated that he will. His Imperial Majesty furthermore announced that the general election will take place alongside a referendum to amend the constitution, both to entrench parliamentary representation for non-residentials but also to make various other changes, the details of which will be announced in due course. Candidates for the 2024 general election will be confirmed by January 15th. Christmas decorations in the Imperial Residence will remain up until January 5th, Twelfth Night, the traditional date on which they are to be taken down.
Greek territory founded
Austenasia has seen further expansion with the annexation of a territory in Greece finalised on Tuesday 12th December, coming less than a fortnight after the annexation of a Romanian territory. The new Territory of Elmythia consists of a large garden of a residential property in Almiros, and was claimed for the Empire by its owner, the now Lord Konstantinos Papanatsios. It was annexed by Imperial Decree on Tuesday 12th. Lord Papanatsios has been appointed Baron and Governor of Elmythia, and granted Austenasian national status. Elmythia is now one of two Austenasian land claims to border Greece, the other being the crown dependency of Kaiomenia.
New territory claimed from Romania
Friday 1st December saw a new Austenasian land claim founded roughly 26 miles north of Bucharest. The new territory, Prahova, consists of just over 61 acres of forested land, together with part of a river which adjoins it to the south. The land was claimed for Austenasia by Štefan Snagoveanu, Marshal of Snagov. Snagov entered into diplomatic relations with the Empire in August earlier this year, following several months of informal co-operation. The legislation which annexed Prahova has appointed Marshal Snagoveanu as its Governor, as well as granting him Austenasian national status. This new annexation has been made in part with a view to fostering closer ties and friendly relations between Austenasia and Snagov. The land is uninhabited, but isolated, with Marshal Snagoveanu easily able to exercise jurisdiction there on behalf of the Empire.
Imperial House name change announced
Emperor Jonathan I and Empress Hannah have announced their creation of a new imperial dynastic house to mark the one year anniversary of their marriage. In an Imperial Edict issued earlier today, His Imperial Majesty announced the foundation of the House of Austen-Buchanan, a cadet branch within the wider House of Austen. This is the branch of the dynasty to which the Emperor, Empress, and any future children will belong. Emperor Father Terry is head of the official Austenasian branch of the House of Austen, although the family also has two “British branches” descended from Terry’s great-uncles. Jonathan I and Empress Hannah were married in two ceremonies in November last year, with their legal wedding taking place on November 5th. This date was from thenceforth designated a public holiday as the Imperial Wedding Anniversary, with today’s one year anniversary therefore being the first time it has been celebrated. The imperial couple soon after moved to the Diplomatic Residence, and in August this year went on honeymoon to the Isle of Wight. A video was released this morning documenting an expedition of the Imperial Geographical Society they undertook while on the island. The Emperor and Empress have also used this first anniversary to announce the creation of a new order of merit, with twenty two people being given this award to acknowledge their help with the Emperor and Empress’ wedding last year. This new award, the Imperial Matrimonial Order, can be awarded at the discretion of the Monarch to those to whom they wish to give special thanks for their role in assisting with a wedding of any member of the Imperial Family.
Fifteen years of independence celebrated
The Empire of Austenasia yesterday celebrated Independence Day, marking fifteen years since the Declaration of Independence was sent in September 2008. Independence Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in September. An special commemorative Act of Parliament passed yesterday – the two hundredth of the current reign – extended the public holiday to Wednesday 20th, the actual anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. To mark the occasion, a broadcast has been published by Lord William Wilson, the Prime Minister, reflecting on ideas of identity and legacy, praising the Empire’s governmental system, and encouraging Austenasians to play a role in the civic and cultural life of the nation. Lord Wilson used the broadcast to reveal that he will not be running in next year’s general election. In the capital city, Wrythe, Emperor Jonathan I hosted the Reylan emperor Taeglan I and King Calum I of the Grove for a semi-formal diplomatic reception. Both monarchs hold the rank of Caesar. Wrythe Public Park also saw a time capsule buried to commemorate the occasion. This replaced an earlier capsule buried in 2012, which was unearthed and opened, with its contents to be studied by the Imperial Geographical Society. Celebrations will continue until Wednesday 20th, when an honours list will be released by the Throne.
Amerdansk returned to the United Kingdom
An Act of Parliament was yesterday passed dissolving the Crown Dependency of Amerdansk. Amerdansk, which was originally founded just over seven and a half years ago as a territory claimed from Scotland, was disestablished after its governing commissioner, Sir Anthony Clark, resigned in June. The only three residents of the crown dependency were Sir Anthony and his parents, and with nobody else willing to administer the property – which consisted of their family home – the decision was made to return it to the United Kingdom. Amerdansk is the only Austenasian land claim to have held the status of a territory (2016), a town (2016-19), and a crown dependency (2019-23).
Student registration opens for Imperial University’s second academic year
Prospective students can now register for online classes with the Imperial University of Austenasia. Earlier today saw an online form for this purpose published by Lord Sander Koff, the Minister for Culture and Acting Vice-Rector of the University. The Imperial University previously ran a class in the first half of 2022, and is now looking to build on the success of last year. Eight online classes – Orthodox Theology, Heraldry and Graphic Design, History of the Crusades, Calculus for Beginners, Australian History, Urban Planning, Micronational History, and Basic Financial Concepts – are being offered, each of which will run should enough interest be registered. Those interested can register for classes here, and the Discord server on which the courses will run is linked to here.