New territory annexed as administrative changes take place

A field in the British country of Gloucestershire has been annexed to the Empire as the Territory of Corinium Terentium. The Empire of Austenasia Act 2013, passed at 17:00 this afternoon, annexed the new land to Austenasia as well as making a three-fold division between different types of administrative divisions in the Empire. From now on, all land in Austenasia shall be either a Town, a Territory, or a Crown Dependency. Wrythe and Zephyria remain Towns, but Glencrannog has become a Territory along with Corinium Terentium. Towns and Territories are both fully incorporated into the Empire under the hierarchy of provinces, duchies and regions, but the former are inhabited and represented in Parliament whereas the latter are not. Crown Dependencies are autonomous territories under the direct rule of a representative of the Emperor. The annexation of Corinium Terentium – the first non-contiguous British territory to be added to the Empire since April 2009 – adds a further 428,000 square feet to the Empire. The Territory is governed by Lord Centurion William Wade, a British citizen who lives nearby and who has agreed to enforce Austenasian law in Corinium Terentium as its Governor. A new military unit, Centuria I Gloucestria, has been founded to defend the Territory, and at present has two enlisted soldiers who live within a mile of it. The annexation of Corinium Terentium has necessitated an expansion of the administrative hierarchy – the Province of Greater Corinium and the Duchy of Davidopia have been founded to contain it, within the already existing Region of Inner Austenasia. The title Duke of Davidopia has been granted by Parliament to HIH Emperor Father Terry.

Wrythe’s border defences upgraded

The border defences of the capital have been improved with the installation of a new gate at the north-eastern border of Wrythe. HIH Emperor Father Terry installed the new oak door earlier this week. It replaces an old door which was quite literally falling apart and offered minimal obstruction to invaders, which had been in place since the Imperial Family moved to what is now the Imperial Residence in 2004. Old rusting locks have also been replaced. The gate does not actually lie on the border between Austenasia and the United Kingdom, but is between Commius Flats and a path which runs down the side of 2 Imperial Road. Nevertheless, the small and featureless Commius Flats has no boundary marks or border controls whatsoever, and so this gate is the first obstacle which would be faced by an attacker invading Austenasia from the north-east. The need for the old gate to be replaced was noted as long ago as July 2009 during Operation Fulcio, an initiative by the Ministry of Defence to strengthen the defences of the Empire.

Health concerns for Rose

HIH Emperor Father Terry arrived back at the Imperial Residence at 17:55 today with pet bullmastiff Rose, who is suffering from a swelling feared to be a mammary tumour. Rose – whose pedigree name is Bramarley Paloma of Carothan – had spent the past few hours at a veterinary surgeon’s in Carshalton, where a swelling on one of her mammary glands was inspected. According to the vet, there is an 80% chance that Rose has a tumour, and a 20% chance that the swelling has been caused by an infection. Medicine has been given to the Emperor Father to give Rose in case the swelling is the result of an infection. Rose will be brought back to the vet’s in a week’s time to be assessed again. If the swelling has not reduced, then it will be clear that it is a tumour. There is, unfortunately, little chance that she would recover from a mammary tumour. Rose will be seven years old this June – the average age of bullmastiffs is seven or eight years. She is also the last of her litter known to still be alive. Rose has been Mascot of the Order of the Bullmastiff – effectively the symbolic embodiement of the Empire’s national animal – since January 2009. An Imperial Edict passed last month states that in the case of Rose’s death, her sixth cousin Edd (also a pet of the Imperial Family) will automatically and immediately succeed her as Mascot.

Coronation of Emperor Jonathan I

Several dignitaries visited the Imperial Residence today to attend the coronation of His Imperial Majesty Jonathan I as Emperor of Austenasia. Jonathan I, who ascended to the Throne after the abdication of Declan I last month, crowned himself in his capacity as Founder of Austenasia with the Imperial Diadem on the spot from which he sent the Declaration of Independence via e-mail in September 2008. The guests present were Emperor Taeglan I Nihilus of Reyla, Premier James Puchowski of Landashir, Countess Eritoshi of Memphis, and Air Chief Marshal Sir Micheal Mitchell the head of the Imperial Air Force. Declan I had been invited but was unable to attend due to illness. Acting Prime Minister Lord Marshal William was also unable to attend due to having made prior commitments. A photographer from local newspaper the Sutton Guardian took photographs and video of the guests and the preparations for the coronation and recorded the ceremony, which began at roughly 11:45. The coronation ceremony was based on the guidelines laid out in the 2011 Constitution and the precedent set by the 2009 coronation of Emperor Terry I (now Emperor Father), with influences from the coronations of the British and Russian monarchs. The ceremony began with Jonathan I – wearing the Imperial Robes and Imperial Chain – being seated on a chair on the exact spot where Terry I was crowned and from where the Declaration of Independence was sent. He swore an oath to rule fairly and wisely, defend Austenasia and its people, and to uphold and abide by the law. He was then annointed with holy oil before being handed the Imperial Sceptre by Countess Eritoshi, who helped to officiate as Leader of Ceremonies. With the words “as Founder I crown myself, Imperator Caesar Jonathan Augustus, Emperor of Austenasia”, Jonathan I then placed the Imperial Diadem on his head to shouts of “Vivat Imperator” as those present bowed and saluted before the Austenasian national anthem was played. After the ceremony, Jonathan I and Taeglan I signed the Treaty of Wrythe, in which both emperors formally gave recognition of each other’s full imperial rank while agreeing that either of them addressing another as “Emperor” would not constitute recognition of imperial rank under the Carshaltonian political doctrine of Imperium without the consent of the other, and reaffirmed an earlier treaty of friendship between the two states. The ceremony over, Emperor Father Terry took photographs of the Emperor and his guests before joining them at the Racehorse, a pub in Carshalton, for lunch. There followed a quick visit to the (very) nearby Wessaxon constituent country of Orly and a brief (and unplanned) meeting with Lord Marshal William’s father before Taeglan I and Premier Puchowski departed. The Emperor, his father, the Countess and Air Chief Marshal returned to the Imperial Residence, with the Air Chief Marshal and then the Countess also departing after a few hours of socialising with the Emperor and his sister Crown Princess Caroline. The Sutton Guardian will most likely be publishing an article on the coronation on Thursday 28th February, once more bringing Austenasia to the attention of thousands of local Britons. This will be the third time the Empire has been featured in said paper, which ran articles on Austenasia in January 2009 and September 2011. An album of photographs taken at the coronation can be seen by following this link.