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.
Dominel granted protected state status
A new sovereign state, the Kingdom of Dominel, was recently founded by its now monarch, Queen Alexandra I. The new kingdom claims a small area of land bordered by the British county of Norfolk, and is situated nearby to the Austenasian town of Palasia. After diplomatic efforts led by Austenasian prime minister Lord John Gordon – who serves as Representative of Palasia – a treaty was yesterday signed between Alexandra I and Emperor Jonathan I establishing mutual recognition and friendly diplomatic relations between Austenasia and Dominel, as well as making Dominel a protected state of the Empire. Protected states of Austenasia hold a favoured position geopolitically in that Austenasia has pledged to defend them militarily upon their request, but they are not required to provide anything in return. Neither does the Empire assume any control over their foreign affairs or military, as it did with its protectorates (a status held by some states between 2010 and 2012). The Kingdom of the Grove, the Kingdom of Copan, and the Principality of Wildflower Meadows are also protected states of Austenasia.
Joint statement released for first Carshalton Day
Emperor Jonathan I has, along with Queen Emma I of Copan, published a statement pledging to revitalise the political and cultural life of the Carshalton Nations. This declaration comes on the fifth anniversary of the Liberation of Orly, when the nation freed itself from foreign rule. Earlier this month, Parliament declared 24 June to be eligible for adoption by local authorities as the public holiday of Carshalton Day, to commemorate the anniversary of the Liberation as well as to celebrate the shared history and culture of the Carshalton Nations. The Carshalton Nations are the small nations based in and around Carshalton, and are generally taken to consist of Austenasia, the Grove, Copan, the Midget Nation, and – historically speaking – Rushymia. The Principality of Wildflower Meadows is sometimes also included due to its close connection to Austenasia and its claims to lands (Wandleside and Forestedge) which are very close to, but not actually in, Carshalton. The declaration released earlier today was more a reflection on the past and a pledge of intent rather than a concrete plan or manifesto, but the Emperor has revealed to the Austenasian Times that a recruitment drive is planned for the two Orlian nations, as well as for the upcoming rebirth of Rushymia. The declaration can be read in full below: Five years ago today, the nation of Orly was liberated from the yoke of Wilcsland in events which have gone down in history. That day was one of genuine solidarity between the small nations of Carshalton against the threat of external subjugation. At the time, one may have believed it to be the start of a golden age, free of foreign interference, with the small nations of Carshalton flourishing in peace under the protection of Austenasia. Alas, such was not to be. While the past five years in Carshalton have indeed been peaceful, they have also been increasingly stagnant both politically and culturally. Austenasia has grown exponentially across the world, but in its place of origin it has shrunk with the cessions of Zephyria and Thanasia. As for Orly, a nation which upon foundation based its identity on the concept of students meeting after school will inevitably experience the demographic process of its population maturing, and – with careers, children and university – being unable to meet as frequently as they once did. Today is the first time that Carshalton Day has been officially celebrated. Looking towards the future, we pledge to have Carshalton and the local area be witness to a flourishing of activity as we undertake plans to breathe new life into the local nations. Five years ago saw Carshalton shake off outsider rule. Today shall be the day when its nations shook off the yoke of stagnancy and inactivity. The Carshalton Nations bear witness to a cultural heritage of over two decades, and we shall together ensure that these nations not only survive, but prosper.
King of the Grove visits Wildflower Meadows
King Calum I, ruler of the Kingdom of the Grove, yesterday met Princess Hannah of Wildflower Meadows in a state visit to Deva Victrix, capital of the Principality. The two were accompanied by their respective romantic partners, Princess Hannah’s being Emperor Jonathan I, who has known King Calum since high school. The King and the Princess signed a treaty of mutual recognition and national friendship on behalf of the Grove and Wildflower Meadows. Calum I had previously met Jonathan I and Princess Hannah in Deva Victrix in December 2016 and March 2017.
King of the Grove outlaws feeding bread to the birds
His Majesty King Calum I of the Grove has issued a decree forbidding the feeding of bread to wildfowl. The Kingdom of the Grove, through which part of the River Wandle runs through, is home to many ducks, geese, moorhens and swans, and many visitors to the Grove often feed the birds. Despite there already being signs up warning visitors that feeding bread to wildfowl is bad for their health, these warnings are often ignored. King Calum has therefore banned the practice outright. Copies of the King’s decree have been placed up around the Grove. Information on the damage to birds’ health and to the ecosystem that can be caused by feeding bread to wildfowl can be found at this Guardian article and this page on the British Bird Lovers website.
Lady Evren Filgert and Sir James von Puchow visit Carshalton
His Imperial Majesty the Emperor yesterday gave Lady Evren Filgert and Sir James von Puchow a guided tour of the Carshalton Nations. Emperor Jonathan I met Filgert – currently Acting Representative of the newly annexed Town of Porthbokon – at Mile End in London, where they were then joined by von Puchow of Landashir, who became a non-residential subject of Austenasia last month. The three travelled by train to Carshalton station, and walked the short distance to Orly, where they were given a tour by the Emperor of its constituent states Copan and the Grove and their respective capitals of Memphis and the Secluded Place. The Emperor spoke at length about the history of Orly, mentioning the recent floods, its liberation from foreign rule, and the strange discovery of a turkey carcass in the Grove one and a half years ago. After the tour of Orly, the three of them went to Carshalton High Street and had lunch at a café there. The tour then continued, with Filgert and von Puchow being shown the former site of Rushymia and the Midget Empire from the vantage point of the neighbouring recreation ground. The final point of the tour was the capital itself, Wrythe. The two guests briefly met Crown Princess Caroline and pet bullmastiff Edd, and were then shown Wrythe Pet Cemetery and the ruins of the Orange Pyramid in Wrythe Public Park. The tour of the Carshalton Nations over, the three went back into London. After von Puchow left for Landashir, the Emperor explored Mile End with Lady Evren until it was time for them to depart.
One year anniversary of the Liberation of Orly celebrated
The first anniversary of the Liberation of Orly was today marked with a celebration in the Copanese Embassy at East Wrythe. Tea and cakes were enjoyed by Emperor Jonathan I and Queen Emma of Copan, who was appointed monarch upon the Liberation one year ago. They were joined by two prominent Orlians at the embassy, which, while under Austenasian sovereignty as an exclave of the capital, is administered under Copanese law due being under extraterritoriality. As East Wrythe is therefore in a sense both Austenasian and Orlian, it was felt to be the best location to celebrate the occasion. The Liberation of Orly is the name given to the events of 24 June 2013, when citizens of Orly deposed Declan I and turned to the Emperor of Austenasia to restore legitimate government in Copan and the Grove, the two states which comprise Orly. Declan I had seized power over the Carshalton Nations in December 2010 by exploiting a power struggle between the then Emperor Esmond III and Crown Prince Jonathan, but had abdicated from the Austenasian Throne in January 2013. His deposition from the throne of Orly (and its re-division into Copan and the Grove) marked the end of foreign rule in the Carshalton Nations. Jonathan I yesterday visited the Grove in a personal capacity to feed the wildlife there, an activity joyfully partaken in by the newly independent Orlians a year ago immediately after having deposed Declan I. The Emperor hinted that this may become an annual tradition.
County of Memphis granted autonomy from the Grove
His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I has passed an edict granting the County of Memphis autonomy from the Kingdom of the Grove, of which it is a part. The Grove and Copan (collectively known as Orly) were both liberated from foreign rule by a rebellion last week which refounded the two states as they existed prior to Declan I of Wilcsland seizing control over them in December 2010. Jonathan I accepted the wish of the Orlian people to have the two kingdoms restored under Austenasian suzerainty, as Orlians generally regard the authority of their monarchs to come from the Austenasian Throne, which appoints them. Having appointed new monarchs of Copan and the Grove last week, Jonathan I also promised that he would grant Memphis, capital of the Grove, relative autonomy. Her Illustrious Highness Countess Eritoshi, a close friend of the Emperor, has held the title Countess of Memphis since September last year. In a lengthy proclamation issued by the Emperor last night, Memphis itself and a large part of the surrounding area in the Grove have been incorporated into a County of Memphis, ruled by Countess Eritoshi, who now has the power to veto any command of the King of the Grove in regards to Memphis and, while recognising him as her feudal superior, cannot have her title or powers removed by him. The proclamation, named the Second Edict of Orly, is nearly two thousand words long due to also delineating in precise detail the exact boundaries between Orly and the United Kingdom, and within Orly between the Grove and Copan.
Declan I deposed as Austenasian suzerainty reasserted over Orly
Dissatisfaction with Declan I broke out into open rebellion in Orly today as citizens declared the King of New Wessex deposed from Orly and asked the Emperor to appoint new monarchs. King Declan I of New Wessex, who has ruled Orly as a Wessaxon constituent country since January 2012, was due to visit Orly today. After it was found out that Declan had missed the first two trains and would arrive over two hours later than planned, a group of Orlian citizens who had met to greet him grew restless. Waiting for him to arrive, the citizens learnt that he planned to demand Jonathan I relinquish the title Shahanshah (King of the Kings) of the Carshalton Nations, a title assumed by Declan I himself when he was Emperor of Austenasia to denote the position held by the Emperor as overlord of the Carshalton Sector. This led to overt discontent, with the Orlians openly expressing their wish to be under Austenasian suzerainty rather than independent rule by a foreign monarch. Walking to Orly from the nearby train station, citizens refounded the kingdoms of the Grove and of Copan, polities which had been deprived of their sovereignty when Declan I unified them into the Tsardom of Orly (later declared part of New Wessex) in December 2010, and declared Declan deposed. Telephoning Declan I via mobile to inform him of the unfolding events, the Emperor discovered that he had not yet even bought his train ticket. Realising that it may be ill-advised to go ahead, Declan cancelled the visit. Given the phone by Jonathan I, Countess Eritoshi of Memphis bluntly told Declan I that there was no support for his reign in Orly to continue and stressed that Orlians would always consider the Emperor as overlord, resulting in Declan relinquishing New Wessex’s claim to sovereignty over Orly. The Emperor, Countess Eritoshi and Crown Princess Caroline (the latter giving her consenting vote via mobile) passed an Act of Parliament renouncing Austenasian recognition of Wessaxon sovereignty over Orly. Emperor Jonathan I then made an Imperial Edict appointing Calum I – the founder of Orly, and Duke of the Grove under New Wessex – King of the Grove, appointing prominent Orlian citizen Emma I as Queen of Copan, and promising autonomy for the County of Memphis in the Grove to Countess Eritoshi. Orly was founded on 4 July 2010, being split into the Kingdoms of Copan and of the Grove later that month, both recognising the suzerainty of Austenasia and the right of the Emperor to appoint Orlian monarchs. Declan I, the first King of Copan, rejected Austenasian suzerainty over Orly when he reunified it in December 2010 as part of a larger secret plan to remove the then Emperor Esmond III from power, but its citizens always made clear their recognition of the Emperor as their overlord. Esmond III and several Orlian citizens who were unable to attend the would-be visit have expressed their delight at the news that Orly is once more under the suzerainty of the Empire.
Odd goings-on in Orly as tree blows over
HIH Crown Prince Jonathan, Viceroy of the nearby Wessaxon constituent country of Orly, came across the carcass of a dead turkey as he made his weekly inspection of the nation earlier today. The turkey – headless, plucked, and with the innards removed – had been left on the ground in Wisdom, an area in the Grove region of Orly. After helping a dog walker stop their dog from trying to eat the bird, the Viceroy took a closer look at the carcass before depositing it in a nearby rubbish bin. The bird, although missing most of its meat, showed no sign of decay or rot. Judging by the incident which had just taken place and the many dogs walked in Orly, it had probably not been there for more than a day due to still being mostly in one piece – a leg of the bird was found a few feet away. The state of the carcass made it seem likely that it had been prepared for somebody’s Christmas dinner before, for some inexplicable reason, being left in the Grove. It was unclear if the turkey had been cooked or not. What made this find somewhat more significant than it would otherwise have been was that the turkey was discovered almost exactly on the former spot of the Wisdom Tree, a young ash tree which gave the surrounding area its name and had been uprooted in 2010. The Wisdom Tree was used as a central meeting point for the social group that would become the Orlian nation, with its loss being angrily mourned. Continuing on his patrol of Orly, the Viceroy came across some flower stalks attached to a tree in Memphis, capital of the Grove, with adhesive tape. Memphis became the main meeting place for Orlians after the loss of the Wisdom Tree, with the flower stalks found attached to a tree within a few yards of a large stone used as the throne of the Grovian monarch between 2010 and 2012. Any significance to or meaning behind these two objects being found placed at the two most important cultural sites of the Grove is yet to be determined. A brief inspection of the Secluded Place, capital of the other Orlian region Copan, found nothing out of the ordinary. A clue to the origin of the flower stalks was found in a fallen tree near the border with Copan. Said tree was felled at some point after 22 December, the date of the most recent visit by the Viceroy, probably by recent heavy winds. A bunch of flowers was found in the branches of the fallen tree – whether the flower stalks came from here, and if so why, is unknown. No meaning has been found for the turkey and flowers, and it is unknown if they are even connected, although two such out of place objects being found at two such culturally significant sites on the same date is unlikely to be a coincidence. A follow-up visit to Orly has been planned for some point over the next few days to see if any more anomalous objects appear.
