Monarchy of Mesogeia

Empress of Mesogeia
Mesogeian monarchy
Coat of arms of Mesogeia
Incumbent
Elena II since 15 May 1962
Details
Style	Her Imperial Celestial Majesty
Heir apparent	Constantine, Despot of Morea
First monarch	Mesogeius (mythical)
Formation	2500 BC.
Residence	Imperial Palace of Alexandropolis as official residence
Appointer	Non-specified, de facto hereditary, semi elective

The Monarchy of Mesogeia constitutionally referred to as the Crown or the Mesogeian monarchy is an ancient institution and historic office of Mesogeia. Historically the monarchy has been referred to as the Celestial throne.

Historically the first person to be known as Emperor of Mesogeia was Alcaeus I who reigned in the 12th century BC, however the institution of monarchy in Mesogeia goes back further to the reign of the Mesogeius, a largely mythical figure believed to have reigned some time around 2500 BC. The middle Kingdom, established in 2500 BC by Mesogeius is the precursor for the modern state of Mesogeia. The monarch of Mesogeia is said to be a direct-descendant of the Mesogeian King of the Gods Hormisdas The current Empress is Elena II, having acceded to the Celestial Throne, upon the death of her father, Emperor Constantine XXII, in 1970.

The monarchy is typically comprised of the reigning monarch, his or her family, and the Imperial Court, the organization which supports the monarch in the excercise of his duties. The monarchy of Mesogeia is presently represented by Empress Elena II, her son Constantine, Despot of Morea, his wife Sophia, Despotissa of Morea and their children Theodora, Elena, Zoe, Michael, Alexander, Constantine, Anna, Louis-Manuel, and Isabelle; all of them Grand Princes and Grand Princesses of Mesogeia.

Historically the monarch of Mesogeia by tradition ruled as an absolute monarch with autocratic powers and prerogatives; presently however the Empire of Mesogeia is a constitutional monarchy with an unwritten constitution]. It should be noted that the monarchy of Mesogeia was largely elective with the People and the Senate having the right to acclaim the Emperor. Despite this elective origin the Celestial Throne passed from father to son, or brother in a semi-hereditary succession for centuries.

The Crown, governmental role, and imperial prerogatives

Styles, titles, and the Fount of Honour

The traditional full style of the Mesogeian monarch is as follows:

His Imperial Majesty [insert name], By the Grace of God, Faithful in Christ, Emperor and Autocrat of Mesogeia, Shahanshah of all the Azagartians, of Aerion and Anaerion, the Most Faithful Apostolic Majesty, the Most Pious and Blessed Padishah of the three cities, Great Bagiar (of the nine tribes), Basileus of the north & the south; Haqan of the Two Lands, and the two Seas, Ruler of the Four Quarters, Basileus of the Troianians and the Anatolians, Lion of the East, the Celestial One, God’s Vicegerent on Earth, Champion of the Messiah, Refuge of the universe, Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction, Master of all the hither and the thither up to the Sun and Moon, Nest of Paradise, Equal to the Apostles, Protector and Defender of the holy sites and sacred fires, Kyrios Strategos of the Twelve kingdoms, King of Bithynia, Grand Prince of Epeiros, Duke of Mygdonia, Duke of Tesalia, Hegemon of cities, Lord of the Tauric Isles, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth.

There are certain instances where the full style of Mesogeian monarch is not necessary and during this time an abbreviated version of the full style is used. This version is as follows:

"His Imperial Majesty [insert name], By the Grace of God, Faithful in Christ, Emperor and Autocrat of Mesogeia, Shahanshah of all the Azagartians, of Aerion and Anaerion, the Most Faithful Apostolic Majesty, the Most Pious and Blessed Padishah of the three cities, Great Bagiar (of the nine tribes), Basileus of the north & the south; Haqan of the Two Lands, and the two Seas, Ruler of the Four Quarters, Basileus of the Troianians and the Anatolians, Lion of the East, the Celestial One, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth."

On most occasions however the Mesogeian monarch uses a simplified version of his full style. This simplified version is "Emperor and Autocrat of Mesogeia"

The Mesogeian monarch is the supreme fount of honour within Mesogeia, meaning that the Emperor of Mesogeia has supreme authority in regard to the Mesogeian honours system. The Mesogeian sovereign has the right to confer military, civil, and political offices; award orders of chivalry and orders of decoration; and grant titles of nobility, and peerages. This is usually on the advice of the Sacred Council.

Inviolablity and lèse majesté

The Mesogeian monarch is considered to be sacred and inviolable as a result of his divine right to rule. Because of his accession to the the Celestial throne, the Mesogeian monarch possesses sovereign immunity, exempting him from prosecution, standing trial, and being held accountable for the actions of his government.

Furthermore the institution of monarchy in Mesogeia is protected under Lèse-majesté. The concept of Lèse-majesté refers to criminal act of violating the dignity of the monarch of the state itself. The breaching of Lèse-majesté generally carries high fines and sentences of up to five years in prison. It should be noted that Lèse-majesté additionally applies to visiting heads of state while in Mesogeia, as well as senior members of the Imperial family, as well as the Prime Minister, as a result of being the appointed head of government by the monarch.

Succession and regency

Succession to the Celestial throne of Mesogiea is hereditary in the House of Troadinos, a cadet branch of the Megabagiaridas dynasty. Historically the position of Emperor of Mesogeia was ceremonially elected by a Council of king-electors and acclaimed by the Synedrion,the military and the people; although his position was theoretically hereditary within the dynasty.

Presently succession to the Mesogeian imperial throne is governed by various acts including the 1628 Bill of Rights, the Acts of Succession of 1714, 1729, 1762, and 1912. The most recent act of succession allows for the succession of the descendants of Constantine XXI through male preference cognatic primogeniture, with sons taking precedence over daughters, and closer lines having preference over more remote lines, and legitimate lines taking precedene over legitimized lines. Before 1912, the acts of succession prohibited Aletheic dynasts and dynasts who married Aletheics from ascending to the throne.

The act of succession has various requirements for dynasts before they are allowed to ascend to the throne, namely:

1. Only legitimate (legitimized) heirs may inherit the Celestial throne
2. Only the descendants of the Constantine XXI may inherit the Celestial throne
3. Dynasts must profess the Apostolic faith to inherit the Celestial throne
4. Senior dynasts entering into an unequal marriage or marrying without the express consent of the monarch are barred from succession. Their forfeiture exends to all the natural descendants of the subsequent unequal marriage.
5. Dynasts in line to inherit other crowns or thrones are barred from inheriting the Celestial throne, unless they first renounce their rights to the foreign throne in question.
6. Dynasts taking part in elective politics are excluded from accession to the Celestial throne on account of the monarch's position of being non-partisan. Their forfeiture does not exclude their descendants

It should also be noted that the succession laws governing the line of succession to the celestial throne can only be amended by an act of the Synedrion; it is also impossible for a dynast to renounce his or her rights to the succession. Only an act of Parliament and or the Imperial Council of State can deprive a dynast of his or her succession rights.

Emperor's legislative role

The Emperor is by tradition the supreme authority in the land as a result of the autocratic powers and prerogatives vested in him upon his accession to the celestial throne. The Mesogeian sovereign functioning as a semi-constitutional monarch however chooses to exercise his powers and prerogatives based on the precedents set by his predecessors, with the advice of his Sacred Council, the Imperial consul and to a lesser extent the Houses of Parliament.

The Emperor possess various powers in connection was his legislative role, this includes: the appointment of the Imperial Consul, the dissolution and summoning of Parliament, the power to call referendums and elections when deemed necessary, the appointment of life senators to the Senate, the right to introduce bi-partisan bills, and the right to grant or refuse assent for bills.

Emperor's executive and ceremonial role

The head of government is the Prime Minister by virtue of their commanding a majority in the lower house of Parliament; however it should be noted that the Emperor possess varying powers and prerogatives in relation to his role in the government. The Emperor's executive powers include: the power to declare war the power to appoint high government officials in the government and Imperial civil service, the power to appoint the Great Officers of the Empire, the power to appoint, members of the Sacred Council, the power to appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers, the power to appoint Satraps of the provinces, the appointment of ambassadors, the power to issue of imperial order decrees known as chrysobulls and prostagmata, both having the function of a law.

The Emperor possesses various ceremonial powers in connection with his position as head of state, including: the granting of honours, the summoning of holy synods, the regulation of the armed forces as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Mesogeia, and the sovereign as supreme fount of honour as the power to create peerages for worthy persons, grant awards, knighthoods, orders of chivalry, and all other honours.

The monarch also possess the power to grant imperial patronage to worthy institutions and societies, most notably the imperial academies.

Emperor's judicial role

The Emperor is by tradition the supreme head of the judicial system as the fount of justice The Judicial branch is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Mesogeia acting and performing judicial functions in the Sovereign's name. However it can be said that the courts remain open at the pleasure of the Emperor, who does not rule in judicial cases (except for rare circumstances), but does grant his imperial authority to the courts.

In his judicial role, the Mesogeian sovereign has the right to appoint members to the Imperial judicial courts, the right to grant and issue pardons and reprieves, the monarch also possess the power to overturn decisions made by the court he deems unjust or unfitting. In this role the monarch acts as final court of appeal hearing petitions on occasion; it is rare for the monarch to exercise this power often times the monarch will uphold the ruling of the court only acting in extreme cases.

Imperial traditions

Marriage traditions

For millenia the marriages of the Emperors of Mesogeia have been governed by traditions and ancient practices. Throughout the history of the empire, the Mesogeian monarchs have kept harems, choosing one chief wife or Empress Consort, a few Imperial Consorts or secondary wives (usually four), and hundreds or thousands of concubines (both male and female) in some cases. There was one point in the history of Mesogeia were Emperor PLACEHOLDER had two Empress consorts at the same time. One was referred to as the Empress of the East while the other bore the title Empress of the West.

The Imperial house of Mesogeia and many of the nobles have practiced polygamy for several centuries, despite being a largely Christian country until the practice was outlawed for all persons except the Emperor. Historically the children born to the Emperor by his chief wife were his legitimate heirs ranking first in the succession, while the children of concubines ranked second in the succession, despite their illegitimacy. The children of the Empress consort are recognized as Grand Princes and Grand Princesses whilst the children of Imperial consorts or secondary wives bore the rank of Basilopais (Prince) or Basilopoula (Princess); finally the children of concubines despite being illegitimate in the eyes of the church were entitled to the rank of Igemon and Igemonis respectively when or if they were acknowledged.

Presently the succession laws governing succession to the celestial throne are worded in such a way to allow illegitimate children to inherit with various stipulations being placed on them. Such stipulations include the rule that first the legitimate line by extinct and that there be no legitimate claimants to succeed, Secondly and no less important they must be legitimized by the reigning Emperor.

The Emperor can technically take a concubine from any class regardless of rank or position; and they often did. However the selection choice for Empress iss a little narrower. During ancient times there was a tradition of imperial incest that was widely practiced, with brother marrying sister or half-sister, cousin marrying cousin, uncle marrying niece and so on. Gradually as the nation became more christianized the Empress was selected more and more from among the highest ranks of nobility. For several centuries princesses of the royal houses of Macedon, Isauris, Pharosia, Aratiana, Cappadocia, Farsia, Phocaea, and Pontus were the primary choice for Empress consort when a princess of the imperial house was not available. Secondary wives were chosen from amongst the high nobility and even among the gentry; whilst concubines could be selected from the lowest to the highest ranks of society. Historically there have a been a several cases were the monarchs of Mesogeia took foreign princesses as Empress consort.

Contemporary monarchy

Popularity and criticism

The present monarch, Elena II had done much for the popularity of the Mesogeian monarchy. Traditionally the Empress has an approval rating around 73%, whilst the monarchy as an institution had an approval rating of 80% being ranked above other public institutions in 2018. The monarch as head of state is considered to be the unifying force holding the empire together. The monarchy and the sovereign often rank higher then elected politicians in the polls as a result of the significant role the monarch plays in the governance of the empire and the democratic process in Mesogeia.

It should be noted that general populace have surprisingly more faith in the monarchy then they do in elected political figures, and members of the imperial family are routinely viewed as highly respected figures, despite the occasional scandal and disturbance. Such as the antics of current Grand Prince Michael

Charitable, cultural, and religious patronage

The sovereign, and members of the Imperial family acting as representatives of the Mesogeian people undertake a wide range of official and unofficial duties both within Mesogeia and abroad.

Being barred from taking partisan sides, members of the imperial family take little part in party politics instead devoting much of their time to the patronage of non-profit charities, cultural, or religious organizations based within Mesogeia and abroad. Imperial patronage of an organization is credited with granting the said organization both legitimacy and the added benefit of increased public interest and imperial celebrity.

Besides the organizations that members of the imperial family are invited to patronized, they also pursue cultural and charitable pursuits of special interest to themselves. Most notably HIH Marie Isabelle, Despotissa of Morea is the chair of the Saint Theodora Foundation, which is involved in various charitable work throughout the empire, primarily directed at the welfare of women and the youth.

Imperial Court of Mesogeia

The Imperial Court of Mesogeia and its governmental arm the Imperial Court Ministry are the organizations responsible for supporting the sovereign and other members of the Imperial family in fulfilling their duties and obligations.

The Imperial court refers to the court as whole while the Imperial Court Ministry refers to the ministry personally responsible for the Emperor's household and the various households of the imperial family. The Minister for the Imperial Household is a member of the cabinet who role as head of the ministry mainly involves coordinating with the various government ministers and receiving their support and advice. It should be noted that while the minister of the Imperial Court Ministry is a member of the cabinet, the Imperial Court is a separate entity from the Imperial government. Meaning that while the minister of the Imperial Court Ministry is likely to change upon a change of government the officers of the Imperial Court serve at the monarch's pleasure.

The Imperial Court ministry is headed by the Minister of the Imperial Court Ministry, but his role is merely formal with the Grand Master of Mesogeia having actual authority over the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court Ministry is divided into eight main offices: the Office of the Grand Magister, Office of the Grand Praepositus, the Office of Megas Primicerius, the Office of the Imperial Fortune, the Office of the Gynaikeion, the Office of the Ektomiai, the Office of the Imperial Stables, and the Office of the Imperial Hunt.

Residences and imperial sites

The sovereign and the imperial family of Mesogeia have a number of official and private residences at their disposal to be used and inhabited at the discretion of the reigning sovereign. The palaces, castles, monasteries, and convents, inhabited and patronized by the imperial family over the years are collectively known as the Imperial sites of Mesogeia. The monarch's official residence the Great Sacred Palace, located in the imperial capital of Alexandropolis is the site of imperial receptions, state banquets, investitures, ambassadorial receptions, state balls, and other state ceremonies. The Great Sacred palace is a vast complex of palaces, pavilions, churches, chapels, and reception halls.

The monarch resides at Chalkidnoi Castle and Gulkhana palace complex on the weekends, the largest inhabited palace castle complex in Mesogeia. The sovereign has official residences at the empire's three ancient capitals of Chrysopolis, Parisia, and Pella, respectively residing at Ali Zarinqapu, Parisia Akropolis, and Pella Phrourion, in addition to palaces at Aegai, Chousa, and Fasargadai; although the Fortress at Pella has traditionally been inhabited by the Despot.

The Palace of Magnaura, located near the Great Sacred Palace, is often used for official receptions, with its large reception halls playing host to meetings of the Gerousia and the Magistan; in addition to public galas, and the all important annual Silention.

Other palaces within the capital and in its vicinity, include Mangana Palace, Chrysokeras Palace, Hieria Palace, Charbagh Palace, Philopation Palace, Bryas Palace, are all regularly used by the sovereign, imperial court, and staff during the alternating months between the winter social season and the new year, serving as their seasonal residence or as the site of their working office.

The Zoödochos-Pege Palace, located on the outskirts of the capital remains uninhabited, although it's grounds currently serve as a national amusement park. The Sa'dabad Palace, just outside Chrysopolis is regularly inhabited in the immediate weeks following the Mesogeian new year.

Other residences such as, Porphyra Palace, Chalcedon Palace, Lauseion House, Kyklobion House, Elaion Akra Castle, Meloudion Palace, Aretai Castle, St Euphemia Palace, Agbatana Palace, are used by vrious members of the Imperial family as their personal residences.

There are several residences which are privately owned by the Imperial Family that include, Bosphoros Palace, Villa Prinkips, Bishapur Castle, and Beglerbegi Palace.

All imperial residences except for the private residences are open to the public when the monarch is not in residence.