Themiclesian royal family

The Themiclesian royal family (公室, qweng-stit) consists of the male-line descendants of Themiclesian monarchs that do not have independent households. Those that are part of independent households are classified under the royal clans (公生, qweng-sring).

Etymology

The term qweng-stit is written with two Mengja

Definitions

Strictly speaking, the category which best encompasses the word "royal family" in the Casaterran sense is kong-kra. Yet due to stronger familial ties in Themiclesian culture, the kong-kra effectively functions as a unit of the kong-tsok, the extended clan of royal descent. The distinction of various kra (households) was once geographic, since each branch household was likely to be assigned to a new seat, and even remoter in history they could also have been assigned to specific productive tasks, such as horse-keeping or farming. There is also the term kong-stjit (公室), which is accepted to be synonymous with gwênh-kwal (縣官). This word is roughly comparable to the body politic of the crown in Casaterran political philosophy, using the royal house as a metaphor of public institutions. Compare the phrase kong-stjit-kugh (公室告), "suit at royal house", meaning offences in which public authority comes to bear; cp. Casaterran public law, versus private law.

Royal family styles

Development

The current system of regulating styles of the royal family, called Princely Styles (王號, wyang-hoh), dates from 1849 and replaced an older custom introduced in the 12th century. While the system resembles one of appanage, none of the styles are substantive and are granted/used by courtesy to a reigning monarch. The Themiclesian monarch has the rank of emperor based on international custom, since in the period Themiclesia became politically known to Casaterrans it was in control of large swathes of the subcontinent by military force and of Meridia by naval force; members of the ruling house were therefore called princes in Casaterran custom, even though direct diplomacy between Themiclesia and Casaterran states was minimal before the 14th century. The development of royal styles used by the Casaterran chanceries was picked up by Themiclesia in the 16th century and officially regulated thenceforth.

Since the 6th century when Menghe's ruling house sought refuge in Themiclesia and was instead invited to become its ruler, the monarch's descendents were given titles in Menghean style as wyang (王), usually translated as "prince". In Menghe this would have been a genuine, substantive title to lands and revenues, but in Themiclesia owing to the modesty of royal lands it was not possible to grant titles with significant lands to any except the most favoured of princes. The title of wyang thus gradually became a style, i.e. a form of address that did not carry rights to land. Additionally, the heritability of wyang titles in Menghe was not re-established in Themiclesia, each succeeding generation needing royal permission to inherit; often titles shrank or ranking dropped with decreasing consanguineity. Additionally, Themiclesian aristocrats deeply abhorred giving titles to imperial bastards, and recurrent disputes occurred whenever an emperor wanted to grant the title to any of his children not through the empress-consort. Eventually compromises were made to give different titles to imperial children according to their mother's identity.

In 1385, Themiclesia's ruler was forced to cancel the title of Emperor in deference to the Yi dynasty of Menghe, which considered that title only legitimately held by itself. The Yi Emperor instead called him the "Great Prince of Shinasthana" (震旦大王), apparently a unique title but not often used by Themiclesia because it was ruled by a regency in place of a crown for much of the 15th century. The monarchy restored in 1531, the ruler considered the Yi's ruinous end as proof that God had repudiated it and resumed the title of Emperor in 1536. The existing style of "great prince" was bestowed as early as 1538 on princes born through the Empress-consort, as princes capable of the throne. Thus the term "great prince" comes into joint usage with existing

Regulations

A legitimate child of the reigning monarch's or the Crown Prince's body is entitled to the style of Serene Prince (大王, da-wyang; latinate princeps serenissimus). Additionally, the Crown Prince's eldest grandson in the male line is also entitled to Serene Prince (this person would be the reigning monarch's eldest great-grandchild in the male line).

A person who is a legitimate grandchild of a reigning monarch (or a child through a concubine, though impossible today) may be called a Imperial Prince (親王, tsin-wyang) in like fashion. Thus the children of a Serene Prince

It should be noted that the more senior styles of imperial princes are considered social styles and, as far as being members of the royal family is concerned, carry no legal significance. A child of the sovereign will first be granted the style of Prince and subsequently be elevated to the station of Grand Prince, as the case may be, by a simple ordinance to address them as such. For example, when Grand Princess Swar's birth was gazetted a few days afterwards noting her title as Princess Swar (選王); when she turned seven, the sovereign elevated her style to Grand Princess Swar (選大王) on the gazette. A similar declaration is not made for the title of Prince of the Blood; this is done incidentally on letterheads and usually starts when the prince comes of age.

A Serene Prince takes precedence over a Prince and a Prince of the Blood in the order of precedence. Amongst the Serene Princes, the most senior is the Crown Prince's heir apparent, followed by further heir apparents in turn. The first heir apparent is called the Elder Prince (公大王, qweng-da-wyang), and his heir apparent in turn is the Heir Prince (孫大王, sun-da-wyang). Upon the birth of Prince Rem in 2004, as the reigning monarch's great-great-grandchild, he obtained the new title of Great Heir Prince (曾孫大王, pseng-sun-da-wyang); upon the passing of the monarch in 2016 and his father's succession as reigning monarch, Prince Rem directly became the Crown Prince without going through the intermediate titles.

The Crown Prince himself does not usually have a princely title (unless he became the Crown Prince later in life) but is socially called "Serene Prince of the South Palace" (下宮大王, graq-kung-da-wyang).

Other than those in the direct line of succession, the princely title will come with a description before it, which is approved by the reigning monarch on the advice of the Privy Council. Currently, there are three Serene Princes in Themiclesia:

• Serene Prince Nam-kyung (南宮大王, b. 1938), who is the eldest child and daughter of Emperor Qrirq.
• Serene Prince Ngwyat (月大王, b. 2007), eldest daughter of the Reigning Emperor.
• Serene Prince Swar (選大王, b. 2010), second daughter of the Reigning Emperor.

While the Royal Family once had hundreds of titled princes, it has contracted dramatically in the 20th. Despite his unprecedented reign, Emperor Qrirq (r. 1922 – 2016) issued only two children, while the lines from former monarchs gradually passed beyond the fifth generation from their reigning ancestors and thus dropped out of the Family, which now consists of three Grand Princes and eleven Princes. While the right to succeed does not depend on having a princely title, descent being only considered, the Family has seen a shortage of members carrying out various public functions, even during the last years of Emperor Qrirq's reign. This is a pressing consideration for the Family as the princes are all nearing what would be an appropriate age for retirement, while their children would not be part of the Family and the Grand Princesses are too young to work independently.

In Themiclesian custom, the style most serene highness outranks imperial highness, which in turn outranks highness. In this sense, the word "serene" is taken as synonym for "supreme, august, and well-acknowledged". Note that dukes are also called most serene highness, since they are are only outranked by the Crown Prince and themselves outrank all other princes. In view of the custom that an empress-consort be of ducal origin, it may be said that for the purposes of marriage the imperial house is equal to a ducal house; however, dukes' children are called illustrious highness instead.

Reference style

Royal person	Relation	Style (Anglian)	Style (Sieuxerrian)	Other benefits
5th-class prince	Legitimate child	Most serene highness	Altesse sérénissime	Example
6th-class prince of the blood	Illegitimate child	Imperial highness	Altesse impériale	Example
7th-class prince of the blood	Grandchild in the male line			Example
8th-class prince	Great-grandchild in the male line	Highness	Altesse	Example
9th-class prince	Great-great-grandchild in the male line			Example

Succession laws

Crown

The Themiclesian crown descends according to the rule of absolute primogeniture, which replaced male primogeniture in 2003. The change did alter the order of succession, though in more remote branches and not within the direct line that is expected to inherit the crown.

Only legitimate children, born of the mother joined to the father by the Rite of Congression, are permitted to inherit the throne. Those born of this union are called the Elder Children (公子), and amongst them the rule of primogeniture has been consistently employed after the Sungh period (432 – 489). In earlier history, the Rite of Congression was not merely between two persons but a series of unions between two groups and metaphorically a union of two cities; any offspring of such a union was technically capable of the crown, including those whom the monarch did not physically father (the identity of the mother being solely relevant), but gradually the ability to enter into such a marriage became restricted to the ruler.

Children born of the monarch's other consorts and lovers, even if the mother holds a recognized position at court, are excluded from the inheriting the crown. The Themiclesian rule in this respect is different from many other Hemithean monarchies, in which children born of concubines and servants may inherit the throne based on their proximity in blood to their reigning father and in preference to legitimate brothers, cousins, and other collateral lines.

Other titles

See also: Marriage in Themiclesia

On the other hand, illegitimate children of both the monarch and the princes have generally been able to obtain recognition. The pejorative sense of "illegitimate" is not present to the same degree in Themiclesian language, because the procreative relationship whence they originated is not necessarily an illicit or morganatic one. Such children are called "favoured/loved children" (嬖子) because one or both of their parents were favoured to the other.

Official work

Pre-1886

Male members of the royal family were automatically eligible to be appointed into the civil service until the Great Reform of 1886 entirely abolished automatic eligibility in pursuit of a more professional and modern bureaucracy with fewer aristocratic overtones.

In brief, the eligibility (資, sqni) of a person is the highest class they could be appointed to, e.g. a person of the 2nd class could be appointed to anything including and under the 2nd class; however, one cannot be appointed directly to that class and must instead rise through the classes from their initial apointment (元任, mghwan-nem), which is at least four classes below their eligibility. Thus, a person eligible to the 2nd class must begin their career at the 6th class or, most often, even lower. The actual initial appointment is determined by the opinion of the Civil Service Department (尚書吏𧅝), which tests and interviews appointees who have already been granted eligibility, as well as the availability of offices at the time of appointment.

Before the Reform, the ranks to which imperial princes were automatically eligible depended on their proximity to their ruling ancestor:

• Legitimate children (by the empress-consort)—5th class
• Illegitimate children—6th class
• Grandchildren—7th class
• Great-grandchildren—8th class
• Great-great-grandchildren—9th class

Starting in the Dzei dynasty when the system above formalized, it became customary to refer to imperial princes, even in official literature, according to their initial appointment class. Thus, an emperor's legitimate children (even daughters not actually eligible to serve in office) are referred to as "5th-class prince" (五品王, ngo-prem-wyang); the illegitimate children and grandchildren were 6th-class and 7th-class princes of the blood (六品親王, ryok-prem-tsin-wyang; 七品親王, tsin-prem-tsin-wyang). Further descendants of an emperor were 8th-class and 9th-class princes respectively (八品王, prat-prem-wyang; 九品王, kyu-prem-wyang). Note that these refer only to the classes of their original offices and not their princely titles: princely titles do not have class designations.

Given the royal family's ability to identify and provide for descendants, in most historical periods there was a considerable number of princes in the bureaucracy. Some estimates place the number at several hundred in the 8th through 10th centuries. However, princes' prospects were not always good, and in fact top positions within the bureaucracy were usually within the control of the non-royal baronage and rarely passed to royal princes. In practice, only the 5th-class princes and 6th-class princes of the blood, i.e. an emperor's children, could expect to be appointed to desirable positions where promotion was likely; minor officials in the provinces and townships rarely are promoted for any reason into key positions.

Post-1886

On the occasion of Emperor Men's death in 1885, royals lost their automatic access to appointments through the eligibility system under the Reform Act of 1886; the alternative, as envisioned by Lord L'wang-men, was for royal grandchildren to be created baronets as they came of age, so that they could enter society and seek useful employment at their own initiative. A previous plan to create princes as barons in Parliament had been abandoned after the parties agreed it gave royal princes too much influence and exposed them to Parliamentary partisanship. At the end, royal grandchildren also did not receive automatic baronetcies on the grounds that they would effectively be receiving titles without any recognizable public contribution.

In 1889, the royal family agreed with a new plan from the incoming Conservative government led by the Baron of M'i. Princes would receive entitlements in the form of a stipend, a one-time settlement payment, or a combination of both; choosing a stipend means the unpaid part of the entitlement is regarded to be a loan to the treasury accruing interest at a fixed rate of 4% per annum. With this entitlement, princes would be allowed to make investments, but only through an agent sworn to the secrecy of the true identity of the client. In practice, the agent was often a fifth-generation imperial descendant without royal status but are still known to and trusted by royalty.

Royal person	Lifetime entitlement	Annual allowance
5th-class prince	£80,000	₤1,000
6th-class prince	£20,000	₤800
7th-class prince	£12,000	₤600
8th-class prince	£8,000	₤400
9th-class prince	£5,000	₤300

Nevertheless, the promulgation of this plan did mean royals waiting for appointments for the last three years all had the option to paid their full entitlements immediately, and some were very ready to forego interest, distrusting the government (which had denied them employment the last three years). Being alarmed of this sentiment, the Emperor Gwai was at pains to persuade his siblings and lesser princes not to cash out lest he himself went bankrupt, since half the entitlements came out of the royal pocket (but accrued interest was fully on the government's account). He further requested his relations not to procreate irresponsibly and hinted he would try to cap the number of offsprings who could claim the entitlement, though with this limit he did not follow through.

The settlement of 1889 was often bemoaned by royals believing the influence of the royal family had been betrayed and voluntarily signed away by their leader, Emperor Gwai; in their complaints, the emperor was often maligned as Emperor Mwai (毀皇啻) or "the emperor of destruction". By 1900, many royals had squandered their entitlements and thus became indigent.

In 1906, Prince Ku-ding (高成王) stabbed Emperor Gwai in his arm to signify his discontent at the decision to bar the royal family from public service. Two years later, an annual allowance system was established as a concession for princes who worked for the royal family in certain capacities and for those who had fallen into indigence. It has been argued, however, that indigent royalty was a consistent feature in Themiclesian history, and only the proliferation of the press in the 19th century made the issue visible and embarrassing for the crown.

Possible future changes

As Emperor Gwai faced the immediate danger of many royals not trusing the Government immediately cashing out and bringing the royal family both reputationally and financially bankrupt, he had counselled his relations to practice strict economy on procreation. Yet as royal lines naturally lose their royal status over generations, the royal family dramatically contracted over the next century, resulting in a dearth of potential successors from within the close family. Emperor Qrirq's father was actually a 9th-class prince, and Qrirq had no royal status before he was given the throne. However, Themiclesian public opinion has not commensurately shifted from the early 20th century and still has limited support for a large royal family.

The Current Emperor and his Empress-consort have one son and two daughters, and as of 2023 it has been seven years since they had a child. As Themiclesia moved to a system of absolute primogeniture in the male line in 2003, the want of successors should be slightly alleviated. On the other hand, some commentators still call for enlargement of the royal family so as to obviate the chance of calling a commoner to the throne (which would happen if none of the Current Emperor's three children take the throne and no other children are provided).

As most royal families in the world permit royalty to serve in the armed forces, the matter has been hinted at by "sources close to the family" after the Current Emperor ascended to the throne. Prof. Kitchener, an expert in Themiclesian royalty, thinks the matter is very theoretical at present, since there are not many royals at an age appropriate to serve in the armed forces, particularly in a non-ceremonial capacity.

Peerage

No member of the royal family is automatically entitled to a peerage; however, grants are historically common.

Female peers were, at one point, more common than male ones, since their titles could not be inherited by children through their husbands. Customarily, the eldest son of the monarch is granted a peerage, though exceptions have existed, to enable them to participate in court politics. Where a peerage is granted, the royal is assumed to have established his own household, and the peerage granted is typically a baronetcy, the lower of two grades of peers in Themiclesia. The name of the household usually, but not always, becomes the title of the peer. Hence, if Prince Rem should become Baron Rem (商君, rem-ghwa).

Management

Administration

The royal family's chief officer was usually called the Comptroller (大司人, lats-sle-ning), who is typically a close member of the household that holds a barony. Since baronies are only granted for public service, the Comptroller tends to be a member of the royal family having served in and is familiar to the bureaucracy. It is also customary to avoid appointing the current emperor's offspring as the Comptroller, as one of the official's main tasks is to act as liaison between the current emperor's progeny and that of previous emperors; such an appointment would become controversial and susceptible to doubt. 

中小臣卿

Finances

Historically, non-titled members of the royal house do not have statutory income. They reside at one of several palaces and have small staffs assigned to them, through the Privy Treasury.

Family tree

The following is the family tree of all reigning monarch since Emperor ’Ei, who reigned from 1763 to 1821. Over his 59-year reign, he sired four legitimate princes from whom over 80 people are now alive in in the line of succession. The royal family only maintains accurate genealogical records for legitimate descendants up to ’Ei's grandfather, Gwits-men (r. 1632 – 1689), whose progeny now includes at least 300 people alive now.

• 1. Emperor ’Ei (b. 1744, r. 1763 – Mar. 1821)
  • Grand Princess Ku-rum
  • Crown Prince Pran (公子反, 1767 – 1820)
    • 2. Prince Ker-num (公子根臨廟, b. 1819, r. Mar. 1821)
  • 3. Emperor Krang (影廟, b. 1772, r. Apr. 1821 – 1825)
  • 4. Emperor Ngarh (獻廟, b. 1774, r. 1825 – 1849)
    • 5. Emperor Tang (璋廟, b. 1800, r. 1849 – 1857)
    • Grand Prince Ghwra-sngrar (華山大王, 1804 – 1833)
      • 6. Emperor Men (玟廟, b. 1823, r. 1857 – 1875)
        • 7. Emperor Gwai (龢廟, b. 1859, r. 1875 – 1906)
      • 8. Emperor Lem (藤廟, b. 1838, r. 1906 – 1910)
    • Grand Prince Grir (圓大王, b. 1811
      • 9. Emperor Qlek (式廟, b. 1837, r. 1910 – 1912)
      • 10. Emperor Qhwing (觪廟, b. 1840, r. 1912 – 1913)
      • Prince Pek-sngrar (北山王 1840 – 1902)
        • Prince Tung-ning (冬年王 1865 – 1898)
          • 11. Emperor Grul (懷廟, b. 1889 r. 1913 – 1921)
            • Grand Princess Kats (股大王, 1912 – 2000)
  • Grand Prince Rang (良大王, 1780 – 1852)
    • Prince Nu-men (瑙紋王 1805 – 1857)
      • Prince Dzi (蔡王, 1829 – 1870)
      • Prince Tup-mer (對海王, 1834 – 1900)
        • Princess Ter (貞王, 1855 – 1940)
        • Princess Ta-kit (都計王, 1860 – 1877)
        • Prince Gwen (袞王, 1860 – 1905)
          • Princess Tak-put (襗般王, 1884 – 1934)
          • Prince Neng (仍王, 1887 – 1920)
            • 12. Emperor Q'rirq (顯廟, b. 1918, r. 1923 – 2016)
              • Crown Prince Qhruh (公子孝, 1937 – 2014)
                • Grand Princess Lwang (同大王, b. 1966)
                • Crown Prince Tam (談公大王, 1967 – 2008)
                  • 13. Reigning Sovereign (今上, b. 1989, r. 2016)
              • Grand Princess Nem-kung (南宮大王, b. 1939)
          • Prince Ding (城王, 1890 – 1992)
            • Prince Sin-ding (新城王, 1913 – 1997)
      • Prince Gwrin (權王, 1840 – 1882)
      • Princess Ten-tyat (珍王, 1841 – 1913)
        • Prince Lak (奪王, 1866 – 1930)
          • Prince Tung (董王, 1890 – 1971)
  • Grand Princess Dzi (柴大王, 1781 – 1840)
  • Grand Princess Krak (客大王, 1782 – 1833)

See also

• Themiclesia