Monarchy of Greater Antillia

The monarchy of Greater Antillia (Creole-Antillian: Monarchie de la Grande Antille), commonly referred to as The Crown (Coventrian: a coroa) is an established institution dating back over two thousand years. A common metonym for the monarchy is The Golden Stool, the traditional seat of power for monarchs on the Greater Antillia archipelago. The Antillian monarchy is comprised of the reigning monarch, King Guilherme IV, his family, and the royal household which supports the monarch in his duties.

History

The monarchy in Greater Antillia dates back to the 8th century when Mari Djata was accalimed as the first King of Caraïbes. The all powerful Sahel dynasty would reign supreme for the next four hundred years over much of what became modern Greater Antillia. King Musa Kankou the great, reigning in the 9th century was considere be many to be the richest man to have ever lived.

The Kings of Caraibes ruled much of the archipelago until 1190, when the vassal state of Coventria declared itself an independent kingdom, under Afonso, Count of Coventria who was acclaimed as King by the Coventrian people on 19th June 1190, after a major victory against the much weakene Sahelian empire at the battle of Santiago. The acclamation may have established the Keitas as the royal dynasty of Coventrey but in actuality they had ruled over the region several centuries before declaring independence from Saheli.

The Keita dynasty that reigned from 1190 until 1588 originated as High Stewards of Coventrey serving as vassals to the Mansa in Niani, before they themselves were declared kings of Coventrey.

In 1610 with the Coventrian War of Restoration, Guilherme II, became the first member of the House of Porter to rule Coventrey, the dynasty that still rules today under Guilherme IV. In 1651 the House of Porter inherited the crown of Caraïbes, uniting the two warring kingdoms under a single monarch finally.

The Crown, royal prerogatives, and constitutional role

Under the constitution of Coventrey certain prerogatives and powers are vested in the monarch as sovereign of the kingdom; with the constitution specifying that the monarch is the head of state serving as a symbol of the country and acting as a moderator of the countries institutions.

The powers of the King directly prescribed in the constitution are:

1. The sanction and promulgate the laws
2. To summon and dissolve the Gbara Gerais
3. To appoint and or remove the Prime Minister
4. To appoint and dismiss members of the government, at the advice of the Prime Minister
5. To issue royal decrees, approved by the State Council
6. To confer civil, military, and royal court offices, honours and distinctions at his discretion.
7. To preside over meetings of the State Council, the Council of Ministers whenever he sees fit.
8. To command the armed forces
9. To exercise the right of clemency and royal mercy at his discretion.
10. To exercise the royal patronage of institutions at his discretion.

Styles, titles and the Fount of Honour

The constitution of Greater Antillia defines the monarch's official title as King of United Kingdom of Greater Antillia, but the King has historically used other titles in addition to their primary title.

The monarch's full style has monarch is:

His Most Faithful Majesty [Name], By the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Greater Antillia and Taino; King beyond the pillers; King of Coventrey, Caraïbes, Kongo, Angola, Benguela, Matamba, Ndongo, Anizco, Cacongo, Loango, Akan, and Dahomey; Prince of Saint-Domingue and Hispaniola; Duke of Powhatan, Manitoba, and Senaca, Marquess of Iroquois, Ontario, and Newfoundland, Hereditary Count of Coventria; Count of Pilkington, Girona, Viana, Oneida, and Cayuga; Lord of the Alcacer, Lord of the Seven cities, Lord of the Yaraba and Mauri, and so forth, and so forth, and so forth.

In his position as fount of hounor, the monarch of Greater Antillia is the granter of civil, military, royal court offices, and all other honours decorations. In this role the monarch his grand master of the following Coventrian orders Order of Tower, Order of the Stewards, Order of Saint Francis, Order of the Restoration Cross, Order of Pedro III, and the Order of the Rose,

Inviolability and lèse majesté

Under the constitution and by royal tradition the Antillian monarch possess sovereign immunity and is personally immune from persecution for acts committed in his name, he therefore is not responsible to the Cortes Gerais nor is he held accountable for any action taken in his name . As a result his acts are not valid unless countersigned by a minister of the government

As a result of his sacred role, special laws exist in Greater Antillia that make it lèse majesté, or an offence to defame or insult the King, the Queen, their ancestors and or their descendants of the royal house; extending to the Prime Minister as the Sovereign's appointed officer. Such offences refers to insults or defamations deemed harmful to the monarch's role as sovereign of the nation Historically such offenses carried with it charges of treason.

Succession rules

According to the Antillian constitution the Crown of Greater Antillia is hereditary passing to the descendants of João IV following male preference primogeniture. There are various laws that govern the line of succession; such laws stipulate that the monarch must profess the Catholic faith, that they must be dynast of the House of Porter, and that they must not marry without the express permission of the reigning monarch and the Gbara Gerais.

Contemporary monarchy

Popularity

The monarchy has traditionally enjoyed wide support and popularity with Antillian citizens favoring the institution above other institutions and believing it paramount in the maintenance of democracy in the country. As of 2020 the Coventrian monarchy enjoys an approval rating of over 81%.

Royal Household of the King

Main article: Royal Household of Greater Antillia

The Royal Household and by extension the Royal Court is the organization responsible for supporting and facilitating the monarch and members of the royal family in the fulfillment of their duties and responsibilities.

The Royal household is overseen by the Lord High Steward, who is assisted in his duties by the senior officers of the court which include the Lord Chamberlain, the Grand Squire, Chief Butler, Lord Pantler, Lord Cupbearer, Lord Carver, Grand Almoner, the Master of the King's Pleasures, the Master of the Wardrobe, Grand Forrester, Grand Huntsman, First Gentleman of the Chamber, the Master of Ceremonies, Captain of the Royal Guard, the Marshal of Lodgings, and the bearer of the Royal banner.

While the vast majority of the court offices are political appointments, there are certain offices which are hereditary: such offices include the Grand Master hereditary in the Duke of Suffolk; the Duke of Henrico is Grand Chamberlain; the Marquis of Essex is Lord Pantler, while the office of Grand Squire regularly goes to members of the extended Royal family.

Of these offices, the positions of Lord High Steward, Lord High Chamberlain, alongside the other offices Lord High Constable, Lord High Marshal, Lord High Chancellor, Lord High Admiral, Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Justiciar, Lord High Seneschal, and Lord Keeper of the Royal Inkwell form the ten great officers of the kingdom.

Residences

There are a number of royal residences that are at the disposal of the sovereign as monarch of the Kingdom of Coventrey, they include the official residence at Williamsburg, the Paço Real, São Gabriel Castle, Pilkington Palace, Santo Domingo Palace, São Cristóvão Palace, Santa Cruz Palace, Bela Vista Palace, Laval Palace, New Orleans Palace, and Ducal Palace of Powhatan.

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  Paço Real, the principal royal residence, located in Williamsburg.

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  The São Gabriel Castle, the oldest royal residence, located in Williamsburg.

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  Pilkington Palace, located in the most affluent neighborhood of Williamsburg

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  The Palace of Santo Domingo

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  The São Cristóvão Palace, noted for its lavishness it has been called the Antillian Versailles

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  The Santa Cruz Palace, the summer palace of the King,

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  The Bela Vista palace is a shining symbol of Antillian renaissance architecture

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  The Palace of Laval, originally the seat of the Princes of Laval before passing to the king

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  The official residence of the king in Orleans

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  The ancestral seat of the Dukes of Powhatan, later, later Kings of Greater Antillia