Emperor Grui (Themiclesia)
| Emperor Grui | |||||||||
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 Emperor Grui in 1881 | |||||||||
| Emperor of Themiclesia | |||||||||
| Reign | 15 Nov. 1919 – 10 May 1923 | ||||||||
| Coronation | 22 Nov. 1919 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Goi | ||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Hên′ | ||||||||
| Born | 司馬泩 slje-mra′-srjêng 2 January 1865 Middle Palace, Themiclesia | ||||||||
| Died | 10 May 1923 (aged 58) Kien-k'ang | ||||||||
| Burial | Eternal Mausoleum (永陵) | ||||||||
| Empress Dowager Mjen | |||||||||
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Emperor Grui (Shinasthana: 懷帝, grui-têgh; Jan. 2, 1865 – May 10, 1923) was Emperor of Themiclesia between 1919 and 1923, after his father Emperor Goi died in 1919. He was the first Themiclesian princes to have a foreign education and held progressive political and social views, seeking closer ties with the commons in imitation of Casaterran monarchies, becoming a popular emperor amongst the public. At court, he inherited his father's preference for an informal lifestyle and spent most of his time in a Casaterran annexe, rather than the old halls. While this alienated traditionalists in the bureaucracies, he kept them at bay respecting their incomes and salaries. Emperor Grui was assassinated in 1923 acting from unclear motives, the assailants never found.
Residences
′Kên′-lang Palace
Like most Themiclesian monarchs before him, Emperor Grui's ceremonial residence is the Palace Hall (前殿, dzên-denh) of m-Kên-lang Palace (顯陽宮, ′kên′-lang-kjung). Due to the cultural symbolism and gravity of the area, some monarchs have chosen to reside at other, less formal halls; in the 18th and 19th centuries, the most typical place was L′jek-gren Hall (式乾殿, l′jek-gren-denh). However, in earlier reigns, the general demand was privacy and liberty from courtly duties and ceremonies, and Emperor Grui, having been accustomed to Casaterran norms of living, found L′jek-gren Hall an unpleasant place to live in. Though able to select his own courtiers who lived in adjacent galleries, he did not like sleeping in the throne in a public hall, where servants constantly filed in and out performing duties such as setting and replacing stoves and lights. Out of courtesy to royal tradition, he lived at the Hall for a few months before moving into the Casaterran Annexe, which was built in 1834 to host functions for Casaterran visitors. A few suites were renovated into a royal apartment.
Casaterran Annexe
The Casaterran Annexe consisted, at construction, of two wings.
Succession
In the days following Emperor Grui's death, there was a brief discussion in the Privy Council and Paliament who should succeed him. On the one hand, Emperor Grui had been public courting support to change the succession laws to permit legitimate, unmarried daughters to succeed to the throne, and it seems he advised his daughter, Princess Kaw (帝高, tek-kaw), to stay unmarried for this purpose. However, given robust health, he assumed a long reign ahead of himself and chose not to press forth with this sensitive issue early in his reign, believing he would be in a better position if his popularity proved overwhelming to compel change in the aristocracy, which was generally hostile to this policy. Princess Kaw stayed clear of the court following the assassination. On the other hand, a large segment of the royal family and the collateral clans pointed out that a legitimate heir under existing laws existed, the late emperor's first-counsin-once-removed, Lord Sk′rjak (奭君). Those supporting Princess Kaw's succession pointed out that she was experienced and esteemed within high and common society alike, while Lord Sk′rjak was only 6, and his family had no clout of any kind at court.
Eventually, the House of Lords, Privy Council, and Government agreed that Lord Sk′rjak was to become the new sovereign. While it was not impossible for Parliament to change succession laws before the lamenting rituals were raised in the royal court, allowing Lord Sk′rjak to succeed would portray the throne as an organization constrained by the law, which by this point was understood to be passed by the two houses of Parliament. To change succession laws in such haste, Prime Minister Lord of Sloi argued, would de-institutionalize the monarch and be against the principles of a law-abiding society, as well as the interest of a stable one. Most MPs were also against having a popular monarchy, believing it inimical to constitutional government. Thus, on May 16, Lord Sk′rjak was acclaimed emperor before the House of Lords, presided over by the Privy Council. He became Emperor Hên′.