Imperial Nobles

The Imperial aristocracy was a powerful and wealthy social class that took control of the Terran polity in the late 24th century and helped to found the The Terran Empire

Origins

The Terrans have long since had a deeply ingrained social class system. During the Terrans pre-FTL history, most polities were ruled by hereditary monarchies with varying levels of success.
Even with the rise of democracy in the 19th and 20th centuries, there were still powerful families that had influence over politics of their polities.
With the creation of the first planet-wide polity, this did not appear to change. In fact, if anything, the influence of powerful families only increased.

Corporate Dynasties

Less obvious with their influence, the so-called "Corporate" dynasties were involved in business and had influence over the political process of the Terran polity. The massive corporation VENTRISS UDC was actually founded as a family business and other major families, such as the Slades, the Kimovs and the Vernier's were found to have a major influence over corporations and politics

Political Dynasties

As the Terran political situation became more complex, there were many political families that emerged with multi-generational influence over politics in the Terran Federation (and subsequent states). These included:

• The Rishi family
• The Kassenbach family
• The Kimov family
• The Wexler family
• the Slade family
• The Vernier family
• The McQaid family
• The Maquessa family

Due to the amount of financial muscle that many of these families wielded, with fortunes running into the billions of adjusted dollars, they were able to weather the storm of change in politics and saw political influence retained across generations.

The Terran Empire

In the year 2387, the "Imperial Coup" saw House Valane and House Solarin seize power over the Terran polity, then ruled by the "Junta" of military officers and create the first Terran Empire.
The Terran Empire was founded with a formal aristocracy with hereditary governorship handed to the "Great Houses" who would now be able to have automatic buy-in at the highest level of politics.

Nature of "Nobility"

The concept of "Nobility" in the 24th and 25th century was considered somewhat vague and was further distorted by the fact that governors did not have to name a blood relative as their successor. A major example of this was House Belzen on Avalon who consistently named adopted relatives as successors.
The modes of behavior expected of Imperial Nobles included (but were not limited to):

• A high level of education, with most expected to gain a college degree and with many attending Cydonia College
• Government or military service
• To have their own independent wealth -ie they were not to be "employees"
• Loyalty to the state

Nobles of the Empire, life-peers included, were also protected by the right of "Peer trial" which meant that they were above the normal law and if charged with a crime, their trial would be conducted with a jury of nobles selected by lot. Peer trials were, as a rule, very rare.

Imperial Governors

All the major planets of the Terran Empire were granted a governorship which was technically hereditary but could in fact be handed on to any chosen successor, though this was amended after the Governorship of Stark was sold to House Lanrow.
Governors were free to govern their worlds in any way they saw fit, as long as they followed Imperial law and paid taxes as required. This saw a wide array of styles ranging from the democratic style of House Maquessa on Nova Terra to the authoritarian style of House Grumman and House Krane.
Governors were also automatically granted access to the Imperial Council (or could send a chosen representative to take their place). They would vote on Imperial law and often take major offices of state. Therefore even the governor of a small-world like Jasper or Fort Kurzon could wield considerable political power.
Not all worlds were automatically granted their own governor with worlds like Prospero , Skerrit's World and Vodhyna having to wait for decades before being granted their own governors.
The addition of a new governor to the council was a major political moment and could shift the balance of political power.

Life Peers

As a reward for service to the Empire, the Emperor was empowered to grant a life peerage to any person. This was not subject to any oversight.
Life peers granted the title of "Lord" or "Lady" would hold the title for their life-time but it would not pass to a successor. Life-peers granted the rank of Lord or Lady had the right to attend the Imperial Court and the Imperial Council and also drew an imperial pension. Life peers also were subject to peer trial.
After growing contrevesey over the number of life-peerages handed out by Emperor Colamere Tancredo and Empress Aurora Valane , the decision to allow the award of the lesser title of "Knight of the Empire" was made.

Emperors

The highest rank of the Imperial aristocracy was the Emperor or Empress, often referred to as "Rex". The Imperial family were expected to be the model of behavior and aspiration to all citizens of the Empire.
There was considerable difference between how Imperial houses conducted themselves whilst they held the Imperial throne, ranging from the simple asceticism of House Solarin to the style and dress sense of House Tancredo.
The Title of Emperor was technically elected, with Imperial governors granted a vote at the conclave but it was considered very poor form to refer to the Emperor was "elected"

Post the Fall of the Empire

After the collapse of the Terran Empire and the rise of the The Terran Republic , there was a push on many worlds to break away from the old order with Imperial titles now considered to be "archaic".
However this has not been the case everywhere and many worlds still have hereditary rule:

• House Valanemaintained power on Mars and rule as a sort of constitutional monarchy
• House Krane retained power on Lightning Point and hold the title of "Prince".
• House Bluth and House Sondeheim have retained the title of Lord-Governor on their respective home-worlds
• House Grumman retained power on New Berlin but changed their title to that of Premier. House Grumman have since relinquished their title.
• House Cappotelli