Yzel Monarchy Overview

Type of monarchy

Limited, constitutional

Who is considered the head

The reigning monarch is the head. Male heirs are the only ones who can directly inherit the throne. If a king dies without children, then their spouse becomes ruler if there are no sons. This is how some queens came to power. Previous dynasties held that only female heirs could directly inherit or that it was simply the oldest child.

How is the heir chosen

The Sranten family instituted a male only system, a holdover from the fact that the last ruler before them in the previous dynasty was a queen. They decided that a woman cannot inherit directly and thus the oldest son will inherit. If a monarch only has daughters, the oldest will marry and her husband will become king. It is only if that husband is no longer able to rule and she has no sons will she inherit.

Where does the monarchy live

Their living quarters and government buildings are fully separate. They live in a smaller mansion within the city among other noble houses there. It is the government complex that houses all of the departments and where the monarch will conduct business. Their old family home is maintained as a summer palace and they visit it regularly.

How long has the monarchy been around

Yzel has been a monarchical system for about 550 years, but the current dynasty has only been in power for 60 years. The monarchical system was put in place after the Second Great War. The elected queen took power from the aristocratic council using the fact that she had just won the war as justification. However, the current dynasty, the Sranten, is very new and took over due to corruption. They had the backing of the populace and military, along with a few nobles

Royal symbol and crest

They see themselves as defenders so their crest depicts a shield with two halves, a crown for nobility and a circle for the population, on either side. Their family animal is the female bear, a symbol of their strength but also the nurturing and protectiveness they are meant to feel toward the people they rule. The family motto is “strïtsambreet stra flesnirzäer ksiye, sinjan stra flesnibnukar ksiye” (for my friends a shield, for my enemies a claw, lit. a shield my friends for, a claw my enemies for)

Who directly serves the monarch

In terms of governing, the monarch is helped by a council. This is a holdover from the oligarchy of ancient times. While the council has lawmaking and ruling power, they are beneath the monarch and the monarch’s decisions can overrule them. Yzel is not a slave country so all positions are staffed by paid servants. Positions close to the monarch are appointed by them, but lower level servants are overseen by the Groundsmaster and House Master, depending on whether the servant in question works inside or outside. Only the positions very close to the monarch are staffed by nobility in general, although the monarch can appoint anyone. Close positions are honors, but lower ones are seen as an insult and have been wielded as such by past monarchs

What type of clothes does the monarchy wear

Fashion trends have changed through the dynasties and the Sranten are originally from the southern area of the country. As such, their clothing reflects that. The area is warmer than the rest of the kingdom and thus they tend to wear looser clothing. Even in the capitol, they tend to wear metal plates on their clothing, although it is mostly decorative rather than functional. Blue is very prominent as are brighter, saturated colors. Because of the Ulena mines being subsumed into Eoion, they lost their metal working and instead have more gems from western mines. The mountain range in the west passes into Eoion territory so there is debate at times over the ownership of certain gems. The latest treaty dealt with some of these issues, splitting the gems between the kingdoms, although Eoion still has a large advantage in metals (utilitarian ones like iron, steel, copper and decorative like silver, gold, tin). Sapphires, topaz, and rubies are found mostly in the south whereas diamonds, amethysts, and morganite tend to be in Eoion. Formal clothing tends to have more sashes, one shoulder capes, wraps, etc. the embroidery is also much more intricate. Armor is generally left off of formal attire

What accessory shows they are a monarch

A string of sapphires held together by gold chain on a broach. Their crown is only worn on formal occasions. However, rather than a very ornate crown of gold (due to the lack of mine), theirs is a thinner circlet

How complex is the family line

The line is rather straightforward. As they are a very new dynasty in terms of both Yzel and the continent as a whole, there has already been a fair amount of intermarriage between the Sranten and other noble houses. Marrying another noble has been normal for the royals since the beginning of the monarchy and the marriages are more from alliance than love, although this can happen with younger children of the reigning monarch. The parents of the children pick matches in the child’s teen years and the children are given some input. However, the parents have the final say

Is the monarchy considered partially divine

No, the monarchy and the church are completely separate mostly because the main religion of the country began long before the monarchy

What kind of education are royals provided with

Royals learn with other nobles for their early years in exclusive private schools. The connection between the nobility and the royals is very strong and has been since the earliest days. However, the heir will eventually move to learning from the reigning monarch directly and from more advanced private tutors. They are taught all of the general subjects, but are encouraged to specialize in something (usually a science or art) and each royal child develops a unique skill to help add to the country and family. This is seen as an incredibly important duty, particularly for the children who are very unlikely to sit on the throne

What are acceptable sports for royalty

Sports involving teams are more accepted in order to foster the relationships between nobles and the royal line as such, it is considered taboo for a royal to engage in sports that tend to be played solo (fencing, falconry, etc). Horse races and hunting are the most common. There is also Du (See Entertainment Section). This is a very heavy team endeavor and thus highly encouraged. All royals and nobility learn to play from a young age

What is the public’s impression of the monarchy? Vice versa?

With how new the dynasty is and the fact that their rise came about to end massive corruption, the public is very much on their side, particularly the current king’s grandfather, the first of the dynasty, Luan Sranten. Seeing as Kaelo is directly descended from him, he inherited a large amount of popular goodwill. The Sranten view the public as their charges. They are there to protect the populace in whatever way necessary

Who is the worst monarch? The best?

The final Zhouhang queen is considered the worst due to the large amount of corruption that she presided over. The Sranten encourage this to solidify their rule. By contrast, Luan Sranten I is considered the best for ending that corruption

What relationship do they have with other monarchies

The only other monarchy on the continent is Eoion and tensions have been high between them and Yzel for centuries due to territory disputes and past wars. Being a new dynasty, the Sranten are trying to prove themselves to an extent, to show that they can be powerful on par with the Shiroko Dynasty who have ruled for about seven centuries. The current king is trying to de-escalate things without really knowing why the tensions are rising and he finds working with a person he sees as nothing more than a sadistic, mad hedonist to be very difficult.

Does the monarch have power to declare war

Somewhat. They have the power to declare war, but must rely on nobility for supplementary funds and troops. This gives the nobles some input in whether to declare or not. With the split of the military after the Sicru war, declaring war anywhere is a deeply thought out process as they cannot rely on what was once an integral part of their military for help

Has there ever been an attempt to overthrow the monarchy

The Sranten family came to power through a civil war. However, since then, there has not been another attempt. So far, they have held power for 60 years, with Kaelo Sranten II as the current ruler.

How involved do the public like to be in the royals’ lives

Given the corruption and intrigue of the Zhouhang, the public became very interested in what the royals were doing. This did not stop after the Sranten came to power. Gossip and political intrigue is a large part of the news in the kingdom even if there is really not much going on

Monarchial Wealth

The main sources of income for the new monarchy are the taxes of the nation and the land holdings of their family. Luan's original estate, acquired while he was still acting as a crown prosecutor, is still owned by the Sranten and thus generates wealth for them. These are relatively small holdings when compared to other Yzelian families. However, Kaelo II has managed to increase their wealth through investments in trade and the acquisition of a few merchant ships. This income has allowed the king to amass a personal wealth portfolio totaling around 24.8 million- 27.9 million pavacs ($18.3-20.6 million USD) to be divided among the family. They have also taken over the territory formerly belonging to the Zhouhang, which generates a further 8.81 million pavacs ($6.5 million USD) annually.  
Their second income stream comes from the salary paid to the monarch and the money allocated for the upkeep of the royal household, along with expenses related to monarchial duties. The previous dynasty had taken an extremely large salary to pay for their extravagant lifestyle, 150.2 million pavacs ($110.8 million USD). In order to combat this and show their differences to the former rulers, Luan dictated that the Sranten cut the salary in half and instead set the salary of the monarch at 75.1 million pavacs ($55.4 million USD). The queen does not take a salary. Instead, she is considered part of the monarchial estate and her expenses are covered by the crown, although she does collect money from the family holdings. The heir is paid 20.6 million pavacs ($15.2 million USD) for fulfilling his duties instead. 

What does the daily life of a monarch look like

The monarch wakes at 5am to attend meetings which go until 7am when breakfast is eaten. After that, there is correspondence and further meetings with nobility, etc until lunch at noon. From 12pm until 2pm is the time for idle behavior. In the winter, this schedule remains even though the midday heat is not nearly as bad. 2pm to 6pm is hearing petitions, judging important cases, and the bulk of the day’s paperwork. 6pm-7pm is a break to prepare for dinner and rest a bit. 7pm is dinner and that melts into the evening leisure. The monarch tends to retire around 9pm. Only on holidays are the schedules looser, with more leisure time to enjoy whatever festival is happening.

Titles

Yzel's titles are regimented between classes, but within the royal family, they are more open and there is often overlap. The respect denoted by a title is more important than the title itself, particularly for the new dynasty, which is looking to separate itself from the corruption and excess of their predecessors. Translations into Yzelian follow.

• Ruler and spouse- Your/His/Her Majesty (ksì, dnïn, sra mahin)
• Children of the ruler- Your/His/Her Highness (ksì, dnïn, sra ranyltzei)
• Parents of the ruler- Your/His/Her Grace (ksì, dnïn, sra praram)
• Extended family- Your/His/Her Lordship/Ladyship (ksì, dnïn, sra bugavran)

Protocol

When interacting with the royal family, there are several rules that must be adhered in order to follow proper procedures.
First, the rules for commoners interacting with the royal family are a mixture of traditions from the days of an oligarchy and new rules instituted by Luan Sranten on his ascension to the throne.

• Royals will be addressed as stated above by both nobles and commoners
• Greeting all members of the royal family will be done by a half bow at the waist to extended family and full bow to the ruler and immediate family.
• Once the initial greeting is complete, royals may be addressed as Sir or Ma'am, aside from the ruler and their spouse, who are to be addressed as Sire, Madam, or Majesty
• Looking directly into the eyes of the ruler is preferred when speaking
• Sit and stand only after the highest ranking royal has done so
• Touching the ruler is permitted only by upper nobility and only from the elbow down.
• The ruler and their spouse are greeted first, then their children, males first, oldest to youngest

For members of the royal family, rules are more relaxed, particularly in private. In general, the etiquette is as follows:

• In public, family will refer to one another by their first name only. The exception to this is the ruler, their spouse, and their children, who are to have Highness placed before their name upon first greeting. Subsequent addresses can be done using Sire or Madam
• When speaking to another member of the family of higher station, a quarter bow is all that is necessary