principalities

[Mitchell, Paul]

Galen of Bristol here.

A couple of general notes about how principalities go:

We cannot be _forced_ to have a principality against our wishes.

The Crown would not have to attend each Investiture and Coronet Tourney. 
 Princes could invest their own successors, or Princes could crown 
themselves as Ansteorra's Kings do.  Their oaths could be made without the 
King's presence at their Investiture, and renewed at Coronation.

The Coronet could be an additional check on those occasional abuses of power 
by the Crown.

The Coronet, like a Baron, has the authority to create and grant 
non-armigerous orders and awards.  The Crown may delegate authority to grant 
higher awards, either on a case-by-case basis or in law as a matter of 
course.  (For instance, when I was Prince of Drachenwald, Eastrealm law had 
delegated to the Coronet of Drachenwald the authority to grant the East's 
non-armigerous awards, as well as Awards of Arms and Drachenwald armigerous 
awards, over my own signature and without prior approval from the Crown.) 
 (If Ansteorra gets principalities, I would argue in favor of something 
similar here.)

The Coronet does not have the authority to warrant Principality-level 
officers; those warrants must be signed by the Crown.  I am not sure 
_Corpora_ allows this authority to be delegated.

Change may be inevitable, but Principalities are not.  This argument is 
always used, "sooner or later we'll have them, so we may as well have them 
now".

It would probably take at least six months for the requisite polling, 
approvals and setup work to be completed to the point of scheduling a 
Coronet Tourney.  That would require really rushing it.  12 - 18 months 
would be more likely.

Principalities could be a good source of enjoyment for people (like me, 
frankly) that enjoy added ceremony, pomp, politics, get awards, and the 
prospect of being able to rule, or serve a ruler.  They would not mean the 
end of the Kingdom, but I have my doubts about whether they mightn't cause 
more problems than they solve, or more trouble than fun.

I am hoping that a number of questions will be answered when _Black Star_ 
comes out, such as the precise borders being contemplated, who would be 
writing draft principality laws, who decides on names and arms for them, and 
a proposed time frame for the proposal to be carried out.  I am waiting 
patiently.

In the meantime, people _will_ discuss rumors (like this one, which I heard 
at Queen's Champion).  This mailing list has no more moral significance than 
a group of half-informed people sitting around a campfire on a Friday night 
at an event discussing what they've heard, and I've advised His Majesty not 
to place too much importance on what gets said here.  We do _not_ represent 
the entire populace, just a certain self-elected sub-group, almost like an 
informal household.  A "virtual household", if you like.

More fact and opinion (you sort 'em out) from

Viscount Galen of Bristol, KSCA
MITCHELL at dallas.genphysics.com
 "noblesse oblige"