60th birthday of King Albrecht (attn: All with monarchs, ex-monarchs and dukes)

[Rheinbund]

ANNOUNCEMENT

His Majesty King Albrecht III, King of Eiffelland and Grand-Duke of Nichtstein, wishes to celebrate his 60th birthday on Saturday 8 October 1956. He invites all the Imperial, Royal, Grand-Ducal and Ducal families of Europe to celebrate his birthday together with him at the newly renovated Trierer Stadtschloss in Trier, Eiffelland. The King's birthday will be celebrated with an eight-course dinner, followed by a ball and a Huaxian firework above the city.

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OOC: Sorry for being brief.
[MENTION=26]Bourgogne[/MENTION] [MENTION=1774]Pelasgia[/MENTION] [MENTION=83]Kadikistan[/MENTION] (also dethroned royals are welcome ) [MENTION=1700]Huaxia[/MENTION] [MENTION=16]Engellex[/MENTION] (Dukes are welcome as well [MENTION=1517]Cumbria[/MENTION] [MENTION=1187]Ivernia[/MENTION] [MENTION=1209]Carinthia-Harkány[/MENTION] [MENTION=1839]Justiza[/MENTION] (you did have some nobles, didn't you?)
@Gouw-Marken (The Pince-Bishop )
@Everyone with Imperial, Royal, Grand-Ducal and Ducal families I overlooked

 

[Pelasgia]

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GREAT PALACE OF PROPONTIS
OFFICE OF THE CUROPALATES​

To whom it may concern,


Weather permitting and God willing, their Imperial Majesties would most certainly be delighted to attend this feast in His Majesty's honour. The Emperor and the Empress both extend Their wishes to the King in advance, wishing for His continued good health and longevity. While the recently born Vasilopais will most regrettably be unable to attend, it is only natural due to His young age. It can confidently be assumed that once His Imperial Highness is old enough, He too will be delighted to meet the Sovereign of the friendly Realm of Eiffelland.

Most faithfully yours,

Timotheos Vestētōros

Curopalates of the Great Palace of Propontis

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Office of the Grand Duke

His Grace, Maximilien, Grand Duke of Bourgogne, will be delighted to attend.

 

[Furlanìe]

My wife and I would be honoured to attend to the birthday of King Albrecht to represent the unshakable esteem of my nation's nobility to his majesty. [FONT=&quot]Duke Alfonso [/FONT]P. Berlucci You must be registered for see links

 

[Saaremaa]

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[/URL]
Kadriorg Palace
Office of the Isand Kambriulemat

​

On behalf of the Folk and the Kingdom of Saaremaa, the House Tamm wishes to congratulate the King of Eiffelland for his 60th birthday. The Tamm dynasty will be represented by His Majesty, The King of Saaremaa and of the North, Alvar V and his brother, Prince Mihkel, the Count of Vendra. We hope that this event will continue to cement the good relationship between the realms of Saaremaa and Eiffelland.

Signed,
Uku Vesik
Isand Kambriulemat
Lord Chamberlain

 

[Toungoo]

You must be registered for see images 軍機處 GRAND COUNCIL OF THE GREAT SHANG​ OCTOBER 7 1956 CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED His Imperial Majesty is delighted at the invitation to the momentous occasion in celebrating the six decades that His Majesty, King Albrecht III von Dietz-Hadamar, has graced this world with his presence. However, on behalf of the Qiánlóng Emperor, we must express deep regret that His Imperial Majesty is unable to attend the magnanimous festivities arranged by out Eiffellander friends. With respect, a representative of His Imperial Majesty and the Imperial House of Zhu, HIH Prince Changchieh, accompanied by his wife, Jiang Caiyun, and their two children Prince Yongshu and Princess Yongying, shall be in attendance. The Empire of the Great Shang extends it best of wishes upon King Albrecht III and the Kingdom of Eiffelland and prays that the divine light of the heavens continue to shine upon the Kingdom and its people. Kang Yaoqing 康耀清 GRAND SECRETARY​

[MENTION=18]Eiffelland[/MENTION]

 

[Rheinbund]

Due to the fact that it was a stretched country, and because the northernmost province mainly consisted of high mountains, Eiffelland had a large variety in climate. The North had quite harsh winters which started already in the beginning of December and lasted until the end of March, The Long Sea Islands and the Southernmost provinces had hot summers which started in April and ended in October. The three provinces in-between also had a climate in-between. October could still be a pleasant month in Trier, with day temperatures up to 23 degrees Celsius and night temperatures not lower than 13 degrees Celsius.
Today was a typical Octoberday in Trier. The sky was blue with some clouds, and the temperature was a comfortable 20 degrees Celsius. The trees were still green, also the horse chestnuts along the main avenue Unter den Kastanien. The newly renovated Trierer Stadtschloss seemed even more beautiful under the sun. It was situated in the city centre, at the island in the Spree that the Trierers called the Museuminsel because of the many museums on the island. Why they chose Museuminsel instead of Schlossinsel was a mystery; the palace was by far the most prominent building on the island, but apparently the Trierers considered the fact that the island housed many museums (among others the Pergamonmuseum, dedicated to the history of Northern Hymiar, in which an enormous altar and a complete city gate had been rebuilt) more important than the fact that the royal palace took up one-sixth of the island.
The renovation of the palace had lasted more than 10 years, but it was needed. Now the palace was prepared for modern times again. A central heating system had been installed in such a way that people hardly saw it, and the building had been foreseen with a complete telephone system with its own telephone exchange. And this was needed, given the fact that the new function of the city palace was more that of an office building than that of a residence. It would become the work palace of the King, as well as the location for receptions and balls of the Royal Family, the Government and Parliament between October and March. Also conferences and exhibitions would be held here.

But now the Palace had been prepared for the 60th birthday of the King. Everything had been put in place. Flourists all over the province of Niedereiffel had been working hard to make an innumerous amount of flower arrangements. The chamber orchestra of the Trierer Philharmoniker had been arranged for live music during both the reception and the ball. The best cooks were preparing an eight-course dinner. The best wines available were served. Also champaign, whisky from Saarema and whiskey from Ivernia were served. There was also an enormous amount of delicious fruit juices and non-alcoholic cocktails available for the teetotalers and people who wanted to take something non-alcoholic in-between the wine. And of course Eiffelland would not have been Eiffelland if there would not have been half a platoon of bariste, responsible for preparing the best coffees possible.

 

[Gouw Marken]

It is known Gouw Marken nobility has not the traveling spirit. It is known the Prince-Bishop is not leaving the country. Something that has changed this last year. He visited Eiffelland and Kadikistan. He visited north and south, water and fire, Lenovism and Kapitalism. And although Trier is a close friend of Markstad, it still is a difficult exercise to balance between Eiffelland and Kadikistan. It would be putting forward the danger of meeting the Justinians, and maybe the delegation of Bourgogne.
History brings tradition, and with tradition the very shields that will protect Quintus II from all those unwelcome invitations. No, a Prince-Bishop cannot attend a birthday-party.
He had send a nice letter to the Royals of Eiffelland, congratulating the King, blessing the family, praising the country and above all, expressing the friendship between both nations. That will do. It looked nice, it was nice and it was above all filled with tradition, nobility and protocol.
The Gouw Marken representatives were nevertheless all exept one very old nibility: Most Reverended Lord Jacob Van der Tricht de Willersmark, personal secretary of the Prince-Bishop; Speaker of the County Representatives: Earl Contantin de Larum de Schietere, Lord of Zevenbruggen; Secret Advisor of the Prince-Bishop: Baron Maximiliaan 't Servaes de Zuydcoote, Lord of Zuidkust; and the only one not of aristocratic origine: Primus of the Abbey Clergy Rvd Ursmarus Bladt, abbot of Buytenburgen.

 

[Pelasgia]

The Imperial couple had longed to meet the Eiffellander Royals, not in the least bit due to the relations of the extended family of the Empress with upper Eiffellander nobility. While leaving their baby son, even in a nearby hotel, alone for the night was somewhat straining to both parents, a night without caring for a newborn was admittedly a welcome change of pace for the Emperor and the Empress. Trier, the Kingdom's capital, was a rather beautiful city; it wasn't Imperially massive and majestic like Propontis, a city whose population was equal to or greater than that of small countries, and it was exactly that atmosphere of a city which wasn't too small but not too big either, and very well maintained, which earned it the sympathy of the Imperials, mainly the Empress. The Emperor, like any proper member of his family, had a special place in his heart for large streets, which the Eiffellander Kings of old had all but provided for their military parades, while the Empress, a true Palaiologina, was more inclined to appreciate the architectural beauty of the historic city centre of Trier.

With the car which was tasked with transferring them to Trierer Stadtschloss coming to a stop, Emperor Attalos Laskaris-Palaiologos and Empress Maria-Eirene Palaiologina-Rhaoulina, walked out, the Emperor walking out first to hold his wife's hand, while a valet held the door of the car open. While the Emperor dressed in military attire for most public occasions in Pelasgia, he had put on full evening dress, also known as white tie, along with his wife, restricting any military references to the regal order of chivalry medals and other distinctive accessories of orders of merit, which monarchs were obliged to put on during such ceremonies. The Empress invariably dressed in a gown in such occasions, so she was much more comfortable. Walking into the Schloss, the couple prepared to greet their hosts and to wish a happy birthday to the Eiffellander Sovereign.

 

[Aegada]

OOC- is it to late to join?

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

Grand Duke Maximilien's ink blue private jet landed smoothly in Trier. The small jet could only hold a handful of people but private, "business" jets were still relatively rare. The Grand Duke had dressed in a dark gray uniform. The pants matched the jacket with small silver shoulder boards, which had been hung up to preserve it from wrinkles. Maximilien had sat in a simple dress shirt on the tarmac, conducting three different meetings from within the aircraft before departing. He had intentionally requested only a small security detail and the two car procession left the airport at a rather underwhelming speed. Now fully dressed, the Grand Duke shared a car with the Burgundian ambassador to Trier. The two talked during the ride, the Grand Duke wearing his reading spectacles to review papers while he talked to the ambassador. There was no Grand Duchess in the car. A lifelong bachelor, rumors had swirled. He quietly had a few mistresses in his youth but since had lost interest. His mistress was the Duchy. Despite his position he was not looking forward to this party. While he and Albrecht were nearly friends, it was going to be a diplomatic marathon only interrupted by alcohol. He hoped to avoid any talk of the throne of [MENTION=635]Serenierre[/MENTION], to which he was the rightful heir. A unification of the two nations under one crown would revive the Holy Frankish Empire; once again to be seated in Chagny. Granted, there had only been two Emperors but there had been quiet pressure and encouragement for Maximilien to take both the throne of Serenierre and to return to the position of his ancestors as Holy Frankish Emperor. Maximilien shuttered at the thought of some inept royal or noble bringing either topic up.

The Grand Duke sighed deeply as the cars approached the palace. He held out his hand and the ambassador produced a flask. Very unceremoniously, Maximilien downed the whisky inside.

 

[Serenierre]

Having forsaken the homeland in the days of the Revolution, the remnants of the former royal family of Villesen had settled in various capitals of the remaining kingdoms scattered across Gallia and Germania. The majority had opted to merge, as much as possible, with the Burgundian aristocracy but a few had chosen, instead, to settle down in the Eiffellander capital. While the fortunes of the branch which had settled in Bourgogne had fused with the Chagny aristocratic elite, the Trier branch had grown rich through its involvement in the financial markets of the Eiffellander markets. Two very different routes for the two branches - and this led to very different attitudes with regards to how they viewed the ultimate quest of restoring the Kingdom.

HRH The Grand Duchess of Ville-de-Aux - Helene to her friends and many paramours - was the de-facto head of the moneyed Trier branch of the Maison de Villesen. An attractive woman with sharp features and a sultry allure that was quite unique to her, she lit a cigarette as she scanned the room from her seat. To her left, sat a much younger man, very attractive and, more importantly, very dumb. Just as she liked them. Her latest catch. Her eyes landed on the Burgundian Grand Duke. She smiled a very faint smile. More a smirk than anything else. Ever since the branch settled in Chagny had started agitating for a re-united Francophone Empire under Maximillien, there had been some disquiet in Trier in the drawing rooms of the many relatives and associates of the fifty six year old Duchess.

"Your Grace," she called out, when the Burgundian ruler was close enough, she extended her hand forward to greet him, "What a pleasure it is to meet you once again. Won't you give me some company?" She gave a look to her young lover, who took the hint and was quick to retreat from the scene.

In the distance, HRH The Duke of Rousette - a member of the branch settled in Chagny, and a close friend of the Burgundian ruler - saw the encounter with some concern. He did not want to interact with his cousin, a woman he found far too domineering and modern in her sensibilities for his rather more traditional tastes. It was not a hidden matter that the Duke, despite belonging to a higher ranking branch of the royal family, had not been lucky in the days after the revolution. So, he knew his place and stayed his distance. He would greet his richer cousin later on, perhaps when the Grand Duke needed to be rescued from her clutches.

 

[Furlanìe]

It was no secret that the justinian nobility was immersed in very dark times, the obtaining of the island's independence was initially a jubilant reason both for ordinary citizens and for the noblemen, but the subsequent birth of the republic, with no concession of power to the noble class had destroyed their hopes for the future.


Some survived undertaking the judicial career, for the ducal Berlucci family, large landowner in the Bastione peninsula, the crisis had been muffled by sufficient revenues in rents and agriculture, the same castle overlooking the city of RoccaBerlucci was evidently theirs, although they had lost the authority over it they still received a substantial and continuous income.


Duke Alfonso Persîl Berlucci did not wear very fine clothes, but their sum expressed an austere and respectful elegance; as usual jacket and pants were of that olive green used on the island of Justiza and on the head had a strange headdress of green tissue that resembled a military helmet that jutted forward forming a small visor, on the right side it protruded a long feather, coming from the tail of an unlucky pheasant; leaned on his left arm there was the white gloved hand of his wife, the Duchess Brigîlia Berlucci-Fersêni, her clothes of contrasting pure white and cream were elegant but appropriate to her maturity.


Arrived close to the other guests they watched the scene displayed by the Grand Duchess of Ville-de-Aux, the Berlucci didn't know anyone personally and so, moved from the classic justinian tactics, made sure to take this opportunity; Birgîlia slowly turned his head towards her husband and with an amused smile and a[FONT=&amp] lively [/FONT]look spared the use of words, after receiving the complicit approval of Alfonso she left his arm and headed to the poor man, who stood alone on the sidelines, to snatch some information that could be useful during the party and possibly find an ally.

 

[Rheinbund]

“Seine Kaiserliche Majestät Attalos Laskaris-Palaiologos, Kaiser von Pelasgia. Ihre Kaiserliche Majestät Maria-Eirene Palaiologina-Rhaoulina, Kaiserin von Pelasgia. Seine Großherzogliche Hoheit Maximilien de Dreux, Großherzog von Burgundien. Seine Hoheit Herzog Jacob van der Tricht de Willersmark. Ihre Großherzogliche Hoheit Hélène de Ville de Aux. Seine Hoheit Herzog Alfonso Persîl Berlucci.”

The lackey who had to announce all the guests had much to do. Many guests arrived, both from Eiffelland itself and from abroad. As personal friends of the Royal Family, also the Rathenau family had been invited. Walther Rathenau was the King’s best friend, and his son Werner Rathenau was a very good friend of Crown-Prince Friedrich.
The Eiffellandian Royal Family was more tied with the academic world than with the military, but it had not broken with the tradition to wear military gala uniforms. Rumours went that Crown-Prince Friedrich would want to do so when he would accede to the throne, but those rumours were never confirmed. The Eiffellandian Royal Family was progressive in many things, but still traditional in terms of protocol, and clothing was part of protocol. It was also tradition to wear the gala-uniforms of the Navy. The only exception to that rule was Prince Johann, the second son of the King. He was a major in the Air Force, so he wore the gala-uniform of that rank. Crown-Prince Friedrich wore the gala-uniform of a Commodore, Prince Wolfgang (the third son of the King) that of a Commander, and the princes Franz (the fourth son) and Ludwig (the fifth son) those of Lieutenants. The King wore the gala-uniform of a Fleet Admiral.
Of course Queen Marinka, Crown-Princess Laura and Prince Wolfgang’s wife Princess Antonia were welcoming the guests as well. They wore long light-coloured dresses, and of course fitting jewels. Prince Johann was unmarried; he said about that: “I love all the women in the world, so I can’t choose.” And that could be true; he was known to be a womanizer. The Princes Franz and Ludwig were unmarried as well, but that was due to their ages, and in the case of Ludwig due to his desires. The children of Crown-Prince Friedrich and Crown-Princess Laura were not present at the party. They were cared for by lackeys in Schloss Charlottenbrug.

The King could not avoid inviting the Duke of Stolzenau, although he would have wanted to. But nobody noticed that there was a certain animosity between the Royal Family and the Stolzenaus. Eiffellandian nobles, especially the Royal Family, were very good in hiding negative feelings.

OOC- is it to late to join?

OOC: @

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, not at all. Feel free to join

 

[Holy Frankish Empire]

The Grand Duke Grasped her hand and bowed gracefully. "Madam" he said, his face betraying none of his feelings. He had no ill will towards the Grand Duchess though Serenierre was not his favorite topic at the moment and he found her often to be insufferable. He did not understand the rivalry between the two branches and was genuinely disinterested. In the past, he had been pushed to join in squabbles between the two, always opting to decline. Maximilien also suspected that she had far different views on the future of Serenierre than he held. "It would be a pleasure to share company" he said. "I trust you are well?" he asked. Not waiting for a response, the Grand Duke eyed his counterpart's company who had shuffled off to the sidelines. "Still like them young I see" he said with an eyebrow raised. "Under the republic, that was outlawed you know" he commented quietly. Maximilien had liberalized and modernized the archaic traditional laws of the republic. "He looks hardly old enough to shave" he said softly.

 

[Aegada]

When King Aeolus Kappus (48 years old) received news of the celebration of His Majesty King Albrecht III's 60th birthday he was delighted to be able to travel outside his country and visit nobles from across the world. Being able to see old friends, and make new ones he made preparations immediately for that weekend. Making sure his personal jet was packed and informed his wife Queen Delphine Kappus (46 years old) and his son Prince Proteus Kappus (16 years old) of the invitation. As they landed at Trier, the capital of Eiffelland, and then quickly transferred over to their vehicle that will transport them to Trierer Stadtschloss. They watched as the beautiful, old, city passed by while on their way.

As their motorcade came to a stop in front of Trierer Stadtschloss, the valet opened the car door as the King exited and walked over to hold hands with his beloved wife. His son then exited last walked to the left of the couple, glancing around slowly taking it all. The way things were arranged, the way things were spelt, how others greeted one another. He was nervous as he has made very few public appearances, what else would a sixteen year old feel. He is still learning how to become an adult, but with the added weight of being of noble descent made things strenuous. Not to mention that the King is looking for a suitable bride for his son, something Proteus is not looking forward to but become betrothed. Only to please his father, and who knows maybe he might actually take a fancy to some of the young noblewomen at the festivities.

 

[Rheinbund]

King Albrecht was very well aware of the difficult situation the Grand-Duke of Bourgogne was in. And so was his family. The fact that one of the major players in the drama around the Throne of Serenierre was living in Eiffelland implied that the Government of Eiffelland also had a role in this drama. That was unavoidable. But Albrecht categorically refused to voice an opinion in this matter. He knew that the Grand-Duke wanted to move carefully in this matter, so it was needed for Eiffelland to move carefully in this matter as well. Mainly because of the close ties between Eiffelland and Bourgogne, but also because of the close relations between King Albrecht and Grand-Duke Maximilien. So in this matter, Eiffelland would say what Bourgogne would say.

“Seine kaiserliche Majestät Tsar Bronislav Buganov von Schwarzhafen, Tsar von Kadikistan, Prinz von Salzburg, Graf von Klink, Graf von Zagraya und Tsjevernenka, Freiherr von Traljevo, Olrusk und Milorvic, Schutzherr der ewigen Stadt Ivar.”

That was the brother of Queen Marinka. The relations between Kadikistan and Eiffelland were not very good. The most important reason was quite obvious, but the fact that the Queen of Eiffelland was a daughter of the murdered last ruling Czar of Kadikistan and a sister of the current non-ruling Czar of Kadikistan could be a reason as well. King Albrecht and Queen Marinka heartily greeted Marinka’s brother.

All members of the Royal Family mingled with the crowd, talking to these person, then talking to other persons. The 23 year old Prince Ludwig, who was very talented in languages, quickly discovered the similarities between German and the language of Gouw-Marken. At a certain moment, he decided to walk to the young Prince Proteus of Aegada. He was fluent in Katharevousa (which until this summer used to be the most important language of Pelasgia) and could also speak Demotic (which was the language of the common people in Pelasgia and recently became the official first language of Pelasgia) quite well. Then talking to someone from Aegada shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Aegada]

Prince Proteus bowed then greeted Prince Ludwig in his native tongue of Katharevousa (currently the official language of Aegada,) "Hello I am Prince Proteus of Aegada, who might you be?" He was clearly nervous, but not surprised he was approached by someone. This is a party after all. He had wandered off from his parents and kind of isolated himself from the adults, he knew this wasn't his kind of thing. He would much rather be out being a teenager, but he's stuck playing adult for the time being.


Meanwhile King Aeolus and Queen Delphine decided to look for familiar faces and guided through the party to find Emperor Attalos Laskaris-Palaiologos and Empress Maria-Eirene Palaiologina-Rhaoulina. He bowed and greeted him in Demotic, "A pleasure to see some family around here, how has it been in Pelasgia?" Emperor Attalos and King Aeolus are distant cousins, but their forefathers have kept close touch since the coup that put the Palaiologos Family in control of Pelasgia in 1261 AD. With the King of Aegada at that time, King Ignatius Kappus, being betrothed to a daughter of the newly crowned emperor for assisting in the coup.

 

[Great Engellex]

Two black Rolls-Royce Phantom IV’s, belonging to the Embassy of the Engellexian Republic in Trier, smoothly rolled through the external front court of the Trierer Stadtschloss, and turned off to the right as to allow their passengers to exit at the formal entrance for the Eiffellander King’s birthday celebration. The security attachment stepped out first and swiftly opened the inner facing door, allowing Lady Caroline Carteret the Duchess of Nonsuch to have her graceful departure from the vehicle; the driver quickly opened the outside facing door for Lord William Carteret the Duke of Nonsuch. Cici, spoke the Duke of Nonsuch affectionately as he took his wife’s arm. They were both of the elderly demographic, with Lord William Carteret approaching seventy, and his wife sixty-five, but their ages proved no obstacles to their social and political profiles; the Duke of Nonsuch was a prominent member of the Engellexian Parliament Senate, and provided leadership to the conservative-leaning members of that assembly. Due to the unique disposition of the Republic, with a great many rules and restrictions that some nations take for political snubbing by those in power at the day, it is not permitted for the Secretary of State of the Chancellery, that is the Lady Chancellor, to attend such a Monarchist gathering, no matter how potentially significant its diplomatic aspects could be; in fact, it is not permitted for any member of the Council of State or the Council of the Republic to attend a Monarchist event, they would be forfeiting their official position as a member of the government if they did. Rather, the Engellexian Parliament appointed a dignitary, through the Foreign Departments Committee, to convey a well regard and ensure that relations are not reduced by the etiquette of the Republic. On this occasion the Duke of Nonsuch was appointed, but, curiously, his appointed was not to be alone; no, the Engellexian Parliament made a joint appointment, with Count Vasili Andreyevich Vyazmitinov selected as a junior dignitary to the seniority of the Duke of Nonsuch. Count Vasili was in the second car behind with his wife.

Oh my, there are so many monarchists here, it is as though the revolutionaries have not ever existed, remarked the Countess Helena Louisa Vyazmitinova softly to the Engell Delegation. Count Vasili laughed quietly to his wife, it won’t last, Kadikistan will not be able to resist the temptation to invade these bastions of monarchy. The Duchess of Nonsuch, who with her husband were before the Count and Countess, paused to object out of sympathy than ideology, no, do not say such a thing Count. The Count bowed his head, apologies, Duchess. The Duke of Nonsuch slowed his step as they approached the grand reception where should no doubt find the presence of his Majesty the King of Eiffelland.

Despite the Engellexian Republic having removed their monarchy five-hundred years ago, the aristocracy never abandoned their insatiable appetite for everything courtly, to the point that many people not acquainted with the Republic may find curiously different. As per political and social ranking, the Duke and Duchess of Nonsuch were ahead of the four person societal delegation. Lord William Carteret, even for a man of sixty-nine, carried the rigid grandeur expected by a Court with an exemplary talent; his attire was of a crimson double-breasted military tail-jacket with turned-back cuffs, both of which was decorated with metallic-thread embroidery of stylized leaves, and accompanying this was a matching high collar of black fur; across his jacket he wore a rich blue sash, two diamond encrusted badges of chivalry and various military medals belonging to the First Republic Army pinned to his breast. Lady Caroline Carteret sported a ball gown of sapphire blue silk velvet and silk satin, with a matching shrug, and long silk gloves. The Duchess of Nonsuch’s choice was Dulwich elegance that did not seek to compete with royalty but excelled in a class of its own; naturally, however, as a Duchess in a foreign Court, Lady Caroline Carteret demonstrated the wealth of her position and family, wearing her diamond festoon tiara, and diamonds dripping wherever she could. It was a dazzling display. The Count and Countess followed similar fashions, with styles of jewellery and embroidery of the culture and Court of the former Kingdomf of Kadikistan.

His Grace, Lord William Carteret, Duke of Nonsuch; and her Grace, Lady Caroline Carteret, Duchess of Nonsuch, announced the Court functionary earlier in German, as the guests were presented to the King; this was followed by, Count Vasili Andreyevich Vyzamitinov, and Countess Helena Louisa Vyzamitinova, relics of the former Kadiki kingdom.

The earlier announcements gave way for the King of Eiffelland to make his way around, greeting and mingling. The Duke and Duchess of Nonsuch remained as they were, awaiting for the monarch to grace them with his presence, as one does not simply approach the King. Who is that elder lady speaking to the Grand Duke of Burgundy? Queried the Countess rather openly to the immediate company of the four Engells. Her Royal Highness, the Grand Duchess of Ville-de-Aux, spoke Lord William Carteret rather abruptly. No doubt casting her own designs on how to restore the former Serenierre, he continued. Would it not be a blessing to the Republic to have Serenierre restored? The Countess followed rather absently, evident to all that the thirty year old Lady Helena Louisa Vyzamitinova did not consume, or even so much as observe, politics. Yes, undoubtedly so. But under the leadership of the Grand Duke in Chagny. These royals of Villesen can stay where they are, and be foolish together, responded the Duke dismissively.

 

[Rheinbund]

More in general, languages were not really a problem in Eiffelland. Despite the fact that German was quite an important language in Europe, the schools taught French and English, as well as Katharevousa and Demotic as a combined subject. Furthermore, the schools in the North also taught the first language of Lovisa, and the schools in the other parts of Eiffelland the first language of Ruthenia-Galicia. More languages were offered as choice subjects.

Languages was also an important part of the upbringing of the Royal Princes; as a result, both the King and the Princes knew their languages quite to very well. That was something that paid off at events such as these. Prince Ludwig had a special interest in languages; therefore, he had also learned Tiburan, so that he would also be able to talk in the mother tongue of Justinians.

The King had always wondered about the Engellexian society. Proud as the country was about its republicanism, nothing was more important than being a noble. On top of that, the Engellexian nobles behaved like royals, sometimes even more than an average member of the royal houses in Europe, but were as disdainful about the royal houses as the Kadikistani. At least that was how the King percepted it. Sometimes he thought that at least the Engellexian nobles missed a royal house a bit; why else would they behave in such a royal way?
“Good evening, Your Graces, welcome here,” he heartily greeted the Engellexians. He was in a good mood

Ludwig was a bit amused about Prince Proteus’s nervousness. But he completely understood it. He remembered well enough how he felt when he attended such an event as a teenager. Luckily young people like Proteus stil had a bit of what was called “Jugendfreiheit” in German; indeed, they had to behave like adults at a party like this one, but they were not expected to know everything already, and were allowed to make a few mistakes as part of the learning process.
“Welcome here, Your Grace. I am Prince Ludwig of Eiffelland,” Ludwig said. He realised that Proteus would feel a bit lonely here. He was not the only teenager at the party, but the other teenagers were mainly children of Eiffellandian nobles who already knew each other. They would accept Proteus in their circle without any problems, but maybe a kind of introduction would help.