New Crown Dependency annexed in North America

The Governing Commissioner’s residence in the newly annexed Crown Dependency of Dekker.

The Empire has once more expanded, with the Crown Dependency of Dekker joining Austenasia.

Dekker has a population of six and is bordered by the American state of Texas. It was annexed earlier today after a request was last week received from its residents to join the Empire.

Dekker is comprised of two nearby but non-contiguous pieces of territory, one of which consists of a residential property and its grounds, and the other of which contains a small wooded area and the remains of an old natural gas well.

The two pieces of land together measure just over 158,000 square feet, or 3.6 acres.

As a Crown Dependency, Dekker is to be administered autonomously by a residing Governing Commissioner. Mr. Patrick-Dylan Knox has been appointed to the position.

Lord John Gordon visits Carshalton

Lord John Gordon in Wrythe Public Park.

Lord John Gordon, Baron of Palasia, today visited Wrythe after being given a guided tour of the surrounding British town of Carshalton.

Lord John arrived at Morden tube station, where he was welcomed by Emperor Jonathan I and Countess Eritoshi Augusta.

They got a bus to Carshalton High Street, from where Lord John was given a guided tour of the nearby nation of Orly. From there, the tour continued, going past the former site of Rushymia and the Midget Empire before arriving at Wrythe.

Lord John there met Emperor Father Terry and imperial pet bullmastiff Edd. The Emperor, Emperor Father, Augusta, and Baron of Palasia then went out for lunch before driving back to Morden for Lord John to depart.

As well as being Baron of Palasia, Lord John Gordon is also its Representative, having been elected in the November 2013 elections. He served as Home Secretary between November 2013 and May 2014.

Austenasia-Ladonia treaty signed at Heathrow meeting

Emperor Jonathan I and Queen Carolyn I with the Treaty of Heathrow.

The Empire has signed a treaty of mutual recognition with the Royal Republic of Ladonia.

Emperor Jonathan I met yesterday evening with Queen Carolyn I of Ladonia and her daughter Crown Princess Greta at Heathrow Airport in the UK.

The Ladonian royals were returning to their home in the USA after having visited Ladonia, which is bordered by Sweden. With several hours until their next flight, they invited the Emperor to meet them at the airport.

Austenasia recognised Ladonia in February 2013, but due to a busy bureaucracy the Ladonian government never replied to a request for diplomacy. The Emperor and Queen used the meeting as an opportunity to sign an impromptu treaty of mutual recognition.

Ladonia is uninhabited, despite having over 17,000 citizens worldwide, and is comprised of a Scandinavian beach that was declared independent from Sweden in 1996 after the local council demanded large sculptures which had been built there to be demolished.

Bradley of Dullahan appointed Pontifex Maximus

Bradley, Duke of Dullahan in 2012.

Duke Bradley of Dullahan, the Prime Minister of Wyvern, was yesterday appointed Pontifex Maximus after Lord Admiral Joseph Kennedy resigned from the position.

The Pontifex Maximus is appointed by the Emperor to serve as a sort of “philosopher/theologian-laureate” for Austenasia. Lord Admiral Joseph transitioned the position into its current form in January, and on 1 July resigned in order to allow the appointment of a successor more suited to the new duties of the office.

Emperor Jonathan I has appointed Bradley, Duke of Dullahan, as the Lord Admiral’s successor as Pontifex Maximus.

Lord Admiral Joseph had held the office of Pontifex Maximus since January 2014 as Pope Alexander IV (the title of “Pope” having been retained from the position’s days as a Wilcslandian institution).

In what is sure to look odd on lists and timelines, Duke Bradley has succeeded him as Pope Alexander III, reassuming the name that he held during his previous brief month-long stint in the office in early 2013, when it was a mere ceremonial title bestowed by the King of Wilcsland.

The Duke of Dullahan has been known in the past for making controversial statements about Islam, and, although an atheist, has described himself as “culturally Calvinist” and contributed to several theological debates from a pro-Calvinist perspective. Whatever he writes as Pontifex Maximus is likely to raise much discussion.