Helinium annexed as new Town

The arms of Helinium

Yesterday saw the small polity of Helinium annexed as a new Austenasian Town.

Helinium, which is bordered by the Netherlands, was a part of New Virginia from November 2020 until July 2021, when it became independent during the attempted coup of that month.

Since then, it has existed as a tiny independent city-state.

The past week saw negotiations for Helinium to join Austenasia, culminating in annexation legislation being proposed to and passed by Parliament on Saturday 14th.

Bradley of Dullahan – the newly elected King of the Romans – has been appointed Acting Representative of Helinium, to serve until a local election is held on 5 June.

The Duke of Dullahan does not live in Helinium, but does live within the requisite twenty five miles from the Town to serve as its Representative. The new Town is home to his sister and her partner.

Holy Roman Empire adopts new Charter

Arms of the Holy Roman Empire

Wednesday 4th May saw the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire vote to supersede the confederation’s 2017 charter with a new version.

This comes as the latest in a series of initiatives meant to revitalize the Empire. The Holy Roman Empire (HRE), a continuation of the same-named polity which existed between the 9th and 19th centuries in central Europe, was recognised by Austenasia in 2016.

In July 2021, Brooklyn Hewitt, who had formerly been Prime Minister in Austenasia, relinquished her claim as heir to the Holy Roman throne and withdrew the membership of the Commonwealth of Havnesgade-Amager and the Confederation of the Emmanuelian States.

Following this, Archduke Bradley van Dullahan of Saxony, who serves as Princeps Senatus in Austenasia, called a vote to elect a new King of the Romans – the title used for the Imperial Heir – and Imperial Chancellor, which is a position analogous to a Prime Minister. On 4 March 2022, after a stagnant period of deliberation, Archduke Bradley and Lord William Wilson – who serves as the current Prime Minister in Austenasia – were elected to the respective positions.

As part of his Chancellorship, Wilson drafted and proposed a new Charter on 25 April. This charter reformed the government bodies of the Empire, most notably separating the College of Electors and Imperial Diet, as well as the formal codification of the Imperial Court as a judicial body.

Holy Roman Emperor Quentin I – whose authority is currently wielded by the van Dullahan Regency – has not yet called a new Diet, but discussion is being held on a date to make the announcement.

The new Charter can be read here, and the entry code to the official HRE Discord server is “xaaV9j7”.

Imperial Geographical Society returns to Woldingham

The Imperial Geographical Society (IGS) has conducted an expedition through woods and farmland south-west of the British town of Woldingham.

The expedition re-traced the route of a previous expedition, held in 2014.

The expedition was planned and led by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, who was joined by twelve other people, including the Imperial Family, Princess Hannah, Lady Boxall (the former Dame Rosalind), and the former residents of Zephyria.

Although Princess Hannah has been on two IGS expeditions in the past, this was the first time that she had joined one of the larger May excursions. It was also the first time that the former Lord Marshal William had joined an IGS expedition since the very first, in 2009.

Re-tracing the steps of the 2014 expedition, the participants were able to compare aspects of the route to their encounter eight years ago; for example, a well-known viewpoint was partially obscured by new tree growth, and various landmarks noted along the way in 2014 were no longer there this time round.

The IGS, since 2009, has customarily launched an annual expedition at the start of May exploring an area of countryside in Surrey.

Due to restrictions on gatherings in the United Kingdom implemented as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the annual May expedition could not go ahead as usual in 2020 and 2021 (although May 2020 did see an IGS expedition in North America).

However, with all legal restrictions in the UK now lifted, the annual expedition was able to be resumed. With thirteen participants in this expedition, it was larger than the original 2014 one, which had ten.

After the expedition, Emperor Jonathan I and his parents joined Princess Hannah and John of Zephyria for refreshments in a garden centre café on the way back to Carshalton.

A video of today’s expedition will be uploaded shortly.