Mabon's Miscellany

A History of Pellaras: The Monarchy and Ministry

by Aldwin Urquart

We have spoken of the founding of Pellaras as a functioning state, and given a brief overview of the actions of the first Acting Minister that led to the formation of Pellaras. However, one will note that the state of Pellaras as it was is not the state of Pellaras as it currently is. In the year 1712 the Minister, the third elected Minister of Pellaras' history, would alter the course of the nation's history drastically. Hardwin Smith, the Minister of the time, was vocal in the belief that the public could not be trusted to elect a proper representative, a humorous belief, as it was the same process he opposed that lent him the power he needed for his goals. Minister Smith was an advocate for monarchic rule, believing that only one chosen by God should rule the nation. As such, Minister Smith, with no oversight, altered Pellaras from being a representative democracy and turned it into a principality, known officially as The Holy Principality of Pellaras. As a principality, Pellaras would require a Prince as a ruler, who Minister Smith would appoint himself, appointing Archibald Selwyn as Prince. Speculation and theorization on Smith's motivation for Selwyn's appointment remain, with some scholars arguing that Selwyn possessed information that Smith would rather remain private, whereas others are of the belief that the two were participating in an illicit affair. As this work is not focused on Smith or Selwyn, I shall refrain from commenting.

To be precise, The Holy Principality of Pellaras functions as a semi-constitutional monarchy. In plainer language, the Prince or Princess of Pellaras does not have absolute control over all aspects of the ruling of Pellaras but, in essence, co-rules alongside an appointed Minister, appointed at the whim of the current monarch. Such an arrangement is not one of want, but one of necessity, as the Ministries of the Statute of Secrecy's initial signatories serve as branches of the broader structure of the International Confederation of Wizards, with specific Ministries being established for the future signatories. Where the royal court of the principality is concerned, there are five primary roles, outside those of the core family unit.

• The Steward of the royal family takes charge of the household's affairs, along with the financial needs of the royal family. Such affairs and needs may be as simple as the dispensation of royal funds to those that the current monarch wishes to employ, or they may be the maintenance of the palace. The Steward also acts as the representative for the current monarch in the situation where the ruling monarch is indisposed and their spouse does not wish to act as regent, or if the current monarch simply wishes to send someone in their place.
• The royal family's Secretary takes charge of managing correspondence and record keeping of the household, where matters of employment and official correspondence are concerned. Should the monarch require communication with other rulers or governmental structures the royal Secretary would be responsible for drafting the response, as well as formalizing it and then sending it, with oversight from the monarch so as to ensure matters are communicated properly. Record-keeping as the Secretary's purview pertains to the monetary expenditures (thus requiring communication with the Steward) as well as other important matters, such as lines of succession.
• The Knight Marshal oversees all military matters. Notably, within Pellaras, the militarized force is distinct from the Ministry's law enforcement, as the militarized force answers solely to the reigning monarch and the Knight Marshal. The Knight Marshal is also responsible for overseeing the protection of the monarch and their family and securing their residence from possible intrusions.
• There is, of course, a Chaplain assigned to the royal family, serving all roles where a spiritual advisor and priest might be needed.
• Lastly is the Chancellor, a role traditionally involved in legal and administrative matters, more specifically acting in the monarch's stead. For the royal family of Pellaras, however, it is tradition for the monarch to be personally involved in legal matters, so as to ensure all laws passed are to their liking. As such, the Chancellor instead acts as an advisor, there for the monarch to seek guidance, as well as taking charge of general administrative matters between the monarchy and the Ministry.

Given the relative size of The Holy Principality of Pellaras, the sheer amount of landed nobility common in other monarchies, as well as those of other magical nations, is rather unneeded. Instead, there are five primary positions, which are traditionally passed down within the family line (either patrilineally or matrilineally dependent on the current noble's wish) though the monarch has been known to rescind the title from the current holder to bestow it upon another. Those noble ranks are as follows:

• The Duke of Branybryn, the surrounding areas of which are the Duke's duchy.
• The Duke of Afon Alaw, whose territory is the seat itself, with no surrounding land.
• The Earl of Ben Builg, the Earldom of which includes some of the surrounding lands.
• The Marquess of Hogsmeade, the March of which includes the seat and parts of Howe Weald.
• The Viscount of Dowr Lehen, whose territories include the surrounding lands, to a point.

The titles, as listed, have a tendency to correlate to the royal positions as listed, though they can, and have, deviated. As a contemporary example, His Sovereignty, Prince Edmund Selwyn, placed the current Marchioness of Hogsmeade, Alina Parkinson, as Steward. Naturally, the noting of these ranks being the primary noble titles does not preclude the existence of others. While their lands include the seats of each region, smaller villages that scatter the countryside fall in the lands of a select few Barons, with the farmland used to sustain Pellaras (having been expanded by the use of spacial distortion) being their own respective Baronies.

This, however, leaves the Ministry rather uncovered. That would be because the Ministry is rather hard to understand when one approaches it solely as a government. Rather, it would be more accurate to say it is part government, part embassy, part research body. As a means of disambiguating the Ministry, what shall follow will be a selection of the divisions within, along with select groups and responsibilities.

Naturally, the above is, as was stated, a selection of the various segments of the Ministry and, as such, is far from an exhaustive list. Aspects of the sub-divisions and appendant bodies may, perhaps, be confusing to those who are recent entrants to Pellaras. With regard to the appendant divisions of the Office of Enforcement, the simplest means of understanding them is a simple description. The Enforcement Patrol is, as the name might suggest, the lowest ranking of the OoE appendant, responsible for patrolling the nation and enforcing the majority of laws. Above the Enforcement Patrol is the Auror Division, which serves as an investigatory body, much like the detectives of mundane policing, and is responsible for the investigation into cases regarding, and enforcement of such crimes as murder. The last listed appendant division (though far from the last in the whole) is the Hitwizard division, which takes charge of the most serious of crimes, along with possible reinforcement should the Auror Division need greater strength.

The other, primary, aspect that is likely to confuse is the Wizengamot Offices. The House of Elects, to once more utilize a non-magical reference, is similar in function to the British House of Lords and House of Commons. Much like the Houses of the non-magical Parliament, the House of Elects is the governing body through which bills, acts, and other forms of legislation are passed. Much like the House of Commons, each member of the body is elected, with the House of Elects being comprised of two hundred representatives, with one representative representing three hundred constituents, a rather smaller number than the House of Commons, given the population of Pellaras. The Office of Legislation is, put plainly, where legislation is drafted up before being presented to the House of Elects for consideration and eventual voting. The House of Elects is notably different, however, to the majority of the Ministry, as the monarch of the time has the full power to, if they wish, unilaterally turn away a piece of legislation, a power that has been, comparatively, less practiced in the modern day than prior years. Though not listed, the Wizengamot Offices are where the various levels of the court system fall under.

The question now, however, is how the now-established Ministry and monarchy would affect other aspects of Pellaras, such as international diplomacy.