Trope-a-Day: Royals Who Actually Do Something

Alistair Young

Mar 2, 2015 — 1 min read

Royals Who Actually Do Something: Played straight with the Imperial Couple, who are indeed heads of government as well of heads of state, personally oversee the executive branch, chair the Council of the Star (the senior of the two Cabinet-equivalents; analogous if you will to the board of directors vis-a-vis the executive committee), and this being One Nation Under Copyright, chairman-and-CEO it up in all other necessary ways.

(Of course, being what we might call a constitutional monarchy, or dyarchy rather – had that term not been hijacked to mean “figurehead monarchy” these days, and their crowns are assuredly no figurehats – the Imperial Charter does rather circumscribe their power, and despite presiding over hundreds of worlds and a sphere of influence thousands of light-years across, Her Divine Majesty Linariel IV Andracanth Falranna, by Right of Coronargyr and Chartered Mandate Empress of the Eldrae, Chief Executive Officer of the Imperium Incorporate, First of the Free, Defender of the Star’s Flame, Heart of the Realm, Sovereign Lady of the Heights and Depths, Dyarch of the Infinite, etc., etc., have arguably and qualitatively rather less in the way of formal powers than, say, the American President or British Prime Minister, and must rely on their personal influence and respect to get their will done outside that.)

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