Keralian Royal House

The Keralian royal house encompasses the monarch, his children and grandchildren, his siblings, his aunts and uncles, and his cousins, as well as all of their spouses and the males' children. The royal house is not to be confused with the royal family, which just encompasses the King and Queen and their children.

Succession to the throne

Main article: Line of Succession to the Keralian Throne All members of the Royal House are dynasts, meaning they have a legitimate right to succeed to the throne. However, not all persons with succession rights are members of the Royal House. A distant relative may be included in the Royal House at the discretion of the King. When implemented, this inclusion is usually extended to include the person's consort and their first-grade descendants. On very few occasions has someone who lost their dynastic rights been permitted to stay inside the Royal House, the last case being the late Ferdinand I's cousin Countess Lydia van Schuzle (née Princess Lydia of Keralia and Eurenus) in 1894.

Composition

As of July 2015, the Keralian Royal Family is composed by:

• His Majesty Ferdinand II, King of Keralia (age 25), succeeded to the throne after his father Nicholas I's death on 4 July 2015.
• Her Majesty Ekaterina of Lukow, Queen Consort of Keralia (age 24).

Composition of the Royal House:

• Her Majesty Queen Dowager Federica, (age 64, Mother of the King)
• His Royal Highness Prince Amedeo (age 22, brother of the King).
• Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth (age 22, sister of the King)
• His Royal Highness Prince Jacques, Prince Laveau (age 65, uncle of the King)
  • His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Heir Prince Laveau (age 28, cousin of the King)
  • Her Royal Highness Princess Marie, Heir Princess Laveau (age 25, wife of Prince Henry, cousin-in-law of the King)
    • His Highness Count Jacques Laveau (age 2, son of Prince Henry and Princess Marie)
  • Her Royal Highness Princess Helena of Keralia and Bedoria (age 25, daughter of Prince Henry, cousin of the King)
• Her Royal Highness Princess Theodora, Duchess consort of Nabokyoff (age 62, aunt of the King)
• His Imperial and Royal Majesty Alexander I, Emperor of Ferrodwiyin (age 35, second cousin of the King)
• Her Imperial and Royal Majesty Mary of Alexandrovich, Empress consort of Ferrodwiyin (age 35, fourth cousin of the King/second cousin-in-law of the King)
  • His Imperial and Royal Highness Grand Prince Nicholas of Ferrodwiyin, Grand Prince of Gallymnana (age 15, third cousin of the King/son of Emperor Alexander)
  • His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Michael, Duke of Virycova (age 13, third cousin of the King/son of Emperor Alexander)
  • Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Angelique, Duchess of Panatron (age 11, third cousin of the King/ daughter of Emperor Alexander)

Titles in the Royal House

Children and grandchildren of the Sovereign are titled Prince or Princess of Keralia and styled Royal Highness. Great-grandchildren are styled Highness but are titled as the children of nobles. Typically, members of the Royal House are granted individual titles (most often Princedoms) when they marry. In this case, they have the right to use both their title as Prince of Keralia and their individual peerages jointly, and to pass the individual title to their male-line descendants as any noble would.

Civil status

All members of the Royal House at any given moment are registered in the Royal House's Civil Registry, in charge of the Minister of the Royal Court. In this Registry are recorded all births, matrimonies, and deaths.

Judiciary status

The Royal Decree of 3 June 1845 (itself an extension of the Grand Princely Proclamation of 1623) and the Fundamental Laws published in 1846 bestow upon the monarch inviolability and immunity before the law. Members of the Royal House can only be arrested and tried by the Supreme Court of Keralia.

Laws Regarding the Royal House

The Sovereign

The Sovereign is the person who wears the crown on his or her own right in virtue of the Laws of Succession set forward by King Philip VI in 1845 and assumes the position of Head of State and of Government. He or she is titled King or Queen of Keralia and styled Majesty. The Sovereigns' regnal number is determined by the List of Kings of Keralia, itself a continuation of the List of Grand Princes of Keralia. As of 2015 there has only been one female ruler in all of Keralia's history, Queen Mary-Louise, though there have been a number of heiresses presumptive that were ultimately displaced by the birth or legitimisation of a male heir.

• Article 4.1.2 of the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom of Keralia: "His title shall be that of King of Keralia and the title-bearer will have the right to use all historical and additional titles and honours pertaining to the Crown."
• Article 4.2.1: "His Power shall be unlimited and his person inviolable and immune to any repercussions before The Laws herein and further decreed by any of the Sovereigns of this Kingdom of Keralia."

The Sovereign's Consort

• Article 5 of the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom of Keralia: "The Consort of the King shall receive the title of Queen Consort and the style of Majesty."
• Article 5.1.3: "If the Sovereign happens to be a female, Her spouse will be titled Prince Consort, with the style of Royal Highness." (Modifications to the Laws have been implemented and encouraged, thus allowing any future Queen regnant to change this article and bestow upon her consort the title of King Consort and the style of Majesty.)
• Article 5.2: "The Consort will, unless other Regent is appointed, carry the administrative duties pertaining to the Sovereign in case of his absence or before her reigning spouse's successor's coming of age."
• Article 5.3: "The Sovereign's Consort, while she remains so or remains a widow, will receive the titles, styles, and honours described in article 5.1.2 of the present Set of Laws."

The Heir to the Crown

• Article 6.1: "The Keralian throne shall descend to the heirs of H.M. King Philip IV. His Heirs and Successors will be determined by primogeniture, with brothers ranking above all of their sisters."
• 6.2: "The Heir of the Crown will receive the title Crown Prince along with any dignity chosen by the Monarch for him, and will hold the style Royal Highness."
• 6.2.1"The dignity of Crown Prince will be transferred automatically to its bearer in the case of:
  • a) Birth (applied to the first son of a childless Sovereign), or
  • b) Death (applied on the death of the previous titleholder. The title may be passed from brother to brother or father to son.)"

The Sovereign's Other Children

• Article 7: "All children of the Sovereign who are not the Crown Prince will hold the title Prince or Princess of Keralia and the style of Royal Highness. Additionally, the Sovereign can grant additional dignities to his discretion, which will then descend down through the grantee's line normally."

The Sovereign's Grandchildren

• Article 7.1: "All male-line grandchildren of the Sovereign will hold the title pertaining to children of whatever dignity the Sovereign has bestowed upon their father together with a Royal Princely dignity as a compound title (Prince-Count, Prince-Viscount, Prince-Baron, or Prince-Sir), along with the style of Royal Highness."

There is no referral to female-line grandchildren. However, article 2 of the Set of Laws Pertaining to the Royal Family of Keralia remarks that all members of the Royal House must marry people of noble or royal status in order to be considered dynasts, thus resulting in daughters' children having noble titles but no royal status. Failure to compile to this law usually results in forfeiture of the princely title but granting of a lesser title. The last person to be excluded from the Royal House on grounds of 'unsuitable marriage' was the King's cousin by the Prince Laveau, Princess Carmen Laveau, who married media mogul Alexander Koschim, later created first Baron Koschim.