Honours of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia

Empherias, Grensalbourg, and the Hveden Federation
The royal titles are often distinct from those of the nobility even if they maintain the same names. The rules that the current thrones of Grensalbourg, and the Hveden Federation follow are directly inherited from the Monarchy of Empherias. This is because the Hveden royal family, related to the Empheri one, was restored following political strife and thus modelled itself off of Empherias. When the throne of Grensalbourg was established, it was a complete transfer from Empherias. Thus, when the two fused in the personal union, the Hveden model (which had already been very much based on the Empheri system) was abandoned in favour of the Empheri system being used currently for the Grensalbourg throne.

There are no set standards on the giving out of royal titles, and rules can often change depending on the whim of the monarch in power. Note, the use of the word Prince here is gender-neutral, with the male term being Prins, and the female term being Princess. The male words for the rest of the titles will be used because they are shorter, but please note that female versions do exist and are used. The current standard is thus:


 * The eldest child of a reigning monarch is known as the Duke of Wynnoa, as has been tradition going back a millennia for the monarch of Empherias. If the eldest child dies prematurely, the title does not move to another sibling, nor does it move to the eldest child of the eldest child.
 * The heir to the throne is known as the Prince of the Ewynn, a nod to the river on which multiple major cities lie, notably Wynnoa. The heir to the throne is not necessarily an eldest child, although if the position is held simultaneously with the previous title, then both are used with this title going beforehand. The equivalent title in other countries may be the Crown Prince.
 * The second child has historically been given the title of Prince of Esthullen, as the second most influential city in the nation.
 * The second child has also sometimes been given the title of Prince of Norsair, because of the more-recent annexation of the nation into Empherias.
 * The third child has historically been given the title of Prince of Vreimer, as the third most influential city in the nation.
 * The third child has also sometimes been given the title of Prince of Weskynn, because of the more-recent annexation of the nation into Empherias.
 * The fourth child has historically been given the title of Prince of Rommes, as one of the most influential city in the nation.
 * The fourth child has also sometimes been given the title of Prince of Tbekien, because of the more-recent annexation of the nation into Empherias.
 * The fifth child onwards has no standard historical title, but recently has been given the title of Prince of Durbinia, because of the more-recent purchase of Karkuss land into Empherias, known as Empheri Durbinia.
 * Further children are often given non-standardised titles, but referred to as princes still.

However, once titles are given out they cannot be given to another person if they are still alive. Because of this, the eldest children of Abigail I all received the traditional roles, but the children of George IV did not, with many of his brothers and sisters holding the roles still. Usually the titles given to the children of the eldest children of a monarch are totally new and aren't standardised. Sometimes grandchildren and external relatives' titles are managed directly by the monarch, known as 'monarch assessed' whereas sometimes they will automatically follow the 'royal tier inheritance' or 'royal automatic inheritance'.

The automatic line of 'royal tier inheritance' follows that the eldest child would receive the same title as their parent, but with one tier down. For instant, a Prince's child would become a Royal-Duke; a Duke's child would become a Royal-Viscount; a Viscount's child would become a Royal High Baron; and a High Baron's child would become a Royal Baron. Other children of a Prince and Duke would be given generic lordships which follow the protocol of Lord FirstName SurName, the Lord SurName. Other children of a Viscount may be given knighthoods, while other royal titles' children would not be entitled to any title.

The automatic line of 'royal automatic inheritance' follows that all the children of a Prince would be given the royal titles in descending order meaning that the eldest would be a Duke, the second eldest would be a Viscount, etc. And then these titles would be passed down hereditarily afterwards. These royal titles would be given to either the eldest child or the designated person by the parent identically. Usually, if the child and parent has separate names, then they would both be referred to by the same title (eg. FirstName, Duke of Place and his son DifferentName, Duke of Place) but if they had the same given names, then they would become the next numbered title (e.g FirstName, Duke of Place and his son FirstName, The 2nd Duke of Place).

If a title has been given to a Prince, then that title may never be repeated while that person is alive. Only once the title is extinct may it be given again. However, all royal dukes, viscounts, high barons, and barons may be given to multiple people even if they are alive. Furthermore, the titles of Count and Countess, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Earl and Earlen, and Margrave and Margravine are sometimes used exclusively by royals but are often, if used, secondary to higher titles.

By birth right
These honours are often bestowed on the person at their birth, or by inheritance.

Monarchical titles
The various types of monarchical titles vary in the histories of each High Kingdom through spelling, pronunciation, official designation, or rank. In Empherias, the monarch was referred to as either the Rijkse, for a male monarch, or the Rijkdottir, for the female monarch. They are named as such to mean the son or daughter of the realm.

Duke / Duchess
The title of 'Duke' for men or 'Duchess' for women is the highest non-royal birth-right honour. Historically, the dukes held significant power in terms of the people on the land, although nowadays dukes may not even own the land they have in their titles.

Viscount / Viscountess
The title of 'Viscount' for men or 'Viscountess' for women is the second highest non-royal birth-right honour. Historically, sometimes the title of 'Count' and 'Countess' was used interchangeably, but were on the same level of prestige.

High Baron / Baroness
The title of 'High Baron' for men or 'High Baroness' for women, sometimes used without the 'high', is the third highest, and lowest non-royal birth-right honour. It is distinguished from the honorary title of 'Baron' or 'Baroness' as it is given through inheritance and not appointed, and may involve some overlordship over land.

High Royal Marquess / Marquise
The honorary title, 'High Royal Marquess' for men, and the 'High Royal Marquise' for women, is the highest possible honour for any person to achieve through the honours system, though it is still less prestigious than the monarchical titles. It is an incredibly rare title with less than 1,000 people being given the title in history.

Noble royal courtiers
A noble royal courtier is an honorary title given to close advisers and friends of the monarch whom are favoured and given titles for their service. It is often an out of date title, last being given away in 2498. It is sometimes stylised as an acronym as NRC.

Orders of chivalry
The attainment of these awards grant the person the ability to display their ribbon and to use the short-form acronym following their full name as part of their legal name.