Honours of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia

Royalty

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 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
• The third child
• The fourth child
• The fourth child
• The fifth child
• The fifth child
• 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. However,

Nobility

By birth right

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

Monarchical titles

Main article: Monarchy of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia

See also: Rijkse and Rijkdottir

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.

By honour

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.