Monarchy of the Commonwealth

Heir apparent

he **monarchy of the Commonwealth** is the semi-constitutional monarchy of Terreli. The monarch's title is "Re" (male) or "Reine" (female). The current monarch and head of state is Re Adrién II who ascended the throne on the death of his grandmother, Reine Isabella, on May 13, 2016.

The Terreli monarchy traces its origins to the native clans of the Kiswali people that came together to form the kingdoms of Likuta, Kimanchi, and Simbachi by the 14th century. In 1532 Lord Fabian Lebeau, a lowly noble from Franconia, led an expedition that landed in Kiswala, as the island was then known. Lebeau conquered the Simbachi and Kimanchi kingdoms and established the Kingdom of Terre Lys.

In 1658 the Terre Lys province of Genovia seceded as the Principality of Genovia, after a long and bloody war. A successful coup by Armel D'Aramitz led to the establishment of the Terre Lys Republic, which encompassed the entire island of Kiswala and the northern island of Mezanti after much conquest. In 1827 the monarchy was reestablished as the Commonwealth, using the Bernician spelling, encompassing the entirety of the Kiswala island. A 1952 rebellion led to Genovia becoming an autonomous province.

## Roles

The Monarch of Terreli is the Head of State and wields a significant amount of power in the Terreli government, in contrast to many of their foreign counterparts. In addition to their government role the monarch also performs various ceremonial roles.

**Executive Powers** - The monarch holds a vast amount of executive powers as the head of state. They hold the power of royal assent which grants them the ability to accept or veto bills from Parliament; though all bills passed by at least a 2/3 can not be vetoed. This allows the monarch to have a very significant sway in Parliament without directly interfering with the legislative process. The monarch is also responsible for royal appointments of the Council of Ministers, with the advice and consent of the Premier. It is common practice for the Premier to submit a list of nominees to the monarch at the start of their term to receive approval. The monarch also has the power to appoint a new Premier if the position should becomes vacant. In addition to these powers the monarch is the Supreme Commander of the Terreli Defense Forces.

**Legislative Powers** - While the monarch is constitutionally barred from interfering with the legislative process before a bill reaches their desk they do have significant legislative power. Chief among them are Acts of the Crown, or Crown Laws, which are executive orders from the monarch which are constitutionally considered laws of the commonwealth. However there are restrictions to these acts; Crown Laws may not directly contradict the constitution or any Act of Parliament, however an Act of Parliament that passes with at least a 2/3 majority may overturn a Crown Law. Additional legislative powers of the monarch include the abilities to suspend congress, this would temporarily dismiss the Parliament for no longer than 90 days and is reserved for times of crisis; and recall Councillors, though this by a request of the Councillors party leader and a petition from their constituents.

**Judicial Powers** - The monarch holds all Judicial power and their is no higher judiciary than the crown; this power however is delegated to the Provincial and Municipal courts of Terreli. The crown has not heard a court case since 2008. The monarch can overturn rulings of any court upon a petition from one of the involved parties; they may also issue pardons or commutations to those who are convicted.

**Religious Powers** - The monarch served as the Chief Apostle of the Church of Terrelis from the churches founding in 1533 up until 1976 when a constitutional amendment was enacted to remove the constitutional ties between the church and the government. The title if Chief Apostle now lies with the Bishop of Terrelis.

## Succession

*Main Article: Line of Succession*

Succession to the Terreli throne is open to all christian descendants of Reine Isabella, who have not accepted the crown of a foreign nation or married a member of a foreign government, as per the *Succesion Act of 1953*. Prior to this act only-male line descendants of Re Adrién who were members of the Church of Terrelis were permitted to ascend to the throne. Changes to the laws of succession were changed for two major reasons: to disassociate the crown from the Church of Terrelis and to eliminate the possibility of any foreigners becoming the monarch. The latter was a major concern due to the marriage of Re Adriéns children to foreign royals.

## Finances

The Crown Tax, a 10% property tax, is the official source of revenue for the monarch. This money is used at the monarchs discretion and is available only to them, their consort, and their children. Parliament also allocates budget funds to the Office of Financial Management which is used for official purposes such as; royal residence maintenance, state visits, travel, staffing, etc.

The Crown Estate, which consist of all royal residences, the crown jewels, and all other private property owned by the monarch is another source of income for the royal family.

The monarch, as well as all Princes/Princesses de la Terreli, are exempt from income taxes.

## Residences

*Main Article: Royal Residences*

There are two types of official residences in Terreli; royal residences and state residences. State residences are those which are owned by the government and used for various official purposes; royal residences are owned by the monarch and only for their personal use. There are 16 royal residences throughout the nation.

## Style

The official titles and style of the current monarch is *Sa Majesté Royale Adrién Carmelo, Par la Grâce de Dieu, Re de l'Terreli, Défenseure du Comunesé* (His Royal Majesty Adrién Carmelo, By the Grace of God, King of the Terreli, Defender of the Commonwealth). While Bernician is the official language of the government, the Franconian version of the onarchs title was used in the constitution; and all nobility continue to use the Franconian titles.

The monarch chooses their own regnal name, though the name chosen must be chosen from their first or middle names. To date, no monarch has chosen anything other than their first name. In order for an ordinal to be used there must be a previous monarch who used the same name.