Royal Families

{AS}

There’s no set of humans more notable than the Royal Families. House Fletcher, Makepeace, Beauclerk, and Clarence are the best known ones, but there are smaller families of less renown. While the actual reigning monarchs stay out of the public eye, Royal statute requires that every sector in Royal space house a duke, who acts as the voice of the Royals. The families have stayed fairly small; there’s no more than a thousand living humans of Royal blood. Even so, they soak up a lot of resources. The family, staff, and servants all live tax-free, and they’re all human.
That last bit is a major point of contention on planets settled by other folks, and it means there’s few places in the sea that a human can’t just waltz into like they belong there.

Rock Turner

Structure

The Royals are organized along the Old Homeworld patterns of human nobility.

• Archduke: One of the four highest stations of the Hegemony Order, they not only have oversight of their own Duchy, but all Hegemony systems in their Quadrant - see Mapping Hegemony Space swear fealty over them. The First Archduke is chosen from amongst the Archdukes, but is typically House Fletcher.
• Duke: Rules a Duchy composed of at least one Significant System see Mapping Hegemony Space and as many as a half dozen more.
• Marqui: Serves under a Duke or an Archduke, oversees one independent Significant World see Mapping Hegemony Space.
• Count: Serves under a Duke or an Archduke, oversees one (typically less significant) populated (1 million plus inhabitants and/or other distinction). 
• Baron: Serves under a Marqui or higher rank, oversees one Significant Realm or Location (a Very Important City, a Continent, a Great Port of Distinction).
• Knight Baron: Serves under a Count or higher, a hereditary title which may or may not come with a fiefdom. 
• Knight: A person awarded a nonhereditary title by an Archduke or Duke and is (technically) considered a Royal. Outside of their own region of space, Knights typically are snubbed by other Royals and - occasionally - by well connected non-Royals. Since, by legal definition a Knight is a Royal, they may marry a member of the Royal Family.

Public Agenda

In times past, Royals at least attempted to play the part of concerned protector and steward of Folk-kind. The breed of Royals in the last century has seem to become more self-serving and very jaded; some are churlish towards non-Royals.

Demonym

Royals

Notable Members

• Duchess Alyssa Renaldi