Hail, Britannia

[Peppe]

Grand Duke of Cornwall (Cornish: Veur Dug Kernow) is a title in the British peerage, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in England and was established by royal charter in 1337. On 20 April 1753 the Duchy was raised to the status of Grand Duchy by King-Emperor Frederick I, and its holder is the only Grand Duke in the British peerage. Prior to 2015, the grand dukedom of Cornwall could only be held by the oldest living son of the monarch, who is also heir apparent, but since the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, the title is now held by the oldest living child of the monarch, who is also heir apparent. Since 1753, the grand dukedom has been only been vacant twice, from 1817 to 1837, and again from 1936 to 1952.

According to folklore and semi-legendary histories, the Dukes of Cornwall were semi-autonomous rulers during the Arthurian period. Historically, Cornwall formed part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Dumnonia, and was gradually incorporated into the Kingdom of England until the Norman Conquest when the first Earl of Cornwall was appointed. Edward, the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III, was made the first Duke of Cornwall in 1337, after Edward III had lost the title of Duke of Normandy. After Edward predeceased the King, the duchy was recreated for his son, the future Richard II. Under a charter of 1421, the duchy passes to the sovereign's eldest son.

The grand dukedom includes over 570 square kilometres of privately-owned land, more than half of which lies in Devon. Prior to 1991, the constitutional status of Cornwall was disputed, although the Grand Duke had some rights over the entirety of what was then the County of Cornwall. Since devolution in 1991 and the granting of dominionhood to Cornwall in 1999, the Grand Duke has taken on definied constitutional and operational responsibilities for the enitrety of the Grand Duchy of Cornwall. Under Cornish law, the Grand Duke:

• appoints the Lord Lieutenant and the High Sheriff (although both posts have been united since 1999);
• convenes sessions of the Cornish Parliament;
• approves the selection of the First Minister of Cornwall by the Cornish Assembly, along with the monarch;
• and grants assent to legislative bills, along with the monarch.

The present Grand Duke is Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen-Empress Elizabeth II, who was officially proclaimed Grand Duke of Cornwall at Launceston Castle in 1973. His second wife, Camilla, is the current Grand Duchess of Cornwall. She is also Princess of Chesapeake and Wales but does not use those titles.

Amazing post, but I need to say two nitpicks
- Dumnonia was a Brythonic Kingdom, not an Anglo-Saxon one (The Anglo-Saxons even considered them as being Welsh, with Dumnona being called "West Wales")
- The dates when the title was vacant are a little wrong, since Victoria would only have Edward VII in 1841 and not 1837, which was when she became Queen-Empress

 

[LeinadB93]

Amazing post, but I need to say two nitpicks
- Dumnonia was a Brythonic Kingdom, not an Anglo-Saxon one (The Anglo-Saxons even considered them as being Welsh, with Dumnona being called "West Wales")
- The dates when the title was vacant are a little wrong, since Victoria would only have Edward VII in 1841 and not 1837, which was when she became Queen-Empress

Doh! Thanks for catching those mistakes

That’s what happens when you stay up late finishing write ups.

 

[Peppe]

Doh! Thanks for catching those mistakes

That’s what happens when you stay up late finishing write ups.

I do have a question. ITTL, what is the status of the Cornish Languague? OTL it went extinct in the 18th century and currently it has less than 500 fluent speakers, but I imagine it is probably in a better standing ITTL

 

[Arthur Marston]

I do have a question. ITTL, what is the status of the Cornish Languague? OTL it went extinct in the 18th century and currently it has less than 500 fluent speakers, but I imagine it is probably in a better standing ITTL

Leinad already addressed the status of Celtic languages in the British Isles.

Well in keeping with the theme of increased linguistic diversity in both British America and the Home Isles, the Celtic revival is more successful. Welsh has the most speakers, probably upwards of 25-30%. Scottish Gaelic is probably spoken by about 10-12%, whilst Irish is probably not that much different from OTL. Cornish has experienced a successful revival inline with OTL Welsh.

 

[aaa]

Grand Duke of Cornwall (Cornish: Veur Dug Kernow) is a title in the British peerage, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in England and was established by royal charter in 1337. On 20 April 1753 the Duchy was raised to the status of Grand Duchy by King-Emperor Frederick I, and its holder is the only Grand Duke in the British peerage. Prior to 2015, the grand dukedom of Cornwall could only be held by the oldest living son of the monarch, who is also heir apparent, but since the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, the title is now held by the oldest living child of the monarch, who is also heir apparent. Since 1753, the grand dukedom has been only been vacant twice, from 1817 to 1841, and again from 1936 to 1952.

According to folklore and semi-legendary histories, the Dukes of Cornwall were semi-autonomous rulers during the Arthurian period. Historically, Cornwall formed part of the Brythonic Kingdom of Dumnonia, and was gradually incorporated into the Kingdom of England until the Norman Conquest when the first Earl of Cornwall was appointed. Edward, the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III, was made the first Duke of Cornwall in 1337, after Edward III had lost the title of Duke of Normandy. After Edward predeceased the King, the duchy was recreated for his son, the future Richard II. Under a charter of 1421, the duchy passes to the sovereign's eldest son.

The grand dukedom includes over 570 square kilometres of privately-owned land, more than half of which lies in Devon. Prior to 1991, the constitutional status of Cornwall was disputed, although the Grand Duke had some rights over the entirety of what was then the County of Cornwall. Since devolution in 1991 and the granting of dominionhood to Cornwall in 1999, the Grand Duke has taken on definied constitutional and operational responsibilities for the enitrety of the Grand Duchy of Cornwall. Under Cornish law, the Grand Duke:

• appoints the Lord Lieutenant and the High Sheriff (although both posts have been united since 1999);
• convenes sessions of the Cornish Parliament;
• approves the selection of the First Minister of Cornwall by the Cornish Assembly, along with the monarch;
• and grants assent to legislative bills, along with the monarch.

The present Grand Duke is Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen-Empress Elizabeth II, who was officially proclaimed Grand Duke of Cornwall at Launceston Castle in 1973. His second wife, Camilla, is the current Grand Duchess of Cornwall. She is also Princess of Chesapeake and Wales but does not use those titles.

I like this concept, it's almost like the Prince of Wales having a "practice monarchy" to prepare them before they become the Emperor.

 

[LeinadB93]

I do have a question. ITTL, what is the status of the Cornish Languague? OTL it went extinct in the 18th century and currently it has less than 500 fluent speakers, but I imagine it is probably in a better standing ITTL

Leinad already addressed the status of Celtic languages in the British Isles.

Cornish (Standard Written Form: Kernewek or Kernowek) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Cornwall, on the southwestern peninsula of the island of Albion. As of June 2020, around 29% of the population of Cornwall reported being able to speak Cornish, and about 17% spoke Cornish daily, although the proportion of the population with some knowledge of Cornish is much higher.

Closely related to the other Brittonic languages, Welsh and Breton, Cornish was the main language of Cornwall for centuries and maintained close links with Breton, with which it was mutually intelligible until well into the Middle Ages. From the 14th century onwards, Cornish was pushed westwards by English until by the middle of the 17th century the language had been reduced to the Penwith and Kerrier districts, and by 1750 Cornish was no longer spoken outside of the Penwith Peninsula. The language was believed to have gone extinct by 1800, although the identity of the last native speaker is disputed and there is some evidence that Cornish continued to function as a common community language in parts of Cornwall into the 20th century.

Beginning in 1904, a process to revive the language began when Henry Jenner published A Handbook of the Cornish Language. Early revival efforts focused on reconstructing and standardising the language, including coining new words for modern concepts, and creating educational material in order to teach Cornish to others. As the revival grew in strength and the focus shifted to spoken Cornish, the phonemic weaknesses of the Modern Cornish orthographic system became apparents. In the late 1980s, in response to the emergence of Mebyon Kernow as a political force and the campaign for Cornish home rule, a unified orthography for Cornish was first disscused and the Standard Written Form was agreed and adopted. In 1991 at the first meeting of the Cornish Assembly, the Grand Duke of Cornwall gave his speech from the throne in both English and Cornish, bringing publicity to the language.

The Cornish Language (Cornwall) Measure 1996, since enshirned in the Charter of Cornwall, gave the Cornish language official status alongside English in Cornwall. Since the 1980s there has been a renaissance in Cornish, with the publishing of textbooks and literature, and the creation of Cornish language music, films and children's books. Cornish is now taught in all schools in Cornwall, and as of June 2020, 15% of pupils in Cornwall attend Cornish-medium schools, with a further 10% attending schools that are bilingual or dual-medium. The Cornish Government's current target is to increase the proportion of pupils receiving Cornish-medium education to 40 percent by 2050.

 

[LeinadB93]

I like this concept, it's almost like the Prince of Wales having a "practice monarchy" to prepare them before they become the Emperor.

Indeed. A similar situation also exists in Wales, though in many ways Cornwall modelled their system on Wales', though the Prince of Wales only began to take on constitutional duties in Wales after 1958.

 

[Analytical Engine]

Cornish (Standard Written Form: Kernewek or Kernowek) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Cornwall, on the southwestern peninsula of the island of Albion. As of June 2020, around 29% of the population of Cornwall reported being able to speak Cornish, and about 17% spoke Cornish daily, although the proportion of the population with some knowledge of Cornish is much higher.

Closely related to the other Brittonic languages, Welsh and Breton, Cornish was the main language of Cornwall for centuries and maintained close links with Breton, with which it was mutually intelligible until well into the Middle Ages. From the 14th century onwards, Cornish was pushed westwards by English until by the middle of the 17th century the langauge had been reduced to the Penwith and Kerrier districts, and by 1750 Cornish was no longer spoken outside of the Penwith Peninsula. The language was believed to have gone extinct by 1800, although the identity of the last native speaker is disputed and there is some evidence that Cornish continued to function as a common community language in parts of Cornwall into the 20th century.

Beginning in 1904, a process to revive the language began when Henry Jenner published A Handbook of the Cornish Language. Early revival efforts focused on reconstructing and standardising the language, including coining new words for modern concepts, and creating educational material in order to teach Cornish to others. As the revival grew in strength and the focus shifted to spoken Cornish, the phonemic weaknesses of the Modern Cornish orthographic system became apparents. In the late 1980s, in response to the emergence of Mebyon Kernow as a political force and the campaign for Cornish home rule, a unified orthography for Cornish was first disscused and the Standard Written Form was agreed and adopted. In 1991 at the first meeting of the Cornish Assembly, the Grand Duke of Cornwall gave his speech from the throne in both English and Cornish, bringing pulicity to the language.

The Cornish Language (Cornwall) Measure 1996, since enshirned in the Charter of Cornwall, gave the Cornish language official status alongside English in Cornwall. Since the 1980s there has been a renaissance in Cornish, with the publishing of textbooks and literature, and the creation of Cornish language music, films and children's books. Cornish is now taught in all schools in Cornwall, and as of June 2020, 15% of pupils in Cornwall attend Cornish-medium schools, with a further 10% attending schools that are bilingual or dual-medium. The Cornish Government's current target is to increase the proportion of pupils receiving Cornish-medium education to 40 percent by 2050.

Any chance of one of these for Welsh?

No rush, or anything. Just thought I'd ask.

 

[Arthur Marston]

Any chance of one of these for Welsh?

No rush, or anything. Just thought I'd ask.

For Welsh spoken in Wales itself? Probably not.
For Welsh spoken in Patagonia or Columbia? Maybe.

 

[aaa]

Indeed. A similar situation also exists in Wales, though in many ways Cornwall modelled their system on Wales', though the Prince of Wales only began to take on constitutional duties in Wales after 1958.

Is “Prince of Wales” the common title for the heir throughout the empire? Or are they called by different titles from different areas (like Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, etc)?

And on the topic of the royal family, what are the lives and careers like for Elizabeth II's cousins, like the Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Michael, Princess Alexandra, etc.? Perhaps one of them is the viceroy of some dominion? What about the children of Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong-Jones (assuming they still marry? maybe she marries John Turner instead?)?

What about Louis Mountbatten's career? I'm also interested to see how his death occurs here. Does he still get blown up by Irish nationalists?

Also, what are the government systems like in China, Japan, Russia, and Korea? Who are the heads of state/government there?

 

[Aeqouria]

Cornish (Standard Written Form: Kernewek or Kernowek) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Cornwall, on the southwestern peninsula of the island of Albion. As of June 2020, around 29% of the population of Cornwall reported being able to speak Cornish, and about 17% spoke Cornish daily, although the proportion of the population with some knowledge of Cornish is much higher.

Closely related to the other Brittonic languages, Welsh and Breton, Cornish was the main language of Cornwall for centuries and maintained close links with Breton, with which it was mutually intelligible until well into the Middle Ages. From the 14th century onwards, Cornish was pushed westwards by English until by the middle of the 17th century the langauge had been reduced to the Penwith and Kerrier districts, and by 1750 Cornish was no longer spoken outside of the Penwith Peninsula. The language was believed to have gone extinct by 1800, although the identity of the last native speaker is disputed and there is some evidence that Cornish continued to function as a common community language in parts of Cornwall into the 20th century.

Beginning in 1904, a process to revive the language began when Henry Jenner published A Handbook of the Cornish Language. Early revival efforts focused on reconstructing and standardising the language, including coining new words for modern concepts, and creating educational material in order to teach Cornish to others. As the revival grew in strength and the focus shifted to spoken Cornish, the phonemic weaknesses of the Modern Cornish orthographic system became apparents. In the late 1980s, in response to the emergence of Mebyon Kernow as a political force and the campaign for Cornish home rule, a unified orthography for Cornish was first disscused and the Standard Written Form was agreed and adopted. In 1991 at the first meeting of the Cornish Assembly, the Grand Duke of Cornwall gave his speech from the throne in both English and Cornish, bringing pulicity to the language.

The Cornish Language (Cornwall) Measure 1996, since enshirned in the Charter of Cornwall, gave the Cornish language official status alongside English in Cornwall. Since the 1980s there has been a renaissance in Cornish, with the publishing of textbooks and literature, and the creation of Cornish language music, films and children's books. Cornish is now taught in all schools in Cornwall, and as of June 2020, 15% of pupils in Cornwall attend Cornish-medium schools, with a further 10% attending schools that are bilingual or dual-medium. The Cornish Government's current target is to increase the proportion of pupils receiving Cornish-medium education to 40 percent by 2050.

Speaking of revived languages, does modern Hebrew still develop?

 

[Arthur Marston]

Speaking of revived languages, does modern Hebrew still develop?

IIRC, it's an official language in Yisrael (OTL Kaliningrad) and the Levant Union.

 

[WheelyWheelyLegsNoFeely]

IIRC, it's an official language in Yisrael (OTL Kaliningrad) and the Levant Union.

What about Ararat in Westralia? I seem to remember them being majority Jewish, so I'd expect it to be official in some capacity there as well.

 

[Arthur Marston]

What about Ararat in Westralia? I seem to remember them being majority Jewish, so I'd expect it to be official in some capacity there as well.

IIRC, the Jews there speak Yiddish mostly.
@LeinadB93 : Speaking of Celtic languages, what is the status of Manx Gaelic ITTL?

 

[LeinadB93]

Any chance of one of these for Welsh?

No rush, or anything. Just thought I'd ask.

For Welsh spoken in Wales itself? Probably not.
For Welsh spoken in Patagonia or Columbia? Maybe.

I’m working on a subdivisions map for Patagonia that I can use as a base map for a language distribution map... so watch this space

And on the topic of the royal family, what are the lives and careers like for Elizabeth II's cousins, like the Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Michael, Princess Alexandra, etc.? Perhaps one of them is the viceroy of some dominion? What about the children of Princess Margaret and Tony Armstrong-Jones (assuming they still marry? maybe she marries John Turner instead?)?

Prince Michael and Princess Alexandra are as OTL. The Duke of Gloucester served as Viceroy of Australia in the late 1970s and early 80s. The Duke of Kent was Viceroy of Missouri at a similar period of time.

Princess Margaret marrying John Turner is something I alluded to. Their wedding, in the 1960s, was the catalyst for removing the fact that marriage to a Roman Catholic affected your place in the line of succession. More to map out with their lives and children, but watch this space.

What about Louis Mountbatten's career? I'm also interested to see how his death occurs here. Does he still get blown up by Irish nationalists?

Lord Mountbatten has a fairly similar career to OTL, however he doesn’t serve as Viceroy and Governor-General of India ITTL and instead is the last British-appointed Governor-General of the Philippines from 1946 to 1948. He passed away peacefully at his Irish country home in 1987.

Also, what are the government systems like in China, Japan, Russia, and Korea? Who are the heads of state/government there?

China is a semi-presidential republic currently led by President Zhang Dejiang and Chancellor Sun Chunlan.
Japan is a consitutional monarchy led by Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Eiko Sai (OTL Tsai Ing-wen).
Russia is a presidential republic led by President Dimitry Medvedev.
Corea is a constitutional monarchy led by King Yi Cheong and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon.

Speaking of revived languages, does modern Hebrew still develop?

IIRC, it's an official language in Yisrael (OTL Kaliningrad) and the Levant Union.

What about Ararat in Westralia? I seem to remember them being majority Jewish, so I'd expect it to be official in some capacity there as well.

IIRC, the Jews there speak Yiddish mostly.

Hebrew still develops, but there are fewer speakers than OTL. I have an infobox ready for the language, but I'm umming and ahing about a change to the Levantine flag (top right without the arms is the current version):

Comments are welcome (and much needed before I go mad 🤪)

@LeinadB93 : Speaking of Celtic languages, what is the status of Manx Gaelic ITTL?

Manx Gaelic is still spoken on the island by about 5% of the population, having never gone extinct ITTL.

 

[LeinadB93]

Is “Prince of Wales” the common title for the heir throughout the empire? Or are they called by different titles from different areas (like Duke of Rothesay in Scotland, etc)?

This might answer it a bit. But effectively they are known by various titles in different areas:

Officially (and in places with no unique title, e.g. New Zealand, Westralia etc.): Prince of Chesapeake and Wales​

North America and the Caribbean: Prince of Chesapeake​

England and Wales: Prince of Wales​

Cornwall: Grand Duke of Cornwall​

Scotland: Duke of Rothesay​

Ireland: Duke of Meath​

Australia: Duke of Illawarra​

Prince of Chesapeake is a title created on 25 October 1737 by King George III for his eldest son Prince Frederick, Duke of Cornwall after stripping him of the title of Prince of Wales and exiling him to the British American colonies. Since the accession of Frederick to the British throne in 1751, the title has been a dynastic title granted by the king-emperor or queen-empress to the heir apparent to the British monarch, and since 1765 the older title Prince of Wales has been given in conjunction with that of Prince of Chesapeake.

The title is granted to the heir apparent as a personal honour or dignity, and is not heritable, merging with the Crown on accession to the throne, but the failure to be granted the title does not affect the rights to royal succession. The Prince of Chesapeake also holds a number of additional titles. As heir apparent to the British throne they are—if the eldest living child of the monarch—Prince of Wales and Grand Duke of Cornwall, which includes lands and constitutional and operational responsibilities. As heir apparent to the Scottish throne they are Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, while as heir apparent to the Irish throne they are Duke of Meath and in Australia they are Duke of Illawarra.

The current and longest-serving Prince of Chesapeake is Prince Charles, the eldest son of Elizabeth II, who is Queen of Great Britain and the Dominions, Empress of All Britain, and Queen of the Commonwealth realms as well as Head of the Commonwealth of Nations. The wife of the Prince of Chesapeake is entitled to the title Princess of Chesapeake. Prince Charles's first wife, Diana, used that title, but his second wife, Camilla, uses only the title Grand Duchess of Cornwall because the other titles have become so popularly associated with Diana.

 

[StormStar]

Scottish throne

Um wait what why is there a separate Scottish Throne (and a separate Irish one at that) along side the British Throne?

The British Throne is by definition the merger of first the English and Scottish Throne and then then the addition of the Irish there are no separate thrones. While it would be slightly different in HB TL due to no Act of Union 1801 but the later Act of Union 1876, the result is the same with one throne in the UKE.

The separate thrones we currently have OTL (Queen of Canada, Queen of Australia, etc) is because all the separate countries are in personal Union with the UK. The inside the UK the separate titles still exist but there is only one Throne.

 

[Arthur Marston]

Um wait what why is there a separate Scottish Throne (and a separate Irish one at that) along side the British Throne?

The British Throne is by definition the merger of first the English and Scottish Throne and then then the addition of the Irish there are no separate thrones. While it would be slightly different in HB TL due to no Act of Union 1801 but the later Act of Union 1876, the result is the same with one throne in the UKE.

The separate thrones we currently have OTL (Queen of Canada, Queen of Australia, etc) is because all the separate countries are in personal Union with the UK. The inside the UK the separate titles still exist but there is only one Throne.

*ahem*

The Monarchy of Scotland is the foundation of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Scottish government, serving as the personification of the Scottish state. Traditionally the Scottish monarchy traces its origins back to Kenneth I MacAlpin in 843, but was dissolved in 1707 with the passage of the Acts of Union before being recreated in 1949 with Scottish home rule. The Scottish monarch is unique within the Empire in that they are styled as “Grace” rather than “Majesty”, a legacy of the pre-Union monarchy. The current Scottish monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, and her son, Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, is the heir apparent.

 

[StormStar]

*ahem*

Yes I reread that post to make sure I hadn’t missed anything however that doesn’t change my point, by recreating the Scottish Monarch the British monarch as it stands before 1949 ceases to exist.

I have looked through the timeline and have and as far as I can figure out the reestablising of the monarchs for Scotland, Wales, Ireland etc contradicts the rest of the TL in regards to the UKE state.

The British Crown is made up by the merger and abolitionment of its constituent parts both in OTL and TL, if you recreate its constitution parts as separate entities the merger entity ceases to be, which according to the TL hasn’t happened thereby creating a contradicting situation (both statements can’t be true by how they are currently explained as they contradict each other).

 

[PNWKing]

I know @LeinadB93 did Doctor Who, but how about Britain's other big pop culture icon: Bond. James Bond.