Royalty in Lucrecia

Grand Duke in Lucrecia of and by the Will of the Republic
Grand Duke in Lucrecia of and by the Will of the Republic
Gran Duque en Lucrecia
Incumbent
	Amadeo II; since 30 September 2015
Details
Style	His Royal and Christian Majesty;
Heir apparent	Oscar, Hereditary Grand Duke in Lucrecia
First monarch	Neill, Grand Duke in Lucrecia
Formation	1685

Royalty in Lucrecia refers to the institution and role of the Grand Duke in Lucrecia as determined and governed by the Constitution of Lucrecia. The third chapter of the Constitution explains the laws of succession, the mechanisms used in the enthronement or resignation of the Grand Duke, the fundamental roles bestowed upon the Grand Duke, and provisions set up for the bestowment of the role of dictator by the consuls.

As Lucrecia is a republic, the roles and titles associated with the royal family are normally either highly ceremonial in nature, or make great use of the word "in" instead of "of". What this means in practice is that not only are these titles are in fact works of legal fiction, but the Grand Duke is not even Lucrecia's head of state as the Constitution designates such a role to the consuls. This also means that under normal circumstances, the Grand Duke holds no political influence nor power, such things can only come if the Grand Duke was bestowed the role of dictator.

Since Lucrecia's formation, the Grand Duke has always been a descendant of a cadet branch of the Julian dynasty, specifically a cadet branch of the House de Weluta, the current royal house of Urcea (also known as the Carolines) as well as Paulastra through another cadet branch (currently Newaster-Tuskane). Although initially a part of Weluta proper, a line of three reigning Grand Duchesses from 1884 until 2015 has made the current royal house in Lucrecia the House of Velucia-Cerda-Quiñones-Alba by simply adding on the surnames of each successive male consort and Pelaxianising the name Weluta.

Amadeo II is the current Grand Duke in Lucrecia, having succeeded his mother Veronica, Grand Duchess in Lucrecia on 30 September 2015.

Succession

Since 2015, the grand ducal title passes by right of succession to the heirs of Neill, Grand Duke in Lucrecia, with the heirs of Maria-Adelaida, Grand Duchess in Lucrecia holding precedence for as long as there exists living heirs. Should the Marian line be extinguished, then the grand ducal title will be passed to the heirs of Miguel-Neill de Velucia, the remaining members of the direct Weluta line in Lucrecia. The mechanism used to determine the heir to the grand ducal title is agnatic-cognatic primogeniture. Lucrecia had established agnatic-cognatic primogeniture instead of strictly agnatic primogeniture in 1883 when Neill III wished for his young daughter Maria-Adelaida to become Grand Duchess instead of his brother Miguel-Neill. Illegitimate heirs and products of a morganatic marriage are barred from the line of succession unless approved.

In the event that the previous Grand Duke passes away while his wife is pregnant with his heir, then that heir becomes the Grand Duke immediately with the mother serving as regent. Regardless, in the event that the Grand Duke is a minor, then a regency shall be appointed for as long as needed until the Grand Duke comes of age or is declared as such beforehand. The regent may be the Grand Duke's surviving parent, a relative (regardless of legitimacy or morganatic status), or even a state official.

There does exist some special cases put in place which may exclude otherwise perfectly legitimate heirs from the line of succession, those being if an heir marries without the permission of the Grand Duke, which will also make it a morganatic marriage by default, or if an heir is deemed to be either undesirable or simply unfit for the title of Grand Duke may be removed from the line of succession by the Senatorial House. The latter clause has only ever been used once in 1947 when Prince Juan-Carlos in Lucrecia sided with an attempted fascist coup against his first cousin Maria-Adelaida when she was bestowed dictatorial powers and used them to purge the Lucrecian government of the National Fascist Party.

Constitutional role

The Constitution of Lucrecia stipulates the role of the Grand Duke in Lucrecian society, which is to promote the cultural and traditional identity of Lucrecian society through non-political means. They are also afforded the right to serve in a diplomatic manner in the realm of foreign relations. However, the Grand Duke is not the head of state of Lucrecia as that role belongs to the consuls. It is because of that that Lucrecia is still considered a republic both officially and internationally despite the existence of an active royal family. Another role of the Grand Duke as stipulated in the constitution is the Grand Duke's status as the designated dictator. What this means is that in the event of a crisis, the consuls may bestow the role of dictator upon the Grand Duke, effectively establishing a royal dictatorship for a span of twelve months, giving the Grand Duke unlimited authority to do whatever is necessary to handle the crisis swiftly and effectively.

The designated dictator role dates back to the year 1685. In the late 17th Century, Lucrecia was under a period of intense political strife between the nascent Courtier and Countrymen parties. Prior to 1685, it was custom for the consuls to bestow the role of dictator onto a senator for a span of twelve months. However, because of the intense political climate at the time, it became increasingly apparent that bestowing such a role to any of the senators may risk said senator using those powers to purge political rivals and consolidate power, dooming Lucrecia to monarchical rule. To preserve the republic, the consuls opted to, ironically, look outwards and find a member of a royal family to not only serve as a non-political ceremonial figure, but to also serve as the permanent designated dictator for the consuls to bestow the role onto. The search went far, going through each of the prominent royal houses found in the Occident. Candidates from the House of Pardo, the House of Marialianus, and the House de Donne were considered before the designation ultimately went to a member of the House de Weluta, Archduke Niall of Urcea.

Due to the fact that Lucrecia was under the suzerainty of the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth at the time, and because of Lucrecia's commitments to republicanism, the new royal title was dubbed "Grand Duke in Lucrecia" instead of "Grand Duke of Lucrecia", creating a legal fiction designed to ensure Lucrecia's continuity as a republic as well as to not anger their suzerain.

Full titles and styles

The Grand Duke and his consort are always addressed under formal circumstances as "His/Her Royal and Christian Majesty". The "Christian" adjective is in reference to the Grand Duke's royal house, which is a cadet branch of the House de Weluta. However, so as to not overstep the more senior Caroline line, which holds the title of Apostolic King of Urcea, the address refrains from using "Most Christian". The heir holds the title "Hereditary Grand Duke in Lucrecia" and the address "His/Her Royal and Christian Highness". Junior legitimate members of the royal family are titled as "Prince in Lucrecia" and are merely afforded the address "His/Her Christian Highness".

The full title for the current Grand Duke is as follows: Amadeo II, by Grace of God and the Will of the Republic, Grand Duke in Lucrecia, Duke in Emerita, High Steward in the Generality, Perpetual Dictator-Designate

List of Grand Dukes

Although each and every grand duke and grand duchess have seen themselves as members of the House de Weluta, since the death of Grand Duchess Maria-Adelaida in 1967, each subsequent grand dukes and grand duchesses have been a member of a cadet branch of the Welutas. Each new cadet branch added on the surname of the male consort after the other surnames. However, there still exists mainline Welutas in Lucrecia, those being the direct male-line descendants of Miguel-Neill de Velucia, of which the senior-most heir is Juan-Alfonso de Velucia since 2003. These "Miguelists" are, since 2015, legally recognised as the senior-most line should the regnant Marian line of succession be extinguished.

House of Velucia

Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
Neill I Neill Julio Velucia Carlino (Archduke Niall of Urcea)	24 August 1663	11 April 1712	18 May 1685 – 11 April 1712	Inaugural holder
Amadeo I Amadeo Julio Velucia Carlino	12 January 1684	7 October 1758	11 April 1712 – 7 October 1758	Son of Neill I
Neill II Neill Julio Velucia Carlino	17 February 1713	23 November 1779	7 October 1758 – 23 November 1779	Son of Amadeo I
Riartan I Riartan Julio Velucia Carlino	9 December 1740	4 July 1801	23 November 1779 – 4 July 1801	Son of Neill II
Riartan II Riartan Julio Velucia Carlino	15 March 1770	8 September 1840	4 July 1801 – 8 September 1840	Son of Riartan I
Riartan III Riartan Julio Velucia Carlino	16 November 1799	11 June 1849	8 September 1840 – 11 June 1849	Son of Riartan II
Neill III Neill Julio Velucia Carlino	9 June 1822	12 April 1884	11 June 1849 – 12 April 1884	Son of Riartan III
Maria-Adelaida Maria-Adelaida Julia Velucia Carlina	11 August 1879	18 January 1967	12 April 1884 – 18 January 1967	Daughter of Neill III

House of Velucia-Cerda

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Isabel Isabel Julia Velucia Cerda	31 May 1907	21 May 2002	18 January 1967 – 21 May 2002	Daughter of Maria-Adelaida

House of Velucia-Cerda-Quiñones

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Veronica Veronica Julia Velucia Cerda-Quiñones	2 March 1933	30 September 2015	21 May 2002 – 30 September 2015	Daughter of Isabel

House of Velucia-Cerda-Quiñones-Alba

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Amadeo II Amadeo Julio Velucia Cerda-Quiñones-Alba	29 July 1962	Living (72 years)	30 September 2015 – Present	Son of Veronica