The Imperial Family

The Imperial Succession

The Imperial succession is patrilineal, except that were disaster to strike, it would pass across to the female line before moving out of the current Imperial family. The current order of succession is:

  • Hochprinz Johan
  • Prince Rafael
  • Prince Arne
  • Prince Theodor
  • Prince Siegfried
  • Prince Sebastian
  • Princess Kristina
  • Princess Sabine
  • Princess Maria
  • Princess Astrid

Non-family succession then continues as follows, and does not allow for female inheritance:

The Reichskanszler – Georg Emmerich, Graf von Kassel
The Reichsführer-SS – Rupert Delatz, Herzog von Bremen
The Reichsmarschall – Gottfried von Schell, Landgraf von Wilhelmshafen
Other male members of the Wehrmacht Staff Council

The Imperial Order of Precedence

The recognised Imperial order of precedence within the Reich is as follows:

  • The Imperial Couple – Kaiser Wilhelm and Kaiserin Elsa
  • The Crown Prince – Hochprinz Johan
  • Male Children of the Crown Prince – Prince Rafael, Prince Arne
  • Female Children of the Crown Prince – Princess Sabine, Princess Maria
  • Other Children of the Imperial Couple – styled as Prince or Princess
  • Other Grandchildren of the Imperial Couple – styled Prince or Princess

Kaiser Wilhelm

Kaiser Wilhelm, Head of State of the Reich, is a canny politician, who knows when to listen to others and when to stand firm. Because of this, he has maintained his position since the Reich was founded, despite the political minefield of Reich politics. He appears to be in his early-forties, although like the Royal Family of Sable, to whom he is closely related, he has maintained much the same appearance for as long as anyone can remember.

He has the bearing of a soldier, and has a surprisingly distinguished war record for his apparent age, holding the rank of Generalfeldmarschall. He manages to balance with a more recent reputation as a diplomat, as evidenced by both the mutually beneficial agreement with Emperor Sirius of the Empire of Eboracum  (to the surprise of both the Gods of Eboracum and the Reichsführer-SS), which among other things gave the Reich access to the Aurellis Transport System, as well as finalising the Peace Treaty with the Kingdom of Sable.

Wilhelm stands about 6’1″ tall, and is very solidly built. He speaks English (the common language in Sable and the Commonwealth) with a distinct accent. He is understood to be a ritual magician, albeit not a particularly dedicated one, but is not thought to be Talented in the true sense of the word. While married, the Kaiser is known to be something of a philanderer if he gets the opportunity, although opportunities are rare as the Empress Elsa is a jealous and suspicious woman.

He and his father, Robert of Sable get on moderately well, all things considered. Indeed, this understanding is one of the major reasons why outright war has not erupted on Magica Superior itself between the Kingdom of Sable and the Reich which surrounds it.

In view of his relationship with King Robert, the Kaiser made sure that a small Reich diplomatic mission has remained in Sable throughout the extra-Shadow hostilities, and has the same concession to Sable in Berlin. As an extension of this, King Robert attended the wedding of Crown Prince Johan in Berlin.

The Kaiser has a small but fanatical group of bodyguards, formally known as the Imperial Knights, under the command of Oberst Heinrich Baumann, which protects him and the Kaiserin. Other members of the Imperial family are protected by a special unit within the SA, with the exception of Prince Theodor, who has made his own arrangements.

Kaiserin Elsa

Elsa von Beck married Wilhelm about forty years after he became Kaiser. She is the eldest daughter of a Fatherland high nobility family which is known to be Talented (her father, Klaus, is one of the ReichsMagieren), and she is a mage of some skill, with specialities in healing and genetic magic, as well as transport and communications. She did her State Service within the military before she met Wilhelm and finally claimed him in the face of concerted opposition.

She is very strong minded woman, and is determined to get what she wants. Her iron personality is an interesting complement to his slightly more accommodating attitude. In addition, she is very jealous and does not approve of Wilhelm’s occasional lapses into philandering. She is known to have her own staff and advisors, and is believed to be on better terms with Herzog Rupert than her husband (indeed, it is rumoured that there may have been a relationship between Elsa and the Reichsführer-SS before she married the Kaiser).

She often comes across as somewhat aloof (after all, the Empress shouldn’t just be like everyone else), although if she chooses to be she can be warm and friendly, especially when on morale-boosting Imperial visits to the hospitals, military bases, etc around the Reich. Within the Fatherland, therefore, she is admired and revered. The birth of the Imperial Couple’s eldest son, Johan, in RY065, twenty-five years after their marriage, was a cause of celebration within the Fatherland, as many had feared that they were not to be blessed with children. Their second son, Theodor, was born five after his brother, and was equally well received. More recently, in late-February RY137, the Imperial Couple welcomed twins, a boy and a girl: Sebastian and Kristina.

The Kaiserin’s parents are still alive and well, if elderly, and live in Hanover, to the North-East of the Fatherland.

The Senior Line: The Crown Prince and His Family

Hochprinz Johan is a serving military officer, holding the rank of Generaloberst in the Wehrmacht, specifically in the Ausland-Heer. He has proven himself in the war, and is known to be one of the best commanders in the the Reich forces – better even than his father, with whom he has a good filial relationship. He stands about 6’1″, and is quite well built.

He is known to be Talented, specialising in combat and communications magic, the common belief being that he inherited that ability from his mother, rather than his father. However, rumours have occasionally suggested that it actually comes from his Sable relatives. Whatever the true source of his Talent, he is a skilled practitioner of the magical arts, and especially their application on the battlefield. He has recently been appointed to the Reich Staff Council, some say to keep an eye on the RFSS, who has now been made a voting member.

When he is not at the front in the Reich’s various wars , he does his share of Imperial duties, although he often seems reserved on those occasions, and it sometimes seems that he is uncomfortable with that side of his life and would prefer to be in the field with his men.

He is well respected by the Reich Citizenry, although his public reserve means that some people are unsure what to make of him.

Hochprinzessin Juliana

Juliana Lambert is Lebensborn, and her mother is listed in the records as Sonnenblume Engel, although her father’s name is not recorded. She was born in RY083, and was brought up in Berlin. Despite being Talented, she opted to do State Service with the Heimat-Heer, before she went to Mage College in Hamburg. After mage college she returned to Berlin to study law, and then went into practice in the city. She proved her talents in this regard very quickly, and built herself a fearsome reputation as a trial lawyer. She met Johan at a gala charity event held in the city, and when it became obvious that there was something between them, Johan petitioned the Imperial Council for clarification of whether they would be allowed to marry. It is said that the Kaiser himself intervened, and the Council allowed the union.

They married in September RY152, to the general adulation and celebration of the population of the Reich. Juliana gave birth to twins, Sabine and Rafael, about a month early, at the beginning of June RY153, followed by another son, Arne, in March 157 and a second daughter, Maria, in August 158.

Johan and Juliana have followed the family example of spending some time away, Princess Sabine and her brother Rafael are now deemed of of age and have been issued with their Writs of Entitlement and Arms. The Princess started at the Berlin Mage College in early-October 158, while the Prince, has started his State Service with the Wehrmacht. Arne (14) and Maria (13) are both studying at the Imperial Grammar School, Berlin.

Obergruppenführer Prince Theodor, KSS (S)

Theodor is cut from a very different cloth to his brother. He stands about 5’11”, and is not as heavily built, and while he is also in the military, his connections are to the Waffen-SS, rather than the Wehrmacht, where he holds high rank. He is a competent general, if not quite as good as his father and brother, and is well-liked by his men.

The fact that he does not have the pressures of being heir on his shoulders means that Theodor is much more willing to relax in public. When off duty he has a reputation as a party animal, and is often found gambling or dancing in the nightspots of Berlin, or drinking in the Beer Halls around the Fatherland. However, if circumstances require it, he can play the dutiful, easy-going Imperial Prince with aplomb, and is popular with the people.

He is Talented and also a skilled artist who has exhibited on occasion. He remains unmarried and is showing no signs of wishing to settle down, although he has acknowledged that he has two Lebensborn children, Astrid and Siegfried. He was honoured as a Knight of the Summer Circle in February RY141.

Given their liking for seeing plots, schemes and relationships among the important people within the Reich, the press would have the Citizens believe that while Johan is the Kaiser’s favourite son, Theodor is the Kaiserin’s.

Prince Sebastian and Princess Kristina

Born in late-February RY 156, Sebastian and Kristina were rather a surprise to the people of the Reich, given that their elder brother Theodor was born back in RY070. While the Imperial Couple stayed in Berlin when their elder sons were growing up, on this occasion, the decided to take a break to allow their children to grow up out of the public eye. Sebastian and Kristina are now both 21. and are undertaking their State Service. It is unknown whether either is Talented.

Other Acknowledged Members of the Imperial Family

Princess Wilhelmina

Wilhelmina – Mina, to her family and friends, and to the press who follow her life with interest – is the Kaiser’s younger twin. She has supported her brother since the early days of the Reich and is often seen with the Imperial Family on State occasions. She seems genuinely fond of her kin. She is rather smaller than the Kaiser, standing about 5’6″, and is quite lightly built. Her features are somewhat softer than his, although she can be a fearsome advocate of a cause she truly believes in. She is thought to to get on quite well with her sister-in-law, Elsa, but rather less well with Frida Ragnarsian, wife of Rupert Delatz, although this may be the press playing on non-existent rivalries between the three most powerful women in the Reich.

She is the Chancellor of the University of Berlin where, rather than being a figurehead, she is very involved in both the running of the University, and planning strategies for its future. She is known to be a talented artist, and has exhibited on a number of occasions to critical acclaim. She also sometimes visits the Aussenhandel Shadows, especially if an Imperial Royal is expected to attend an important function, and acts as an unofficial ambassador for her brother. Having spent most of RY154 away from official duties due to ill-health, she finally returned to her position as Chancellor in February RY155.

Brigadeführer Princess Astrid, KSS (S)

Astrid Hagen is the Lebensborn daughter of Prince Theodor. Little is known about her, except that she grew up at the Bremen Lebensborn Centre, where she manifested the Talent early. She is reputed to have a very strong mind; and she chose to train as a mage, rather than undertake State Service. She left the Reich many years ago, since when it appears that she has been teaching magic at a college on the world of Fürth, in the same region of Shadow as the Reichsprotektorat of Neubrandenburg. She eventually returned to Berlin, and afterwards was shortly acknowledged as Theodor’s daughter by the Prince, the Kaiserin and the Imperial Council, with full Imperial privileges. The identity of her mother has not been made public.

Under Reich law, all Lebensborn children are considered legitimate. Moreover, among the nobility, the Lebensborn child of a noble is treated as an equal within that noble’s family. Astrid’s confirmation may therefore be taken as precedent that while the Imperial Family is considered above the Higher Nobility, the Lebensborn laws apply. She was made a Knight of the Summer Circle in June RY156.

About four years ago, Astrid took up a position as a senior tutor at the SS-Schule Haus, at Bad Tölz, and shortly therafter, she started a a relationship with Kommandant of the Schule Haus, Standartenführer Josh Conrad, son of Conrad Berthelmes. Astrid and Josh married in an SS ceremony at Winter Solstice RY158, with the marriage registered by the Imperial Registrar.

Prince Siegfried

Siegfried Hagen is the elder brother of Astrid Hagen, and is Prince Theodor’s only acknowledged son. He was born and grew up at the Bremen Lebensborn Centre, and then served with honour in the Waffen-SS for some years. As time passed, however, he became more involved in the occult side of SS belief, and became disillusioned when Sable and the Reich signed the Peace Treaty. He spent a while in a medical faciility in Sable, but was returned to the Reich about two years ago.

At the beginning of RY159, he was finally granted Imperial privileges. This places him fifth in line to the Reich Throne.

Generaloberst Matthias Fischer, Freiherr von Dönitz

In the years before his marriage to Kaiserin Elsa (and if the Reich gossip columns are correct, since) the Kaiser was known to visit the Berlin Lebensborn Centre. Matthias Fischer, born in RY016, is his only acknowledged offspring from those visits. Fischer has never claimed, nor been granted, Imperial privileges, as were that to happen, it would shake up the Imperial succession.

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