#Death of a monarch

[vox-anglosphere]

For millions of us, the long goodbye will begin all over this week..

[prokopetz]

Yes, you've successfully dodged allegations of monarchism by having the heroic princess decide to abolish the monarchy and institute representative democracy in the last five minutes of the game. Bravo.

Now give us the sequel where every prospective heir in a thousand-mile radius comes out of the woodwork claiming she's not allowed to do that and her actions should simply be construed as abdication, five different people declare themselves King, the nation plunges into civil war, and the ex-princess has to ninja around murdering all of her would-be successors in order to make the transition stick.

[vox-anglosphere]

A year has passed but the sense of loss remains. We miss you ma'am.

RIP your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

1926 - 2022

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to the Death of Monarchs

(no, unfortunately this is not a how to guide. Special Branch can now unhitch from outside my house)

To quote The Lion King... The Circle of Life. Monarchs are born, they live, they die. But what exactly happens when a monarch dies?

Dying

The monarch is on their deathbed. Their family, their friends, their advisers (their bit on the side sometimes) are lingering in the room or in the corridor. But of course, death isn't always expected. Usually, if the death is sudden, such as during a military campaign or an assassination, there is a scramble to preserve the news of the death for a time in order to make the necessary arrangements.

Causes of Death

"... Let us sit upon the ground. And tell sad stories of the death of kings; How some have been deposed; some slain in war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed; Some poison'd by their wives: some sleeping kill'd; All murder'd," - William Shakespeare, Richard II.

Monarchs die like everybody else. They can die from anything. Disease (Alexander the Great), death at war (Richard I), assassination (Philip III of Macedonia), old age (Elizabeth II), starvation (Richard II), misuse of a hot poker (Edward II), murder at the hands of family (Edward V), childbirth (Jadwiga of Poland), accident (William of Orange... Pussy) , poison (Emperor Claudius) or on the toilet (George II). The death of a monarch is something at will be contested sometimes. If the body is not seen, there may be a belief that they live on. If the monarch dies suddenly, there may be rumours of foul play. No matter how a monarch dies, it will lead to uneasiness.

After Death

The steps after the monarch dies, usually include securing the next heir, proclaiming them to the people, and then working toward a clean succession. This time is delicate, it can be the breeding ground of coups and treacheries. Any claim other than the designated heir must be silenced by the proclaimation of the next sovereign as soon as possible. Child monarchs are extremely at risk during this period as the adults around them will seek to take custody of them. They who hold the monarch hold the power. It is imperative that the heir be notified at once so the stability of the kingdom can be assured.

The X is dead, Long Live the Next Guy

Once they breathe their last, all attention will turn to the next monarch or the scramble to find one. Be it by succession by blood or an election, the designated successor will immediately (even in the absence of a coronation) become the next monarch. Likely they will have been near their predecessor, either at their bedside or at least in shouting distance. But if they are away, they will quickly return to claim their throne. Without delay. Elizabeth II was actually on royal tour when she recieved news her father had died, leading to a hasty scramble back home.

When things don't go according to plan

The monarch passes away. There are tears. Sometimes. There are sometimes coups as I mentioned. Young would be monarchs could be kidnapped, eg. Edward V. Another heir claims the throne instead of the designated heir, eg Lady Jane Grey and King Stephen. Monarchs who die on battlefields can have their bodies stolen (James IV of Scotland) or thrown into a ditch with their crown snatched (Richard III). The death of a monarch is a delicate time and dangerous for all royal family members. In some instances, it would lead to murder. If a son of a previous Ottoman Sultan wished to be the next Sultan, they would order the mass murder of their brothers upon their father's death - usually death by strangulation.

Funeral

The funeral of the monarch is something that is usually planned from day one. There would be some sort of plan in place for the funeral, the when, the where and the how. The monarch might know these plans but the upper rank of courtier and aides would know. Funerals would follow a certain pattern, likely adapting from previous funerals. They would be a public, a lavish ceremony that would see to the closure of businesses, entertainment venues, the arrival of foreign dignitaries and a long procession of the body surrounded by military forces, watched over by the grieving public. If they actually liked the monarch. Some deaths of Kings were met without any sadness such as George IV. There might also be lavish games thrown in the monarch's honour.

Mourning

Mourning is the period of time that the country, the court and royal family grieves publicly. It can last a week or so, like today. Or up to a year. In China, sometimes mourning lasted 3 years or more. Mourning period often came with strict rules about what one could do or dress in. In Edwardian times, there were stages in mourning. Full mourning could last up to a year, with women wearing black with very little ornament and widows covering their hair with bonnets of veils. Second mourning (6-9 months), women's clothes could be adorned with trimming and finally half mourning is the 3-6 month period where colour started to be reintroduced, restricted at first to greys and mauves. There would be no balls, no parties, no sporting during the deepest part of mourning.

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was in a murder mystery escape castle run by King Charles III of England. The more puzzles I solved, the clearer it became that he actually had murdered someone.

[biggs-regretti]

Some silly lil Vbros doods for you

[whats-9plus10]

VENTURE BROS MERCH THAT ISNT SHIRTS

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[the-meme-monarch]

hey have y'all seen the game A Little To The Left. yes the cute little organizational game with the cat. i need to tell you about my interpretation of the game A Little To The Left. I'm going fucking crazy.

ok. I think your cat died and you are busying yourself with organizing as a distraction. chapter 1 starts with fixing a lone picture frame of your cat. level two is putting its toys in a basket, with no actual way of organizing it, and the cat itself is nowhere to be seen. yes you see it intermittently after this, when it comes in to ruin the progress you made, but in chapter one your cat isn't the focal point at all and you never see it in full, not until the last chapter, and in the last chapter things are going kinda Unreality, things are moving between picture frames and you can Unmelt candles and move shadows. I think the cat might not actually be there and you’re just getting more In Your Thoughts.

every now and then, in the beginning, when it ruins what you organized, you move on. you don't fix it. playing through I thought that was weird considering the the whole game being about Organizing and Being Very Particular About It. I think you Just Leave because you remember your cat and you need a New distraction. I also think this might be why some of the things you’re organizing don’t make a lot of sense like the tool kit one or organizing your breakfast on your plate like That.

but your cat becomes more of a focus as it progresses, with levels increasingly centered around it/ its presence, but I think it’s more about how you’ve been putting off Really Dealing With it’s absence, like cleaning up the paw prints, like they’ll never leave any more after you finally clean them up.

In the last level of the fourth chapter, you wipe off a flower vase and pick up the flowers to look nice and alive again, then the shadow of your cat looks over them and the flowers die again and it’s implied the cat broke the vase. I Feel Like This Is Your Character. using cleaning/organizing as a distraction to feel normal before remembering your cat and grieving its death all over again. Chapter five starts with picking up the pieces of that broken flower vase.

to rehash what I said about moving to a new distraction when you think about your cat, there’s a level in the fifth and last chapter where when it messes up what you’ve done at your computer space, fix it and you carry on with the level, you don’t leave immediately after. you make constellations of your cat in the sky in one of them. the third to last level is just. petting your cat. the very last level is building a tower for your cat to climb up to the moon. your cat is in the sky. Your Cat Is In The Sky. Do You Hear Me. i think it’s about Organizing Of Course but also quietly about learning to move on from your cat’s death. i could be making this Entirely up but i just finished the game with my sibling and that was the impression I got with the moon thing and everything Now put in perspective and I've convinced my sibling of this and we're Crying

[simm-mouse]

More doodles

The second and third one is a redraw of little boy Nervous

[phantom-of-the-memes]

So you’re going to have to start on them William coins and notes huh…

[mothmonarch]

Time's running out for the Moth Week sale!! 10% off SHOPWIDE with "MOTHWEEK" through tomorrow - pins, stickers, charms, bandanas, even art originals & digital downloads! Check it all out!! 🐛✨

[toydrill]

a venture bros themed six fanart! :) thanks for everyone on twitter for requesting characters for me to draw 

[zundely]

As much as I love Dorian (and I love him A LOT) the fact that I can make him an Archon and the fact that he somehow seems more sensible of the two options in game is hysterical to me.

The man avoided the politics for better part of his life in order to spite his family and he admitably god VERY good at being as politically abhorent and unacceptable as it is possible. He will sometimes say the wildest, most out of pocket shit that comes to his mind. If there is a thing to say that will offend the largest amount of people in a room any given time, he will not only say it but make it ten times worst. And part of it is an act sure, but something about the way Emmrich talks about young Dorian makes me think he has put on this act for so long it's basically nature to him at this point. Like during half of convos he has with Solas- I am sure he doesn't mean to offend him... he is just so used to saying first thing that comes to his mind he does and he ends up saying some wild things. And the codexes we get that mention what Dorian has been up to in the Magestirium for this past years does tell me he still absolutely does this although he has gotten better at who he directs it at. But he still can't help himself, pretty much ever, to not cause some good old outrage.

All that to say- although Dorian is great at being a pariah and amazing at annoying the living hell out of uppity politicians... it does feel like he is not particularly careful about doing it or how it affects his standing. It may win him some support from the common folks, sure, but Tevinter isn't a democracy. What I am trying to get at is that to get good at politics Dorian would need to be a little bit more... well, a little bit more like Vivienne. And I am willing to belive he could do this in 10 year time skip but nothing in Veilguard leads me to belive he did. Which makes it hilarious he can become a political leader of this nation because I can just imagine what kind of things he will end up saying there.

[onenicebugperday]

Help! Found this baby in my garden, but none of the ID charts I've found have any matches! It looks a lot like a monarch larva to me, but its white bands are too narrow and I found it pretty far from any milkweed. I (and this caterpillar) are in central Illinois. Who is this mystery child?

It is a monarch, but it is unfortunately diseased with something called black death. Usually, eventually, they will turn entirely black and die, then sort of deflate and leak goo. Sometimes they still manage to turn into a chrysalis, but they often die in that stage. The chrysalis will turn entirely black and the butterfly will never emerge. I don't recall if any of them ever survive once they're infected but I'd guess not many if any at all! RIP to this friend :C