Vanuku

[Kubrick]

65th birthday of Bunjamín to be celebrated across Empire
28 September 5578, Wiel, Kingdom of Wrnuke, Empire of the Jelbic Peoples


The entrance to the palace of the Emperor in Wrnuke's capital of Wiel, pictures inside are forbidden per royal protocol.

Next year the monarch of the Empire of the Jelbic Peoples, Bunjamín Banmek-Sntazed, turns 65 years old. He has been the reigning monarch of Wrnuke for 25 years, being coronated in September 5553 after the passing of King Kezkai V, known by most people as "The Good King" for reducing poverty across the Jelbic Kingdom. A month after his ascension then King Bunjamín announced his personal claims to the ancient Empire of the Jelbic Peoples, a long dream he was able to fulfil a year later in October 5554. Since then the Empire has grown to encompass six member states, with three of these being in the top ten of the largest global economies. During the reign of the Emperor living standards in Wrnuke drastically increased, with the Emperor himself diverting a part of his personal wealth to establishing necessary facilities in the more remote regions due to his own passion for the traditional Jelbic lifestyle still alive in some rural parts of the country. His reign also oversaw the launching of two aircraft carriers, once a staple of Wrnuke's global projection but one that had been gone for a long time, the Emperor was noted to have a personal interest in this project even though he never served in the navy. But who is the Emperor himself? Many across the Empire only know him as the nation's figurehead, seldom seen outside and never photographed due to royal protocol it is difficult to imagine what kind of person he is in private. Krsyiji Sagmot'l has composed this short biography on Bunjamín Banmek-Sntazed to paint a picture of the illustrious monarch of all the Jelbic peoples.

Born on April 14, 5514 in the Beiteynuese capital city of Yishelem as Prince Bunjamín Banmek-Sntazed. He is of mixed Jelbic and Yeudi ancestry, his father Prince Míhalj Banmek-Sntazed was a cousin of King Kezkai V and two were close friends with Bunjamín always referring to the King as 'Uncle'. This line of Banmek-Sntazed's settled in Beiteynu in 5476 when the princely brothers Pawl and Lazr married into the Keshef family, a prominent banking dynasty. As a young prince Bunjamín grew up in a mixed household learning both Jelbic and Beiteynuese traditions, at age ten he adopted the Yeudi faith and at age twelve his father took him to Wrnuke to undergo the traditional Jelbic coming of age trials. At age thirteen he returned to Beiteynu, still having no idea what the future would bring. By 5532 the 18-year old Prince Bunjamín was about to start university in Yishelem when King Kezkai summoned him to Wiel. The Prince's 'Uncle' had no children of his own and was seeking to name an heir from his extended family as there are many cadet branches of the Banmek-Sntazed's across the globe. It has been released by other close confidants of King Kezkai that the choice for Bunjamín was made rather quickly, for starters the King enjoyed the company of his 'nephew' and his close ties to Beiteynu was an essential part of the plan drafted by former Prefect Dorfluzke-Mardoh to oust the last remnants of colonisation from Majatra. So before Bunjamín could start his studies he was named Archduke of Banstill, after a year delay to do ceremonial proceedings across the Kingdom he returned to Yishelem. After four years he attained his bachelor's degree in history with a minor in Majatran relations, his thesis was about the personal life and interests of Temrkai H'án based on his sixth wife's diaries which had been rediscovered in a Barmenian archive.

After finishing his studies the Archduke, now twenty-three, enlisted in the Beiteynuese Armed Forces. While some were critical of the heir of the largest Jelbic state serving in the military of a foreign power the King personally approved the move, calling for closer ties between Beiteynu and Wrnuke. After an officer course the Archduke was assigned as a junior lieutenant to an infantry platoon. After seven years he left the army as a captain. In the last three years of his enlistment he had already frequently taking long leaves of absence to commit to his duties as heir in Wrnuke. Upon arrival in Wrnuke he was given a new position within the reserves of the Land Forces. Most of his time then was spent on slowly taking over duties of King Kezkai, who at this time had started to get sick. In 5545 he met his wife Pruva Vrkz-Kerlmék during a charity event. The two are still married and have several children, but the Empress has and remains a very private person who avoids public events to focus on family life and running her own charity organisation that reduces poverty in Jelbe. Life in Wrnuke as a reserve officer and the heir to the Kingdom revealed a more relaxed Bunjamín, one that enjoyed to play football with his young children, who is known to prefer Selucian as his favourite cuisine and as a man that is a massive movie buff with a private cinema being present in every royal residence across the Jelbic Empire. In 5553 he became King and a year after the Emperor of all Jelbic peoples. Since then he has been a monarch that at times likes to involve himself in how the Empire should be run, with critics saying he oversteps his royal duties. Others however applaud the Emperor for his care towards seeing this unified Jelbic state succeed. The Emperor often refers to himself as a "staunch Jelbic traditionalist" and has dismissed any calls to reduce his workload.

Instead he seems to take on more work, for in April next year the entire month will become a celebration of the Emperor's birthday. The Emperor will travel across all the member states in the four weeks and has personally allocated funds to set up festivals, concerts, fairs, and all kinds of other things in major cities across the Empire. A message from the Royal Palace read that the Emperor hopes that it will not be a celebration of his birthday but more of a celebration of Jelbic unity, cooperation, and strength. United the Jelbics stand against all threats.

Krsyiji Sagmot'l (United Media) is the national news agency of Wrnuke, it is decidedly pro-government but can at times be critical of it.