Luthori

[Ligbruderkrieg]

Emperor Richard II and Empress Valeria married in large ceremony in Fort William.
July 5636



Fort William - It was the day! The day in which the Imperial Family would grow even larger. The wedding ceremony of Emperor Richard II and Princess Valeria took place today at the St-Richard Cathedral in a long Luthorian tradition. Princess Valeria, who became Empress-Queen Valeria through her marriage with the Emperor is the daughter of Egelion's Royal Councillor Veronica Mondragon, Duchess of Edergira, the marriage of the House of Orange-Villayn and Egelian noble houses marks the second time in a century that this has happened, the first instance being with Princess Alice's wedding with the King of Egelion, Amadeo, both parents of the current monarch, King Romulo.

The Egelian royal family was present to the wedding ceremony alongside the parents of the bride. Luthorian statesmen like the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and numerous Senators and Members of the Chamber of Representatives were also invited to the wedding, former Prime Ministers Rodgers and Brakenbrooke were also present and the widow of former Prime Minister MacGregor and her family were also invited to the wedding ceremony. Members of the Imperial Family were also present to this wedding, as was widely expected of them. Surprisingly, both the Hutorian Prime Minister and members of the Hutorian Royal Family, in the name of the Prince of Adelia, Alexander who came with his wife and daughter to the wedding ceremony, arguably, the only royal family to come to this wedding.

The ceremony in itself was headed, as announced in April by the Archbishop of Oalapo, Mgr. John Arwen. Coming down from her state-gifted Taylor-Yeoman Statesman SUV, the bride entered to the cathedral dressed in a magnificent £341,000 wedding dress designed by imperial designer, Sir Charles Hammond, alongside her father, who walked with her daughter through the aisle, before arriving at the Church's sanctuary, where the ceremony could begin. After exchanging their vows and after the Archbishop asked them if they wanted to take each other as husband and wife, which of course, both of them accepted, the Archbishop blessed their marriage and the imperial anthem, God Save the King was sung by all guests at the Cathedral, except foreign dignitaries, of course.

After the ceremony, the newly-weds departed from the Cathedral and engaged in a 3.4 miles ride between the St. Richard Cathedral and the Orange Palace, passing by landmarks of the City of Fort William such as Darlington Palace and the famous Elswith Tower (Great Clock of Darlington or Big Ben), the Holy Imperial Palace and the Orange Park before arriving at the Orange Palace. Entering the Palace with the cheers of the crowd which had already assembled in the Charles VII Avenue. The Emperor and Empress were seen waving to the crowds that had assembled to watch their wedding. The Imperial couple entered the Orange Palace while the Police dismantled the security barriers that had been put in place through the road of the imperial carriage to assure the Emperor and Empress' security. The dismantling of the security barriers allowed the crowd at the Orange Park to flood the Charles VII Avenue and the Empress Elizabeth's Memorial.

According the Fort William Metropolitan Police Department, the crowd in front of the Orange Palace, in the Charles VII Avenue and on the Empress Elizabeth's Memorial Square was about 500.000, adding to this, the Metropolitan Police estimated that around 1.25 millions Luthorians had lined up on the procession's road to return to the Orange Palace. Emperor Richard II and Empress Valeria were within the Prince Mark' State Coach, from where it was easier for the Imperial couple to greet every single of their subject that made the journey to come see them. Protection for the wedding was assured by the Fort William Metropolitan Police Department and the 52nd Imperial Guard Regiment, tasked with the protection of such events.

The newly-weds monarchs appeared on the balcony of the Orange Palace later on, appearing before a cheering crowd assembled below them at the Empress Elizabeth's Memorial Square. As per with tradition, Emperor and Empress kissed on the balcony after their ceremony, as it is the case with every single Luthorian royal wedding. The Emperor and Empress were accompanied by their respective families and alongside them, in a breach of traditional protocol which states that only the Luthorian Imperial Family can come to the Balcony, both the Hutorian Royals who were present and the Egelian royal family were allowed to appear alongside the Imperial Family and the Mongradon Family at the Balcony to greet the ecstatic crowd assembling before the Palace's balcony.

The Government announced that in commemoration of the event, the £5 banknote would see slight modification to include both the Emperor and Empress' portrait for a limited period of time. The Post Office also announced the creation of a special "Wedding Stamp" to commemorate the happy event. The Palace confirmed that the imperial couple would enjoy a honeymoon in the royal residence of Oshburn Castle and would enjoy their summer vacation in the royal residence of Highbury House, before taking on a tour of their realms of Luthori and Mordusia by September. The Luthorian Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) confirmed that over 87.214.027 Luthorians watched on television the wedding ceremony through their network, with estimates stating that over 2 billion people watched live as the "Wedding of the Century" took place in Fort William.

In other news, sources told the Weekly Telegraph that Prime Minister Hall and her Hutorian counterpart, Rosalyn Woodbury, have met in a undisclosed location. This first meetings between the two heads of government, between whom relations between Luthori & Hutori have reached an historic low in modern history, seems to be the signal of a "new relationship" in the making, at least that's the message that both the Luthorian Foreign Office and the Hutorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to be conveying. More information about that said meeting are to follow.