Kalistani Major History

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Emperor is finally Engaged
Future Empress former Keyboardist from RF band "Speedfreak"
Eveari, Ananto
April 12, 5154


Emperor Fredrick I Ananto and fiance Elizabeth "Libby" Hansen, soon-to-be Empress of Kalistan and Countess of Luxon, announce engagement in Eveari

Spokeswoman for the Emperor Cathy Hernandez has announced that the Emperor of Ananto and Kalistan will be married on October 1 of this year to Ms. Elizabeth "Libby" Hansen, of Lolla, Kaliburg, Ananto. Hansen, 29, is the former keyboardist from the RF band "Speedfreak", and has a Masters of Fine Arts in Stagecraft from Kaliburg National University in Kaliburg, and a Bachelors of Science in History.

"We informed the Government of Kalistan that the Emperor will be married to Ms. Hansen in October," said Hernandez. "The Premier has been put in charge of the preparations for the Imperial Wedding, and has delegated the task to various planning committees. The Emperor has expressed that the matter is to be a small affair."

Hernandez said that the guest list will likely be limited to family and friends, though the sovereigns of Lourenne and Istalia will likely be invited explicitly, Lourenne owing to their long time economic ties to Kalistan, and Istalia in reciprocity for the invitation to their Emperor's Wedding. "The Emperor welcomes all wellwishers from the world, of course, but as few nations have even acknowledged the rise of the House of Ananto and the transition from Republic to Empire, save Istalia and Lourenne, the Emperor has made specific mention of the sovereigns of those two states in his wishes. Other heads of state and government who wish to attend are free to fly to Kalistan via Commercial Airlines and celebrate the wedding along with all the wellwishers among the population in Kalistan."

Kalistanis generally approved of the match between the Emperor and the Musician. "Well, 'Speedfreak' was a pretty good band," said Donna Stuart, 24, of Kaliburg. "Libby kind of carried that band on its second record, and so yeah, I guess she would make a pretty good queen or whatever..." Bob Carruthers of Luxon was more direct; "A rich dude marrying someone who was basically an exotic dancer, who happened to play music in a RF band named after junkies? That's, like, the most Kalistani thing I can think of... So, I mean, yeah, I approve: It's totally on brand for this country." Mandy Ulysses of Vrassa City said "I heard the Government was trying to import some foreign noble for the Emperor to marry. I was like 'We've got 52 million women in this country.' I'm glad he chose a Kalistani one at least. How would that be to be run by foreigners?"

Before marrying the Emperor, Ms. Hansen will be titled Countess of Luxon. The County of Luxon is the first County to be created in the Duchy of Ananto, and consists at the moment of the port city of Luxon as well as the resort town of Xanadu, and the land south of the Pride, Pine, and Xanadu Rivers and including the Kublai Hills, the southern ranges of the Xanadu Mountains, the Kublai Hills and the coastal plains. The old county boundaries were utterly destroyed when the Republic was declared and all imperial titles vacated in 4056. All land not controlled by individual or co-operative title will revert to ownership by the Countess. The new Countess will be in charge of collection of taxes in the County and will be responsible to oversee administration of all welfare and social programming in her County, and shall be entitled to create a staff that will allow her to administer the district in accord with National law. She will also oversee the creation of a county militia, which will join the Regular Force in the event that the Militias are nationalized. The new County will serve as a template for other Counties to be created, and the administration of Counties and Duchies going forward.

The Wedding, set for October 15, 5154, will begin promptly at 10 AM, and will take place in the National Opera House in Kaliburg. All citizens are invited, and seating in the National Opera House will be by Lottery. The only reserved seating will be for Heads of State of Lourenne and Istalia, if they decide to attend, the Premier, and the Foreign Minister. "The Emperor has insisted that this wedding be a popular matter, and that it not be dominated by elites," said Hernandez. "He did want the only reserved seats to be for visiting heads of State, but the Premier protested this plan, and so the Emperor relented. But there will still be more than 750 seats available to the General Public." A citywide celebration is being planned to receive the new couple following the ceremony.