Istalia

[XanderOne]

A majestic farewell for Emperor Alessandro V

Nearly a million people in Romula for the solemn state funeral of the beloved sovereign. Crowned heads, Head of State and Government came in great numbers from all corners of the globe to pay their respects

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3 February 5665

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ROMULA - Sunday 2 February 5665, a scorchingly sunny day, unusual for a mourning occasion, but one that did not stop the hearts of an entire country. Nearly a million people flocked to the capital to bid their last farewell to Emperor Alessandro V, who passed away on 25 January at the age of 88. An immense, silent, and composed crowd transformed Romula into one large square of mourning.

Already 48 hours before the opening of the Throne Room of Quattroregni Palace, the line of citizens waiting to pay their respects to the coffin had reached sixteen kilometers, with wait times exceeding twenty-five hours. Even the preferential lane for disabled and chronically ill patients moved only slightly faster. During the five days of its opening, over 250,000 people filed past the coffin, draped in the Imperial Standard on an high catafalque, within the baroque Hall adorned by Imperial Standards, banner of Istalia and of the Armed Forces, watched over by the imperial guard and by detachments of all branches of the Armed Forces who took turns every six hours. The intense heat put a strain on those present: Romula's ambulance service treated more than 1,800 people, mostly for fainting and heatstroke.

At 6:00 yesterday morning, the doors of Quattroregni Palace closed to the public. Four hours later, the coffin emerged, placed on a cannon barrel draped in tricolor banners. Following on foot were Emperor Tommaso V and the Imperial Family, the Grand Dignitaries of the Crown, and the highest officials of state, from the Minister Secretary of State to the President of the National Congress, from the heads of the Judiciary to the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces.

The honorary escort was impressive: thirty members of the Imperial Guard, one hundred musicians from all departments of the Armed Forces, and 250 soldiers and officers of the Army's 10th Regiment "Arditi", the direct heir to the core of Resistance stormtroopers in which Alessandro V himself had trained, rising through the ranks until he commanded it.

As the procession passed through Romula, from the Monte Genziano Fort, the cannon that salutes the Romulan citizens every day at noon fired 88 shots, one for each year of the Sovereign's life.

More than 2,500 guests awaited the procession in the Basilica of All Angels: in addition to a large representative of Patriotic War veterans, there were representatives from the country’s civil, business, artistic, and scientific spheres, along with diplomatic and state delegations from all over the world. The funeral rite was celebrated by Monsignor Gianfranco Alongi, Bishop of Romula, Primate and Patriarch of Istalia, Solentia, and Quanzar.

For the occasion, as a demonstration of the respect Alessandro V enjoyed throughout Terra, Romula became the center of the world for a day. Countless crowned heads, Head of the State and of Government came from across the globe to pay their last respects to the Istalian Emperor. Among the crowd of dignitaries, accompanied or not by their spouses, stood out: President Eset Alaq of Utaristan, on his first official trip abroad; President Maria Ioannou of Kalopia; the newly elected Federal Chancellor of Dundorf Lennard Schneider; King Artemio I and Queen Anastasia Alexanderova of Egelion, also Tsar and Tsarina of Nadiya; Khan Nurhaci of Bianje, accompanied by foreign minister Chuoqui Nioyan; Hutori attended with Queen Arianna and Prince Consort David, the Duke of Newport, Prime Minister Katelyn Ashcroft and the Hutorian Ambassador to Istalia Luigi Menin; and then, further, the President of the Free Republic of Rildanor (Meriath) Victoria Vaganay; the Premier of Xsampa Jamma Gonpo with the Custodian Sangye Nyingpo; Empress Mary I Ananto of Kalistan and the Anantonese Empire, accompanied by The Lady Companion Victoria Jensen and Princess Nicolette Elizabeth Ananto-Collins; President of Lodamun William Stedman, President of Nadiya Putilova Terezilya, Emperor Richard II and Empress Valeria of Luthori, accompanied by the Prince of Orange (the heir to the throne) William; the Premier Götilda Riddercrantz on behalf of the ailing Rikspresident of Davostag Rikard Verman, the Chancellor of Badara Khalifi al-Qassem; last but not least, a guest whose attendance, announced at the last minute, had surprised many in Istalia, namely the neo appointed Prime Minister of Pontesi Vahran Azeryan, accompanied by foreign minister Satenik Davtyan.
(OOC: Leaders are listed in the order players responded to me on Discord)

Given this massive gathering of world leaders, later in the day, the new Emperor Tommaso offered them a cocktail reception in the Great Hall and the overlooking gardens of Quattroregni Palace, and surely, in the next days, the press will focus a lot on the speeches and topics discussed during the reception, and in particular on the reason for the presence of the Pontesian premier, a nation with which, since the Peninsula War, relations have been almost nonexistent, amid the icy wall of resentment that has grown between the north-west and the far east of Majatra.

But back at the ceremony, a moment of intense emotion was witnessed in the Basilica, when the Grand Princess Alice (11), youngest of Emperor children, gave in to tears, breaking the composure of the Imperial Family. Empress Melissa held her close in a maternal gesture, while Emperor Tommaso placed his hand on her shoulder: a silent sign of comfort that moved the entire assembly.

After the ceremony, the coffin was once again hoisted onto the cannon barrel, this time escorted by nearly two thousand soldiers of all branches of the Armed Forces. The procession crossed the city towards Michele I Imperatore Park and the Imperial Mausoleum lying within, greeted by an endless crowd of tears, applause, and military salutes.

In front of the Mausoleum, with over 5,000 soldiers lined up and hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the park, the final civil and military ceremony took place. Emperor Tommaso V delivered a stirring speech, remembering his father as a man, a soldier, and a Sovereign, and then thanking the people for their immense affection:

The warmth and closeness you have given us in these days have eased our family's grief. My father served this nation until his last day, and he will live on in the hearts of all of us.

The sun was still high in the sky as Alessandro V's coffin was welcomed into the Imperial Crypt, resting in glory under the gaze of the great Istalian Emperors of the past, his predecessors, closing a page of history and ushering in a new era for the Crown and for Istalia.