Windenburg Dukedom

(Year 235, Spring) Duke Merlin von Windenburg (83) is reported sick. A few nights ago he was transported to a hospital where he is still resting. The press release does not give any medical details, but confirms that he is still being tested while staying there for observation a few more days.

Duchess Mandy (49) is back home at Estate von Windenburg. The couple married 8 years ago and has 5 children aged 7 to 12, including two sets of twins. Their oldest daughter, Lady Mirarda (12) is fostered by Mandy's elderly parents in Oasis Springs.

New Dynasty emblems for Dukedoms

(Year 234, Winter) Today there was another ceremonial event taking place at the Royal Palace of Mazaloom. It was time to hand the framed new crest emblems to the first nobles, this time all five dukedoms were present.

The event took place in Mazaloom Great Hall, which is the entrance area of the palace, regularly used for smaller exhibitions and concerts etc. The press was there, and a few curious commoners had arrived, to witness the whole thing.

One by one the five dukes stepped forward to get their new framing. The crest will identify their brand new dynasties, as Mazaloom had no such thing in the past. Someone might need to make a few adjustments to get the symbolic deco object up on the wall...

Social Season

(Year 234, Summer) It's Social Season! Summer is the time of year when nobility and other members of aristocracy will step aside from their everyday formality, and enjoy a series of more relaxed gatherings, often on a much shorter notice than these residents are used to. Some events are small excuses for that extra glass of nectar, or they are bigger traditional gala events which are the perfect excuse for bringing out your tiara.

Garden Stroll with the Queen
The Queen's Garden Party is one of those traditional events, and surprisingly much less formal than it sounds. To most, hanging with the Queen might sound like a serious affauir, but mind you that normally only members of high nobility get invited. And, as tradition says, only females are welcome!

Left to right: Duchess Gloria of Meadows, Lady Corva Saxor, HRH Crown Princess Emireza, Duchess Luna de Cavalier, HRH Queen Venezia, Duchess Prudence de Aarbyville, Duchess Riba Lynn of Rossie, and Countess Elisabeh of Ticktop.

The Garden Party is more like a club for the same old gang. No press, no expensive jewellery. The Summer lunch normally takes place on the huge palace terrace, but not without a stroll through the garden.

More Jungle by Duchess Mandy

(Year 234, Summer) Social season is here! All over the kingdom members of aristocracy seem to mingle at smaller and bigger events. Some of these happenings drag focus to social charity, while others seem so be little more than another excuse for a glass of bubble nectar. The common thing is that all events, with a couple exceptions, are quite spontanious.

Duchess Mandy von Windenburg's sudden popup exhibition might be an attempt to get rid of the remaining jungle painting from the duchess' period in the Selvadoradian jungle some years back. There was a successful exhibition at the Kasbah Gallery in San Myshuno, but not all works were sold. Now she decided to empty her storage of paintings once and for all, arranging a pop-up sales day at Hotel Lykke in Windenburg.

Estate von Haunt 75 Years Anniversary

(Year 234, Spring) This year it's 75 years since the old Estate von Haunt opened its doors as a museum, after a thorough renovation following the Year 98 fire. The building, worthy of a royal, did serve as the Lord von Haunt's estate for nearly a century, but is today owned by Mazaloom Historical Museum.

The day is packed with local events, and because this place holds a strong position in most Windenburgers' hearts, the large crowds are expected. Before the official opening a few prominant persons gathered for some photos, a private tour and a few last minute adjustments. They are not worried about the weather, come rain or sun!

Gossips #14

(Year 232, Winter) I'm back with he 14th issue of my wonderful gossips column! Welcome!

This time I tried to restrict myself, but you get a lengthy read anyway! Rest assured there is juicy stuff waiting - including the nude photo of a mature princess! You might notice that I will no longer use each district name for the heading graphics, instead we'll just have one graphical heading for each region. And - if you are like me, you are quite fed up with those eight regional numbers, so in the future I'll just stick with the regions' names. This issue will be the last where those numbers are included in the text - we got so much more important stuff to focus on than numbers, right!

Cut Ruby Donation for the Similius Cathedral

(Year 232, Fall) You might know that Church of Similius dedicates most of their belief to the green and red bars. One can not exist without the other, and we don't need to fill the green to stay happy - avoiding the red would be enough. A philosophy that transfers well to the modern ECO lifestyle - avoid consumption beyond what is strictly needed.

But did you also know that each of the 5 churches have a system of crystals, namely a red ruby and green emerald, that serves as a help to a new priest? When a Priest starts his mission, he will most often come directly from the Monastery, with empty pockets except maybe the Nestor of the Monastery offered him a couple eggs and some vegetables/seeds for him to eat or grow. When he starts his new life as a Priest, the ruby and emerald will be waiting for him in his church. Selling those two gems makes for a better initial period.

Then - he will make sure to find new gems for those two displays in support of his successor.

It's been nearly 3 decades since Ansgar Profedius entered the top position of the High Priest. He serves the Windenburg parish, which includes the largest church, the Similius Cathedral. For 27 years the gem displays of the cathedral have been empty! But last night, right before the midnight mass, a beautiful plumbob cut red ruby could again be admired!

Exhibition: My Estate is my Palace

(Year 232, Summer) We already heard about the adjustments of the large peerage, where 12 high nobility peers were reduced to 8. A final confirmation of these changes is expected this Fall. The Royal Chamber, which is overseeing the large peerage as well as initiating these changes, now wants to focus more on the 8 high nobility peers that are still considered high nobility. And why not do so through a mini exhibition?

A dedicated crowd attended the exhibition opening of «My Estate is my Palace».

This weekend the exhibition «My Estate is my Palace» opened at the Casbah Gallery at Arts Quarter in San Myshuno.

Nobility Descending from Kings

(Year 232, Summer) Mazaloom kingdom has a wide aristocracy including a level of high nobility. Today this level includes 12 Houses, but come the Regional Reform Y233 the exclusive list shall count only 8 high nobility Houses, one for each region. Let's have a look at the current 12 Peers; Who can track their lines back to our kings? And, will those royal lines affect what 4 Houses that will shortly drop to regular nobility (often referred to as low nobility)?

Let's check the House by House. There are 5 dukedoms, 4 counties and 3 baronies. Only the dukedoms are secured a position as high nobility. Here is how they rank by royal heritage:

Duke Merlin von Windenburg turns 80

(Year 232, Spring) The Duke von Windenburg celebrated his 80th birthday last weekend! A grand banquet was hosted at Estate von Windenburg and topping the guest list were HRM King Tarriot and HRH Queen Venezia!

Left to right: HRH Queen Venezia, HRM King Tarriot, His Grace Duke Merlin von Windenburg, and Duchess Mandy. 

After the serving, which included local seafood and more, there was plenty of dancing and fun. The reports say nothing about what parts of the celebration the royals took part in.

Grand Mazaloom Gathering addressing Equality

(Year 231, Spring) Every year in Spring the Royal Chamber hosts a semi-political symposium where members of the Aristocracy as well as the 8 regional Majors are invited. Every year there is a new main theme, and this year the focus was gender flexibility. The location do alternate a bit, and this year the Grand Mazaloom Gathering (GMG) took place at Hotel Oceana, Tartosa.

The huge doll in Hotel Oceana's reception area has become a symbol for this establishment, despite the original intention of having the display replaced every year.

This year's GMG theme attracted a nice group of attendees. This is not meant to be a political arena, but the themes debated are mostly related to actual community matters, and therefore also should be of interest to more politicians. Isn't this year's theme even a bit controversial?

Chateau Cavalier: It's a great Day for a Wedding!

(Year 229) The couple has been waiting for years - and finally they were allowed to elope! Duke Charlopold got his Lady Luna, and Lady Luna got her Duke Charlopold. Although the event was downscaled a bit due to the groom's father deceasing this Spring, the event that took place in the chateau gardens was not that bad. It looked like the bride and the groom's mother, Old-Duchess Claudine, were both satisfied.

Their full civil names are Charlopold Demitris de Cavalier and Luna V. Heimlich. They met at University some years ago, but their relation was not approved by the Old-Duke until last year, when Luna got her Lady style. It was discovered that she is the daughter of Duke Merlin von Windenburg, and not the criminal Jacques Villareal, like everyone thought.

This was my very first wedding more or less with the use of the My Wedding Stories GP features. Some fun, and some frustration...

Brindleton Wedding in the Planning

(Year 229) It's not been the ideal start for the engaged couple, Duke Charlopold de Cavalier and Lady Luna V. Heimlich. 6 months ago they got engaged and a huge celebration was planned for their wedding to take place this Summer. It is a bit short notice to most noble houses, as this group is rather busy and need to plan big events like attending a wedding at least one year ahead. Traveling combined with a couple days with events, and minimum the ceremony and a gala, involves not only planning what clothes top wear, but also regalia and what jewels to bring. With a better notice there would be time to repair an old tiara, but okay - it will of course be possible to go for a 2nd best choice if needed. Squeezing in a 3 days visit to another region will need either planning or good luck, though.

The Duke de Cavalier's office.

Duke Charlopold knows all these things, but the couple has waited years to get engaged, thanks to certain controversies like Lady Luna descending from criminals. Thankfully, it turned out she is instead the daughter of Duke Merlin von Windenburg, but as soon as this problem was out of the way Duke Charlopold's old father, Old-Duke Aquess, died. The upcoming groom had no choice but declaring a full season of grief at Chateau Cavalier.

House de Cavalier: Engagement

(Year 229) House de Cavalier, Brindleton Bay, announces the engagement between Charlopold Demitris de Cavalier, Duke de Cavalier and Lady Luna V. Heimlich.

Duke Charlopold (38) took over the Brindleton dukedom two years ago as his father, Aquess de Cavalier, stepped back due to health issues. He got his History degree at University of Britechester and has started a career in Military.

House von Heimlich: Breaking News

(Year 228) Duke Merlin von Windenburg, Head of House von Heimlich, announces the incredible news that he recently met his unknown daughter! Young adult, Luna Villareal, had been suspicious to who her right father is, as her mother was first married to the Duke, then to Jacques Villareal, and Luna was born less than 9 months after the Duke's disappearance in Year 190. Her official father refused to take a DNA test, and he died 4 years ago (as featured in the As Sims Go By video series).

When Duke Merlin heard about this, he promptly offered a DNA sample, and they had a full match!

Duke Merlin von Windenburg posing with his newfound daughter, Luna.

House von Heimlich: Finally the Heir was born!

(Year 228, Windenburg) The Duke and Duchess von Windenburg are thrilled to announce the birth of their second set of twins, two boys, this Fall. All are healthy and sound, and the dukedom finally got not jut one possible heir, but two! Duke Merlin (76) is not getting any younger and certain not alarming health issues were reported.

Locals could read the news this morning, as the announcement was made public both at the gate of Estate von Windenburg and - as is tradition - in front of the historical Quad Manor in Windenburg's Oldtown (former estate of Duke Merlin's ancestors).

Windenburg Treasures at Historical Museum

(Y227) This weekend was the grand opening of the brand new section at Municipal Muses in Gloomville, one of Region 12's historical museums. The new addition is simply a full floor in the basement where half the area is dedicated a more or less permanent historical exhibition, and the other half will be used for changing themes.

Opening night saw a good crowd, and after a couple short speeches noble guests got a guided tour by the museum's Curator, Nancy D. Roxenfox. This prominent group included Duke Victus of Meadows, who is the Historical Museum's Patron, his teen daughter Lady Corva, and of course Duke Merlin von Windenburg with his wife, Duchess Mandy.

From left: Duke Victus (53) of Meadows with daughter Lady Corva (21). Duchess Mandy (41)
and Duke Merlin (75) von Windenburg. Nany D. Roxenfox, museum's Curator.

The first of many changing exhibitions to come is some of the old items of the dukedom von Windenburg, owned by either the Trust or by House von Heimlich. When their estate was recently renovated, a closed room was discovered in the cellar, hiding numerous long lost items.

House von Heimlich: Twins birth announcement

(Year 227, Windenburg) The Duke and Duchess von Windenburg are thrilled to announce the birth of two lovely baby girls this Winter. All are healthy and sound, and family life at Estate von Windenburg will definitely take a twist.

Girls can not be in line of Successors to the Windenburg dukedom, but we would like to state that right now that is of less importance. Having three daughters is a blessing!

Royal Chamber issues Warnings

(Year 227) The Royal Chamber moderates the long list of Houses every ten years. This job is normally handled by the regional Council, but when there are requirements not met or conflicting interests, the chamber gets involved.

The main rules:
* Minimum 2 members counted within 4 blood line steps.
* Net worth of House must exceed §250,000 (same family name households combined).
* Only 1 high nobility peerage per House.
* Maximum 1 peerage of each level per member of House.

* Non-legit child can be a central member (aged 25), but can not become next Head of House or hold any peerage or noble title.

A warning has today been issued to the following Houses:

House von Heimlich: Updates

(Year 227, Windenburg) It is with great gratitude that Duke Merlin and Duchess Mandy von Windenburg announce the expecting of a baby to be born this Winter. Our daughter, Mirarda Rosewood Heimlich (4), will not be a legit heir to the dukedom, and therefore neither in front line to become Head of House as a male heir is required for both. We and our supportive community all hope for a baby boy.

Mandy (Rosewood) Heimlich, who married to Merlin Edvard Heimlich this Spring, recently had her investiture as Duchess von Windenburg. We'd like to reach out and say thank you to all supporters. Those stating that a commoner should not become the Duchess von Windenburg were not obeyed, but neither totally ignored. All opinions were listened to.