Imperial Wedding

An Imperial Wedding is a marriage ceremony which involves members of the Imperial Family. In particular, the marriage of the Emperor is an important occasion and public holiday in the Empire. Imperial Weddings feature many ceremonial events and attracts significant attention throughout the Empire and human space. It is customary to wait 30 days after announcing an engagement before holding the ceremony. Imperial Weddings fall under the jurisdiction of the Office for Marriage and its Marriage Council, which maintains the power to hear objections to a proposed marriage and rule on its legality.

Recent Imperial Weddings

Thus far in the 34th century, three Imperial Weddings have been arranged. The first, between Emperor Hengist Duval and Imperial noblewoman Florence Lavigny, was interrupted by the assassination of Hengist. The second, between Princess Aisling Duval and Federal Ambassador Jordan Rochester, was cancelled after it came to light that the princess had been having an affair with anti-slavery activist Jarl Toredo and only sought to marry Rochester for the sake of her political agenda. The third, between Imperator Hadrian Augustus Duval and Commander Astrid Minerva, was completed successfully, but under heightened security measures to mitigate the possibility of an assassination attempt by the Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army.

Hengist Duval and Florence Lavigny

Emperor Hengist Duval decreed that his only legitimate son, Harold Duval, was not of sound mind and ineligible to succeed to the Imperial Throne on December 19, 3300, and three days later he announced his intent to marry Florence Lavigny to legitimize his daughter Arissa Lavigny-Duval in preparation for her to become his successor. The original wedding was planned for January 22, 3301. Hengist's illness then took a turn for the worse, and he entered a months-long coma, causing the wedding to be postponed much to the dismay of the public. Upon Hengist's miraculous emergence from his coma on July 14, the wedding was scheduled for August 5, 3301.

On July 24, Chancellor Anders Blaine declared the wedding day a public holiday so that all Imperial citizens could take part in the festivities. Dignitaries began arriving on Capitol from every major population center in the Empire on August 4, as well as foreign dignitaries, such as Shadow President Felicia Winters of the Federation.

On the day of the wedding, however, Hengist was assassinated by Emperor's Dawn radical Brendan Paul Darius before the ceremony could be completed. Although Arissa was not legitimized, in the end she was still elected by the Imperial Senate to succeed her father as Emperor.

Aisling Duval and Jordan Rochester

On June 22, 3304, Princess Aisling Duval announced that she and Federal Ambassador Jordan Rochester were engaged to marry. Reactions from the galactic community ranged from joy to cordial congratulations to outrage, as could be expected given the controversy of a member of the Imperial Family marrying a Federal official. The wedding was official scheduled for August 25, 3304, and would take place at the Imperial Palace on Emerald in the Cemiess system.

On August 17, only days before the wedding, plans were thrown into disarray when anti-slaver activist Jarl Toredo revealed to entertainment journalist Solomon Helios that he and Aisling had a secret relationship, and Aisling had told him that she only intended to marry Jordan to advance her political plans. Jordan's mother Isolde Rochester announced that the wedding had been cancelled on August 22, seemingly lending credence to Jarl Toredo's scandalous claims. The wedding date passed without comment from either Princess Aisling or Ambassador Rochester.

Hadrian Duval and Astrid Minerva-Duval

Imperator Hadrian Augustus Duval of Nova Imperium married his consort, Commander Astrid Minerva, on April 5, 3307. Due to the ongoing threat posed by the Neo-Marlinist Liberation Army, the ceremony was conducted privately, at an undisclosed location, and with no prior notice given to the public. Princess Aisling Duval attended the event. The newly-titled Lady Astrid Minerva-Duval had become the Imperator's consort after assisting Nova Imperium forces during the Battle of Paresa in early 3305.