Declaration of Zalae
 Bellesea Palace | |
| Subject | Foundation of the Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Decreed by | Queen Elizabeth I |
| Extent | Caputia |
| Royal Assent | First year of the reign |
| Commencement | Upon proclamation |
The Declaration of Zalae was the founding proclamation of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia, issued at Bellesea Palace in Zalae in the first year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. By it Regina Ravaillac, of the House of Ravaillac and leader of the Ravaillac Loyalists in the Hammish Civil War, proclaimed the end of the Commonwealth of Hamland, established the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia in its place, and announced that she would reign under the regnal name Elizabeth. The anniversary of the Declaration was afterward kept as Declaration of Zalae Day, a national holiday of the kingdom.
Background
By the closing stage of the civil war the Constitutional Convention assembled at the Zalae City Hall had resolved to offer Ravaillac the crown of the successor state, an offer she accepted on the condition that the choice be confirmed by a plebiscite of the whole country. The path to the proclamation opened with the death of General Augustus Eliphas, the head of the National Provisional Authority, whose will asked that the war be ended and that Ravaillac be invited to march upon the capital at New Kirrie. Before she departed at the head of the Grand Army of Liberation and Unity, a delegation of the Authority was received at Bellesea Palace, where it delivered a verified copy of Eliphas's will together with a signed statement of surrender and allegiance.
Content
The instrument styled its author "Regina Ravaillac, by the Grace of God, Queen of Hamland and Caputia, Supreme Governor of the Church of Caputia, Defender of the Faith". Its recitals declared that the throne of Hamland had lain empty for decades, invoked the Holy Peace prophesied by the goddess Melusine, and recorded the Queen's acceptance of the National Provisional Authority's invitation to march upon New Kirrie. The operative clauses announced the regnal name Elizabeth the First, proclaimed the end of the Commonwealth of Hamland, established the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia, and seated the royal court at Bellesea Palace until the Constitutional Convention could decide upon a national capital. The instrument bears no year, being dated only by the regnal year of the new reign.
Text of the Declaration
The following is the complete text of the Declaration of Zalae as preserved in the record of the Zalae Gazette.
The Declaration of Zalae
Being the proclamation of the end of the Commonwealth of Hamland
and the establishment of the Kingdom of the Union of Caputia,
given at Bellesea Palace in Zalae
REGINA RAVAILLAC, By the Grace of God, Queen of Hamland and Caputia, Supreme Governor of the Church of Caputia, Defender of the Faith, Unto all the Lords of the World to whom these presents shall come, Greetings!
WHEREAS the Throne of the Commonwealth of Hamland has laid empty for decades, and after a fractious civil war pitted brother against brother, sister against sister a Holy Peace has reached our land as prophesized by our Beloved Melusine;
WHEREAS We accept the invitation of the National Provisional Authority to march to New Kirrie to officially assume the Throne of Hamland;
LET IT BE KNOWN that henceforth Our Regnal name shall be ELIZABETH THE FIRST.
AND WHEREAS We officially proclaim the end of the Commonwealth of Hamland, and establish a new Kingdom, called the KINGDOM OF THE UNION OF CAPUTIA,
LET IT BE ALSO KNOWN that we establish Our Court at Bellesea Palace, until the Constitutional Convention can deliberate and decide on the new national capital of the Kingdom;
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, We affix Our Great Seal on this Twenty-Fifth Day of October in the First Year of Our Reign at Our Court at Bellesea Palace in Zalae.
Aftermath
Publication of the Declaration was followed by the Queen's march to New Kirrie. In the first year of the reign the lords of the Privy Council joined the officers of the National Provisional Authority and its interim prime minister, General Alcides Hall, at Pratchett Hall in New Kirrie to publish the Proclamation of Accession, which recognized Elizabeth as Queen of Hamland and Caputia. The Constitution Act, to which the Queen granted royal assent at Zalae, established the framework of the new state, and a two-part national referendum approved the constitution and confirmed Elizabeth I as Queen. Under the National Holidays Act of 1661 AN the anniversary of the Declaration was kept as Declaration of Zalae Day.
