Royal Conundrum
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The Royal Conundrum is an ongoing controversy surrounding the sexual orientation of Prince Noor Ad-Din ibn Salah Ad-Din Al-Lusirni, the Crown Prince of Kurum Ash-Sharqia.
"Is the Crown Prince gay?"
After all his siblings were married, with his brother Prince Imad Ad-Din being the last to wed in 1731 AN, speculation about the Crown Prince's sexual orientation began circulating on social media. The first nationwide newspaper to report on this was the Vrijplaats Herald, which tweeted in 1737 AN: "Is the Crown Prince gay?"
Neither the Crown Prince, the Sultan, nor the Royal House responded to the speculation.
First meeting with Valdemar Al-Aziz
In 1739 AN, Noor Ad-Din attended the All Micras Debutante Ball under the pseudonym "Alex van Buren," seeking a suitable partner. At the ball, he met Valdemar al-Aziz, Prince of Shireroth, and began dating him. Their relationship was kept a secret.
Secret meeting of the Crown Council
In 1740 AN, Noor Ad-Din informed his brother, the Sultan, about his relationship and sought his permission to marry Valdemar Al-Aziz. The Sultan convened the Crown Council in secret to gauge the opinions of its members. They agreed that the Office of the Sultan is a secular institution and that religious sensitivities should not influence the Council's decisions. Subsequently, the Sultan reached out to the Grand Vizier, the socialist Bilal Gharbi, for his opinion and political assessment of the matter.
Gharbi concurred that potential religious sensitivities should not sway the decision, but acknowledged that they likely would. He anticipated political upheaval as a result. Het asked the Sultan to postpone a formal annoucement untill after the general elections.
Formal meeting of de Crown Council
One month after the 1740 Kurum Ash-Sharqia general election, the Sultan convened the Crown Council again to formally inform the Council of his decision to agree to the Crown Prince's marriage to Valdemar Al-Aziz. A press release followed. In it, the Sultan asked for his decision to be respected as well as his brother's privacy.
Social debate and political response
The media initially responded enthusiastically. The Ulema Party, on the other hand, was immediately furious and demanded in Al-Majlis Al-Watani the resignation of the Crown Prince and the Grand Vizier. They found it absolutely shameless that a member of the royal family of an Islamic country should be allowed to have a homosexual relationship, let alone that person ever become head-of-state. This also led to more discussion in the media and on social media.
The UP had only 3 seats in Al-Majlis Al-Watani, but unexpectedly received a lot of support for its motion of no-confidence against the government. The majority held, but conservative forces in the Islamic People's Party and Socialist Platform voted in favor of the motion. Only the Secular Alliance remained unanimously behind the Crown Prince. The motion was eventually rejected by 53 votes to 47.
