Their Majesties...

[Gorm of Berra <gormofberra@erols.com>]

Poster: Gorm of Berra <gormofberra@erols.com>

Okay, I think that NOBODY is correct in this situation, here's why:

Our Majesties are, in my humble opinion, in over their heads if they are
attempting to be full time parents and full time monarchs, if only for 6
months.  The SCA is a GAME, a recreation, it should be no where near as
important to anyone as their real life concerns.

I applaud their Majesties for attempting to make a go of it, however, I
do wonder, should not they have been able to forsee this problem before
they filed the letter of intent for Crown Tourney?  One gentle stated
that this is akin to a sudden health problem or a death in the family. 
Ummm...no...those are sudden "out of the blue" occurrances, that cannot
be forseen.  If you have a 4 year old child, you should be able to
forsee that he or she will want a good amount of attention in the next
year.

Another gentle stated that it was period for only one monarch to be at a
Court.  Umm, this is true, I presume, not being as studied in the area
as the gentle who stated this.  However, the laws of Atlantia state
quite clearly :

       6.4.1.3 No one shall compete in the Crown Lists or be the
               prospective consort of a competitor in the Crown Lists
who cannot
               fulfill the duties of the Crown.   

I see no evidence of their Majesties being unaware of this law.  And
their letter does sound as if they are saying "Well, we can't do the job
right, but deal with it people".  Particularly the sentence "It is
something that will occur more and more frequently as time goes on, lets
make it as gentle a transition as possible".

It sounds to my untrained ears as if their Majesties are planning on
doing this again.  I sincerely hope not, for the sake of the Game, for
the sake of the Crown, and for the sake of their child (not necessarily
in that order)

However, I do believe that it is possible that Stephan has stated his
case poorly.  Perhaps those were not the words he would have chosen upon
further reflection.  Perhaps not, I am no mindreader.  However, it is
the duty of every Atlantian to point out when the Crown is harming the
game, and I do think this is the case here.

Picture if you will receiving your Award of Arms.  This may be the only
time you are ever called into Court.  It may well be the finest moment
in your SCA experience.  You want that moment to be perfect.  Now,
picture only one of the two royals being present.  Particularly if the
one that inspires you more isn't the one there.  That could very well
lessen what is your one moment "in the sun".  

This is a hobby folks, if real life interferes with it, a responsible
person would put the hobby aside to set life straight.  Their majesties
are doing this, yes.  However, if the distraction of real life
interfered with the hobby dramatically (as it does in this case), you
should not be seeking the highest position the hobby has to offer.

Just my $0.02 worth, from someone who has no awards, and no rank other
than being a Deputy Coronet Herald.

Gorm of Berra
Alan MacNeill
GormofBerra@erols.com
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