Imperial Court of Packilvania

The Imperial Court of Packilvania (Packilvanian: luKhama luShahitishme aBakhilfaniya) refers to the formal body of support institutions and courtiers of the monarchy of Packilvania. The head of the Imperial Court of Packilvania is the Sultana Consort of Packilvania, currently Her Imperial and Royal Majesty, Sultana-Queen Consort Mebri. She is responsible for overseeing the running of the court.

Harem

The Harem is the collective name for the wives, minor children, unmarried daughters, and other people who are formally dependent on the monarch for their upkeep. The Sultana-Consort is the highest ranking member of the Harem and is technically the head of the Harem. In the past, the term Harem referred to the Inner Court of the Bingol Royal Palace and other formal Royal residences where men (except eunuchs and the Sultan) were not permitted to enter. The term Harem evolved to encompass all of the women and children under the care of the Sultan and under the authority of the Sultana.

Members

The members of the Harem are ranked as follows:

Sultana-Consort: First wife of the Sultan
Sultana-Mother: The mother of the incumbent Sultan
Sultana-Dowager: The widow of the previous Sultan none of whose sons are the Sultan.
Other wives: These are other women that the Sultan is formally and legally married to. Since Namdun III, many of them are also Queens of Drakkengard. They are ordered by whether they come from recognised royalty, then nobility and then by order of marriage. This order does not influence the order of succession.
Unmarried daughters above the age of majority: These are the female children of the incumbent Sultan. They are ordered according to whether they are widows or legally virgin, by the rank of their mother and by age
Widows of relatives
Unmarried adult female descendants: This includes great etc. grandchildren.
Minor female descendants of the Sultan
Daughters of relatives who are royalty (regardless of age)
Daughters of relatives (regardless of age)
Daughters of members of the nobility of Packilvania: In Packilvania, there exists the practice of nobles sending their daughters to live in the Imperial Court for some time where they are educated with the aim of building closer relations.
Princesses who were divorced (This no longer applies. Women who are divorced through no fault of their own are ranked by the other ranking systems)
Princesses who were convicted adultresses and fornicatrixes (this status is determined by a court of law not hearsay or rumour. Nevertheless, this is no longer possible as both these elements would disqualify such a woman from even entering the court).
Concubines (they had an internal order of precedence and sometimes they received more honour in practice) that was accorded people higher in the list.
Eunuchs.

Concubines

The Harem used to have concubines, but since concubinage was abolished, the Harem no longer has concubines. Concubines were women who were not married to the Sultan but whom he could have extra-marital relationships with. Concubines did not have the right to support from the Crown or formal positions should the Sultan's reign end. Further, they were not allowed to marry or have romantic relationships with men outside of the Harem.

In the 19th century, when Madvinism was gaining momentum and influence, the Magisterium of Paxism led by Supreme Magister Khameed III published an edict stating that the practice of concubinage was forbidden by the Writings of Paxism stating that it was prostitution by another name. As such, the Sultan issued a Decree banning concubinage and subsequently ending it in his own court. Many of his concubines were in a precarious position because other men would refuse to marry them, so Sultan Tyber II married them all, affording them the status and protection of marriage. The Magisterium was reluctant to acknowledge the marriages but did so due to the unique nature of the situation and the attempts by the Sultan to protect the women in his court.

Eunuchs

Eunuchs were men who were castrated and could not bear children. They devoted their lives to the service of the Crown including providing physical labour, teaching, domestic duties, child raising, and security within the Inner Court. Eunuchs were typically people who in modern parlance would be described as homosexual men, non-binary and gender non-conforming males, predominantly male-presenting intersex people and transgender women who instead of being executed for their sexual orientation and gender identity would be allowed to serve at the Imperial Court if they took a bow of celibacy and agreed to castration. They were not allowed to marry or adopt or be guardians of children. Biologically female or predominantly female-presenting intersex people could not be eunuchs.

The country experience substation religious fervour under the Demirite dynasty thus the Magisterium of Paxism took a more stern interpretation of scripture and abolished the office of the eunuchs. Furthermore, there were acts taking place at the Bingol Royal Palace which the Supreme Magister who witnessed them described as "debauchery" (this included evidence of eunuchs wearing feminine clothing etc.). Together these forces led to the Magisterium issuing an edict that eunuchs were against the laws of Paxism prompting the Sultan to ban them. Eunuchs were given severance payments and freed from Palace duties. Many had to go back into hiding or flee the country for fear of persecution.

Rules

The rules are made by the Sultana-Consort in line with tradition, the Law of Packilvania and the Laws of Paxism. The Sultana-Dowager took over much of the role of enforcing the rules when Mebri moved to Sultana's Palace. However, she cannot make a rule that contravenes the Sultana-Consort.

The following is an inexhaustive rules that must be followed:

Legal virgins are to have their faces and hair covered outside the Inner Court.
Legal non-virgins are to have their hair covered when outside of the Inner Court.
Adult men other than emergency and medical personnel and the Sultan may not enter the Harem. Emergency and medical personnel may only enter on the invitation of the Sultana or senior-most woman in the Harem. The Sultan is required to inform the Sultana before entering the Harem.
Meals are to be served in order of precedence.
Everyone is to be seated in the order of precedence when gathered.
Daily ritual cleansing, bathing and prayer is to be observed.
A lady of the Inner Court is not be touched by a man (other thank a close relative) outside of the Inner Court without the express permission of the Sultana or her mother and only in emergencies etc. Unauthorised and unlawful contact with a Lady of the Inner Court can result in corporal punishment. The punishment used to be amputation of the hand.
If a Lady of the Court is in a vulnerable position, a man shall not look upon her. Even the suspicion of an unlawful look can result in severe punishment.

These rules apply to any official Royal Residence. This includes the Bingol Royal Palace and the Sultana's Palace. The Sultana's Palace has many more rules because almost the entire structure and grounds are an Inner Court and in practice only the Crown Prince of Packilvania Prince Thumim and Deputy Crown Prince Abuyin and their future wives and children are permitted to live there. Some of these rules apply whether or not a Lady of the Harem is physically in the Inner Court of not.

There are some conventions which are not rules but a widely followed due to various beliefs etc.:

Certain food such as lentils and beans and eggs are discouraged because they encourage flatulence.
Certain fabrics are not to be worn because they are believed to make one infertile or to affect the skin.

Staff

The general staff who are permitted in the court are generally female staff. This includes security, governesses, cooks, handmaidens, tutors, etc. They are employed by the Imperial Household Agency.

Department of Imperial Affairs

The Department of Imperial Affairs is a department of the executive branch within the Office of the Prime Minister of Packilvania that is responsible for managing relations between the Council of Ministers of Packilvania and the Imperial Court. This includes managing events and meetings between the executive branch and the Imperial Court as well as managing the transfer of funds for the Imperial Court from the Department of Finance. The Junior Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister for Imperial Affairs is Princess Abdina.

Imperial Household Agency

The Imperial Household Agency is an agency that is directly within the Imperial Court that manages the day-to-day running of the monarchy and providing support to the Sultan of Packilvania in the exercise of his duties. This includes security, maintenance of royal residences, transportation and logistics, and other matters as would encompass the agency. The Director of the Imperial Household Agency is Alawad Somhadeel. He liaises with the Sultana-Consort and executes her instructions as she demands. This agency employs over 10,000 people. This includes landscaping, laundry, culinary services, maintenance, postal, communications, bodyguards, and other personnel. It oversees over 21 Royal Residence distributed throughout the country.