The Imperial Children

Princess Victoria of Valcouria (Victoria Elizabeth Lucretia Arachne Gratia; born 5 November 2013) is the first child and eldest daughter of Emperor Constantine I and his spouse, Empress Lacewing. Although not a hereditary monarchy, she is widely assumed to be a possible choice as her father’s successor as sovereign of Valcouria.
Announcement and Birth
On 27 February 2013, the Interior Ministry announced that Empress Lacewing was expecting her first child with Emperor Constantine. Coming so soon after the couple’s marriage (less than a month), the announcement was made in light of the fact that the Empress, a changeling, has the ability to sense pregnancy at a much earlier date than humans.
The Empress was admitted to Holy Virgin Medical Center in Bainbridge in the early stages of labor early on the morning of 5 November 2013. She gave birth to Victoria at 1:47 PM EST, roughly nine hours after going into labor. Victoria was reported to have weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces at birth. Emperor Constantine was by the Empress’s side when she gave birth.
Gun salutes signaled the birth in Bainbridge, Velorca, Caulfield, Halton, and Lepontine, while the bells of numerous churches and cathedrals were rung across the Empire. The Finance Ministry has announced its intentions to issue commemorative coins to mark the event, the first time in Valcourian history that the birth of a royal has been marked in such a way.
The Empress and her child, accompanied by the Emperor, left the hospital only three hours after the princess’s birth on 5 November. She was baptized on 10 November at Bainbridge Cathedral; her godparents were her maternal aunt, Queen Chrysalis, and the draconequus Discord, a close ally of her father.
To celebrate the princess's baptism, Bainbridge Mayor Edmund Baxendale issued a decree on 11 November bequeathing the long-unused Palace of St. George in Bainbridge to Victoria upon her attaining her 18th birthday.
Since her birth, the Princess has become the focal point between the Empire and the distant realm of Marescowl; in early May of 2015, negotiations with Marescowl resulted in the infant princess being arranged with Marescowl's Prince Roman for courtship and possible future marriage. However, no formal wedding arrangements were planned, as both the Emperor and Empress wished for their eldest to be able to choose her relationships freely.
Title and Style
Princess Victoria’s official style is Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Valcouria. As specified by Emperor Constantine in the Imperial Edict of 24 September, all children of the reigning emperor shall be entitled to use ‘of Valcouria’ as their surname, as it is a territorial designation. Princess Victoria’s legal surname is that of her father’s, Murdoch.
Ancestry
Princess Victoria’s paternal ancestors are the Murdoch family, of which Emperor Constantine is considered to be the head. She has one paternal uncle-the Emperor’s brother, Zachariah (born 19 April 1962), and two paternal female cousins, Octavia (born 22 June 1992) and Natalie (born 17 August 1993).
Her maternal ancestors are the Changeling Queen dynasty, which includes her aunts Queen Chrysalis, Queen Pupa, and Queen Myxine (all born c. 1380). She has an uncountable number of cousins, including Chrysalis II (born 1550) on this side of the family, as well as innumerable half-siblings from her mother, Queen-Empress Lacewing.
Princess Victoria is the first known individual to be born as a half-human and a half-changeling.
Prince Constantine of Valcouria (Constantine Stauracius Joseph Ignatius Rudolph; born 31 August 2014) is the second child and eldest son of King-Emperor Constantine I and Queen-Empress Lacewing. He is the first prince born to a monarch of Valcouria in over 200 years, and like his elder sister Princess Victoria is a possible successor to his father’s realms.
Announcement and Birth
Only one month after the birth of Princess Victoria in November of 2013, it was announced by the Imperial Interior Ministry that Empress Lacewing was pregnant with the couple’s second child. Both the Emperor and Empress acknowledged that their second child had not been expected nor planned, especially so soon after the birth of Princess Victoria, but were ecstatic nonetheless. The given due date for the birth of the couple’s second child was set on 15 September, only one week before the Empress’s own birthday.
Around 8:30 in the morning on 31 August, the Empress unexpectedly went into premature labor at the Palace of St. Philip in Bainbridge, where the Imperial couple was residing for the last month of the Empress’s pregnancy. The Empress was quickly taken to the Holy Virgin Medical Center, where Princess Victoria had been born in November of the preceding year. After being admitted, she gave birth to Constantine at 12:14 PM EST, roughly four hours after going into labor. At birth, Prince Constantine weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces, despite being over two weeks premature. Emperor Constantine was at Empress Lacewing’s side when she gave birth to their second child.
Due to the sudden nature of the prince’s birth, there were few formal celebrations that could be planned; instead, large crowds assembled in Bainbridge and several other major cities across the Empire to express their joy at the birth of the prince. He was baptized on 7 September at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin, where his elder sister Princess Victoria had been baptized, with King Bloodbeak VIII of Gryphorus and Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria serving as his godparents.
Prince Constantine is the first male child born to a ruling monarch in Valcouria in over 200 years, with the last such example, Prince Charles (who would later become King Charles IV), being born in 1778 during the reign of his father, King Charles III.
Title and Style
Prince Constantine’s official style in Valcouria is His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Constantine of Valcouria. In Thrasz, his title during his reign was His Royal Majesty King Constantine II. Like his sister, Prince Constantine is entitled to use ‘of Valcouria’ as his surname, as a territorial designation of the child of the ruling monarch. His legal surname is that of his father’s, Murdoch.
Ancestry
Prince Constantine’s paternal family is of the Murdoch family, of which his father Emperor Constantine is considered to be the head of. He is the first male born to the Murdoch family since 1969. He has one paternal uncle, Zachariah, and two female cousins, Octavia and Natalie, both daughters of Zachariah.
His maternal family is of the Changeling Queen dynasty, which includes his aunts Queen Chrysalis, Queen Myxine, and Queen Pupa. He has an uncountable number of cousins from his aunts (including Chrysalis II), and also has thousands of half-siblings from his mother as well.
Like his elder sister, Prince Constantine is both half-human and half-changeling.
Princess Euphemia of Valcouria (Euphemia Ariadne Marcellina Catherine Maria) & Prince Alexander of Valcouria (Alexander Ferdinand Felix Charles Theodore; born 23 May 2016) are the third and fourth and youngest children of Emperor Constantine and Empress Lacewing. Being identical twins, they are the first royal twins born in the history of Valcouria, and like their elder siblings Princess Victoria and Prince Constantine are possible candidates to succeed their father as the ruler of Valcouria.
Birth
Empress Lacewing was announced to be pregnant once again by the Interior Ministry on 3 September 2015, and one month later it was confirmed that she was carrying twins. No previous royal ruler of Valcouria had ever had twin children born to their consorts, making the children a special historical significance for the Empire. In early May, as their due date approached, the Emperor and Empress upheld the tradition started with Princess Victoria and temporarily relocated to the Palace of St. Philip on the mainland to await the birth of the children.
Empress Lacewing was taken to the Holy Virgin Medical Center early on 23 May 2016, the day after the nation-wide celebrations of Empire Day, where she delivered Princess Euphemia at 1:37 PM, with her brother Prince Alexander following six minutes later at 1:43 PM. At 2 PM, a 21-gun salute was fired from the Naval Battery at the Bainbridge Naval Base to mark the births of the royal children.
In a remarkable coincidence, Princess Euphemia and Prince Alexander were born only a half-hour after their cousin, Princess Talia, the only daughter of Queen Myxine by a currently unknown father. Both Queen Myxine and Empress Lacewing were taken to the hospital together by the Emperor, as the Queen had been visiting her relatives when she went into labor alongside her sister.
Both Princess Euphemia and Prince Alexander are to be christened at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin on 29 May 2016, where their elder siblings had also been baptized after their births. The godparents of both twins are Imperial Chancellor James Montgomery and Queen Pupa, one of their maternal aunts.
Styles
As the children of a reigning Emperor and a reigning Queen, Princess Euphemia and Prince Alexander are afforded the style of ‘Imperial & Royal Highness,’ as are their elder siblings. As children of the ruling monarch, they are permitted to use 'of Valcouria' as their surname, while their legal last name remains Murdoch.
As with Princess Victoria and Prince Constantine, Princess Euphemia and Prince Alexander are half-human, half-changeling.