Crown Principality

A Crown Principality has no formal existence according to the SCA governing documents (Corpora). It is referenced in the Society Seneschals Handbook:

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4. Use "Crown Principality" status to recognize regional development. Where an area is obviously suitable for eventual Principality status, a Kingdom can reward and encourage the trend by declaring the area to be a Crown Principality. A Crown Principality is exactly and only a region with a fancy name and a line in the Coronation ceremony—the King and Queen also become Prince and Princess of the psuedo-Principality when they assume the thrones. It has no laws but the Kingdom laws. Its officers are regional deputies to the Kingdom officers. However, the name lends it extra emotional reality. The Kingdom can allow it have a champion and to develop some usages of its own, and these steps will smooth the eventual transition.

5. All the procedures for creating a Crown Principality are under Kingdom control, as long as the Kingdom doesn't attempt to hand over functions reserved to the royalty or officers of SCA Principalities. (That is, the ceremonial representatives for the Crown with a Crown Principality may NOT warrant subordinate officers, proclaim banishments, or bestow armigerous awards without specific Crown approval for individual recipients.)

6. Please be cautious with the idea, and do some enthusiastic straw polling before advising your royalty to establish a Crown Principality—imaginary though it is, a Crown Principality develops enough personality that it would be very painful for an area if the Kingdom later decided to take the status away.

from the SCA, Inc. Society Seneschal's Handbook

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Thus, it is essentially a semi-formal declaration of intent to work toward Principality status by a collection of branches that wish to form a principality, but which do not meet one or more of the requirements. Since it is not a group designation recognized by the SCA, it has no laws, and no formal officers or ceremonial head.

As an administrative unit, it may be compared to a region such as those found in the East Kingdom.

However, Kingdom Law and Custom may depute certain powers of the Crown to sub-groups. Thus law and custom may dictate that a Crown Principality have a ceremonial head, such as that of the former Crown Principality of Insulae Draconis, whose heads were styled as Viceroy and Vicereine. Likewise, law and custom may allow those heads to grant non-armigerous awards.

The following groups are or have been Crown Principalities (in no order):

• Nordmark
• Principality of Oertha
• Tir Righ
• Lochac
• Rivers
• Ealdormere
• Aethelmearc
• Summits
• Avacal
• Northshield
• Insulae Draconis

and currently

• Crown Principality of Tir Mara