Kingdom of Argonne

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Kingdom of Argonne
Argonne Flag.jpg

Official language(s) English, French
Official religion(s) Christianity
Government Absolute Monarchy
- King King James Richard
Established 6 January 2019 (as Prince-Abbacy of Inselwald)
4 March 2020 (as Kingdom of Argonne)
Disestablished 20 April 2020

Official Facebook Page

The Kingdom of Argonne was a miniature Kingdom that was established in 2019 as the Prince-Abbacy of Inselwald. Although the kingdom shared many characteristics of a micronation, it did not generally consider itself to be a micronation and preferred the self-descriptive term miniature monarchy.

The Prince-Abbacy of Inselwald was first launched in 2019 in order to provide legitimacy for the Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt, before being reimagined the next year as the Kingdom of Argonne. The only monarch was the former King James of Scone, His Majesty King James Richard.

The Prince-Abbacy of Inselwald

Creation

King James in his official habit as then Prince-Abbot of Inselwald

In 2018, then King James formally abdicated the Sconnish throne on 1 October. Though allowed to retain his royal style and titles, King James largely disappeared from Sconnish politics. Instead, he put his focus into reviving the Ancient and Venerable Order of Huntsmen, a fraternal organization with altruistic goals within Scone that had been mostly dormant for years.

On 11 December 2018, King James gave a speech announcing his intention to create a faith-based branch of the order, to be called the Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt. As Scone was a largely non-religious government by design, he also announced the launch of a "sovereign and independent miniature state" in the form of a Prince-Abbacy (a principality ruled by an abbot). The primary goal of this was to provide more autonomy from potential interference of the Sconnish government. This vision was realized on 6 January 2018, when the Price-Abbacy of Inselwald was created.

On 27 March 2019, the Chapter ratified its constitution and officially severed ties with the Ancient and Venerable Order of Huntsmen. This decision was motivated by a desire to cast off the confusion regarding the nature of the relationship between the two entities.

The Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt

The Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt (formally named the Collegiate Foundation of the Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt) was launched on 6 January 2019, the same day as the Prince-Abbacy of Inselwald. This organization was the primary reason for Inselwald's existence, although citizenship within Inselwald was not required for membership, and vice-versa. The first group of five initiates (called Novitiates) was named on 9 January 2019.

Membership in the Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt was open to all Christian men and women, regardless of denomination. After expressing interest in joining the chapter, an individual was to be named to the next Novitiate. They then underwent a period where they were expected to interact in the chapter's community, with a specific focus on interaction with, and encouragement of, their fellow novices. At the end of the Novitiate period, those whose interactions deemed them suitable members made a statement of faith, and were named as a Canon or Canonness.

Those named to the order were also created as a Count or Countess of Inselwald, regardless of citizen status. Likewise, citizens of Inselwald were named a Baron or Baroness of the nation, regardless of membership in the chapter.

Kingdom of Argonne

Despite strong activity after launching, the Chapter of the Grand Hunt's discussions quickly fell to mostly input from the Prince-Abbot, with the Count von Weltenburg being the only significant contributing member. On new year's day of 2020, Prince-Abbot James announced von Weltenburg as a Marshall of Inselwald for his efforts, ahead of the project's overhaul. It was soon after announced that Inselwald would be reimagined as part of a new project; the Kingdom of Argonne. As part of this change, the Prince-Abbacy of Inselwald would be renamed the Principality of Frontenac, to fall under Argonne. The Chapter of the Grand Hunt would be disbanded, with its forum preserved as the location of the Principality's Parliament of Champlain. All previous Inselwaldese titles were be retained, and new titles would be bestowed from the seat of Argonne..

Due to activity levels not being quite what he had hoped for, and a certain amount of infighting & other woes that typically plague micronational projects, the Kingdom of Argonne was formally disbanded by King James on 20 April 2020.

Relations with Westarctica

Although there were a number of ties between Argonne and Westarctica, none of them were formal. This is seen as being primarily due to the relative infancy of the Kingdom, with official diplomatic ties never occurring.

King James and Grand Duke Travis of Westarctica are personal friends, in addition to enjoying good relations with the Kingdom of Scone during the King's time on the Sconnish throne. The King also retains membership in multiple Westarctican orders from his time as King of Scone.

Jordan Farmer, a Westarctican citizen who has held multiple positions within the Westarctican government, was a Canon of the Grand Hunt, having joined in the first Novitiate. As such, he was also a Count of Inselwald. His involvement with the Noble Chapter of the Grand Hunt was as a private citizen. He was also named as a Baron in the Kingdom of Argonne, shortly before the project was abandoned.