Talk:Alexandra, Duchess of Sparta

Some comments/suggestions:

• To help pave Constantine's road to the throne, methinks there should probably be a reason Alexandra is not desired as a monarch, not even as a figurehead. For that reason perhaps she should be much younger than 25 or notably older. If the former (say, seventeen) then the thought of a teenager as Queen (especially if she's had any stereotypical teenage problems--drug abuse, for example) would help motivate everyone to look for an alternate. If the latter (for example, thirty) she can be a known factor whom people simply think not up to the job. Perhaps, like Hirohito here her interest is some totally academic pursuit, like marine biology or mathematics. Or she could suffer from bipoler personality disorder (what is still sometimes called manic depression). Or both. It does seem to me that the former allows the new monarch to seem like more of a hero riding to the rescue. But that is JMHO.
• A lot of anyone's role depends strongly upon the system. What kind of government is the Hellenic Empire going to have? As an historical point of reference, a Divine King (such as the Pharoah, the Mikado and to some extent Stalin) has a problem--namely, he loses power if he is ever perceived as anything less than divine. When things go wrong, others must bear the blame, even if no one was at fault. Divine Kings become increasingly limited in what they can do, as opposed to simply Ruling Kings who are emotionally viewed as important, head of state and government, symbol of the country and all that, but still human. Thus their government officials are seen as staff, not priests (unlike, for example, the inner circle of Nazi Germany).
• What is the origin and meaning of the term "Prime Consort"?
• Methinks within a few months an interesting controversy might break out--i.e. whether the Emperor and Empress are invited to the wedding of Nicolae Vladescu of Oltenia and his fiancee Antonia Guelph of Mantua. Zahir 21:20, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

The reason no one likes her and her family is, because she's not even all Greek, probably not even half. If the royal bloodlines are like *here*, she's be Danish, German, British, and Swedish (I think). Constantine will NEVER be a Divine King, he was born a commoner, and he'll die one (at least in mindset). Prime Consort I wrote on Constantine's page because I was thinking of him having someone on the side, so I wrote his main one. I just carried the table over and forgot to check the whole box for stuff that pertained to the Emperor, not Empress. Misterxeight 02:59, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

What do you think she should look like? I was thinking a darker-skinned version of Keir Knightley, just as a joke. But since you Zahir have been the brains & backbone of this, what do you think? Misterxeight 17:51, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

I'll look into some pictures.

Alexandra?

But keep in mind the best way to do it is to "blend" the faces of two or more persons together. Keira Knightly would be an interesting choice. I'll let you know. Zahir 18:09, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Okay, how is this? Zahir 04:59, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Perfect. Oh I forgot to tell you, what about Prime Minister David Galanis? Misterxeight 14:13, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Cool. BTW, it is interesting that Alexandra seems to have some things in common with Nicola Vlas-Florea. Zahir 14:58, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Of course. She's one of those mile-high-set people. Rich and spoiled. Plus Greece & Italy aren't so far away, it's not like a friendship wouldn't be impossible. Misterxeight 18:46, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Interesting how a character is becoming clearer! Bravo! I should mention though, that her being sheltered and a member of the "Mile High Set" seems contradictory. The Mile Highs are the equivalent of the Jet Set here, the "In" people. The equivalent of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Paris Hilton, etc. But maybe I'm misunderstanding what you meant. Also, please keep in mind that Antonia Guelph is not really a member of that group. She is more of a hardworking policy wonk, rather like Hilary Clinton. That doesn't mean she and Alexandra cannot be friends, of course. I'm just mentioning clarifying details. And thank you for setting up a definite reason (other than diplomacy) for the Emperor and Empress to be invited to the wedding!

Frankly, I'm a little unclear about events vis-a-vis the death of Paul II, the marriage and the declaration of the Empire. For one thing, I'm wondering what kind of relationship--if any--did Alexandra and Constantine have prior to those events? Did they have one? Had they even met? And how has she reacted to all this? I don't think there's any great rush to answer these questions, but I look forward to when you do. Zahir 14:02, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Oh. I have her has as somewhat of C.'s foil. They never met and she consented because she knew there would be a rebellion because she's barely Greek and rather forsakes her heritage. Misterxeight 22:27, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Hmmmm how can I make her Romanitote Jewish; I don't really care, I just variety. She could be Muslim or the new Greeco-Bhuddism religion that's sweeping the East. Misterxeight 22:48, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

New Idea

I do not really want to let any ideas go to waste I don't have to. Is it possible that in fact she becomes Constantine's sister. This way we can marry her to a different royal family somewhere across the world. Misterxeight 06:31, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't wish to be a troublemaker, but hasn't the story of the Emperor and his his Empress Alexandra featured in news stories about other individuals, such as the heir to Oltenia and his bride? Doesn't this fall under QSS? Honestly, I'm not sure. Zahir 16:47, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Well some of that will have to be forgotten. Everyone here knows just as well as I do what I wrote was pure literary garbage making absolutely no sense at all. Misterxeight 17:12, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Actually, I don't agree with that assessment. The whole notion of a popular "coup" associated with a new monarch via a marriage, and a rebirth of national pride seems to me both plausible and interesting. My disagreement has been with details, and with some (by no means "all" or even "most") behavior. More to the point, if anything has been established then we cannot simply throw it away. That is not how IB works. Not that you cannot change lots and lots and lots of stuff, especially in the WIP and/or PROPOSAL phase. But once others start using your details in regards to their own spheres, then those details become part of QSS. They cannot be changed. This is especially true of news articles that reference (for example) Alexandra and her friends Nicolae Vlas-Florea and his bride, Antonia Guelph. These items were done with your approval and encouragement, so tossing them aside seems to violate procedure. This doesn't mean you cannot change stuff. You can. Lots of things! But some kind of long term friendship between Nicolae and Antonia with the new Empress of Greece has become part of QSS--at least as I understand the process. Kindly check the conculture list to see my concerns expressed there. Zahir 19:41, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Is she the niece of ArchQueen Margarethe or of Paul I or of both? Methinks it would probably best if the answer were "both." Zahir 21:43, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

That runs the problem of Constantine and Alexandra being related, a most horrible curse for the nation. Distantly I can understand, but not directly a neice or nephew to paul, as I've decided that we decided instead of a bloodless coupe Constantine is infact the most capable of Paul's nephews. Misterxeight 23:20, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Then why was Alexandra Paul's heir, as the article states? Zahir 04:41, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

First of all--sorry to read about your hand! Take care of yourself! Second--I'm not quite sure why it was sooooooo important that Constantine get married immediately? Is it really something that couldn't wait, like it does for plenty of crowned heads? For example, the King of Tejas is single. More than one monarch has come to the throne and waited a while before getting married. Might I suggest that for some reason Alexandra is the focus of some rival faction's intense loyalty? Maybe her father was widely touted by some group as Paul's proper heir, with Conservatives still loyal to him and to his child? Or something like that? Because that way it creates a pressing reason for them to wed very soon, to appease this faction. Just a thought. Zahir 07:40, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks; it was a cooking accident :) That could work. I thought of the marriage crisis because at least for real-world, suburbian Greeks to not be married in their late 20s-30s gossiping is inevident. Rumors such as what happened between Marie Antoinette and Louis would no doubt result, making the king look... inadequate. The nobility is the rival faction within this story; instead of some foreigner being the Empress, why not one of their own? The marriage would cement the nobility's power within Greece. Paul's article never mentioned children; even before I got here, so Zahir's theory of factions splitting off each supporting a different person as the new king/queen could make sense. Voting would be greatly appreciated. Misterxeight 17:32, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Rumors, it seems to me, are inevitable no matter what. According to rumor, there isn't a single movie star in Hollywood who isn't gay or a drug addict or a pedophile. But how seriously are such rumors taken. The White House, for example, ignores the yelling of a vocal minority claiming Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. That is why I think you need a more compelling reason for the marriage.

One idea that occurs to me would be if King Paul has a half-brother who was the darling of some faction. Let us call him Michael, Duke of Sparta. He himself died a few years back and his daughter became Duchess when that happened. But old rumors resurfaced about Michael's mother and someone with whom it was said she had an affair. But in the wake of Michael's death, his blood type became public knowledge--and it was utterly impossible for Michael and Paul to share the same father (and of course everyone knew they had different mothers). No legal action was taken. The government never formally acknowledged the fact. But upon Paul's death, legally Alexandra was the Heir as well as having loyal adherents. At the same time, it would be easy to legally challenge her gaining the crown because she was not in fact a blood relation of the late king--plus a faction demanding the throne for Paul's nephew Constantine was powerful enough to make lots of trouble. Solution: Constantine marries Alexandra. Zahir 14:13, 4 June 2009 (UTC)