22 November: Arendelle celebrates first year of Queen Anna’s reign

By Erik, Senior Reporter for The Arendelle Guardian

ARENDELLE – The queen celebrated her reign’s first anniversary among subjects and friends, marking a milestone of one year since her accession to the throne. Anna first hosted a public brunch party at the town plaza, where she shared cake and candy with families and children. At midday, she attended a cannon salute fired from her flagship, Pride of Elsa, by the dockside with her military leaders, General Mattias and Commander Hilde. She concluded her anniversary with a quiet evening and supper with Elsa and Kristoff in Arendelle Castle.

“I neither desired the throne nor thirsted for some fancy crown of my own. But if Elsa felt me worthy to be queen, then I’d embrace that calling as tightly as I do her person in my arms,” she told reporters, when asked for reflections or comments about this very special day. “Her blessing was all the coronation I needed.”

While Anna remains in a warm and happy mood, royal courtiers and political insiders say that she’s hard at work when out of public sight, coordinating closely with Kristoff about the Princely House’s trade outreach in Vienna and Constantinople. Both the Austrians and Ottomans could prove important third parties in outflanking the Russians. She’s also spending considerable time with Maren, the new Home Minister, to steer integration between Northuldra and Arendelle and foster direct lines of communication between Northuldra tribespeople and Arendellian citizens. Finally, she’s heavily reliant on General Mattias, a mentor figure, for executing her much-vaunted military reforms, including expanding the standing army and scrambling for the funds needed to recommission Countess Vi’s formidable warship, Muspelheim.

Despite having sat on the throne for only a year, Anna’s never been busier thanks to a confluence of domestic and international politics dominating her daily schedule. The entire kingdom looks to her leadership as the political waters of the globe grow ever more turbulent. Anna’s government is preoccupied with the geopolitical chess match between Anna and the Russian princess Katina Romanov. To stand a hope against Katina, Anna is relying on her inner court to help her weather the coming storms.

The inner court is seen by royal commentators and the press as Anna’s “most trusted and intimate circle.” While Anna’s ministers credit the queen for her open and uninhibited communication, which allows for closer cooperation between parliament and the executive monarchy, the inner court remains one rung higher in access to Her Majesty. Several of the inner court members, like Queen Emerita Elsa and royal consort Kristoff, are obviously members of the royal family and often residents at Arendelle Castle.

The inner court used to meet only once a month, to discuss top-level matters pertaining to the future of Arendelle and Northern Europe. Due to the increasingly prominent (one could say precarious) geopolitical position Arendelle finds itself in, particularly in relation to the powerful members of the Exalted, Anna now hosts inner court meetings weekly, briefing reporters from the Big Three papers shortly afterward.

Watchers of Arendellian affairs are largely agreed that Anna will be clear-eyed and honest about the problems that the kingdom faces, while also projecting sisterly care, empathy, and protectiveness to reassure her people. In surveys conducted by our newspaper, thumping majorities of Arendellians proclaimed their support for the queen, with many saying that she was the best leader for these uncertain times. Even those that disagreed with aspects of Anna’s policies or methods wished her a happy anniversary, indicating that the entire kingdom seems united in their well wishes and love for Elsa’s successor.