Serena Eu

Born in 2078, Princess Serena acceeded to the throne at the age of 22, upon the sudden death of her father from illness in 2100. As monarch of the tiny village-State of San Adriano, her function is essentially that of a figurehead, and she wields no actual political power. It has been said that the Sanadrianese invented a monarchy, in 1648, merely to accentuate the legitimacy of their village's sovereignty, and so that their borders would be respected.

In 2105, she married Prince Willem, brother of Emperor James II of Uhuh-Topia. She is thus the sister-in-law of the Uhuh-Topian Emperor, which is the first time the royal houses of San Adriano and Uhuh-Topia have been united in marriage. Princess Serena and Prince Willem have two children, Prince Mauro (b.2107) and Princess Petra (b.2110). Prince Mauro is first in line to succeed his mother on the Sanadrianese throne, and is also fifth in the line of succession for the Uhuh-Topian throne. Prince Mauro has two sons: Prince Dario (6) and Prince Sae (3). Princess Petra has a son, Ulu (newborn).

Princess Serena has very pale brown skin, black hair (now grey), and green-tinged brown eyes. She has been described as "graceful, elegant and charming", and upholds those qualities when representing her country abroad. She has maintained the policy of opening the door to her smallish palace on a regular basis, so that the country's citizens can visit her if they wish to; audiences are only semi-formal, and do not heavily emphasise protocol, although citizens treat their monarch with the utmost respect.

The Princess can frequently be seen outside the palace. As she is barred from voting or taking part in any kind of political activity, she steers clear of the Parliament and Assembly Hall, unless specifically invited to attend talks as an honoured (and silent) guest. On the other hand, she does her own shopping, and so can be seen in shops or in the marketplace, where citizens will greet her and sometimes chat more informally than they might in the Palace itself. In this sense, Princess Serena is seen as being very much a member of the village's community.

On August 1st, 2121, the Princess assumed the Presidency of Uhuhland for six months. The issue of whether she could be titled President of Uhuhland was briefly debated by the Sanadrianese Parliament, who decided she could. During her presidency, San Adriano presented an Education Act with multiple clauses, all of which were adopted and made binding by the Uhuhland Council. She was nominal President again in 2125, during which San Adriano presented a Uhuhland Citizenship Act to the Council.

In 2126, the Scandinvan Emperor bestowed upon Princess Serena the title "Lady of Erigatad", as the two countries established formal diplomatic relations. The title is a very ancient one, and its direct line of inheritence in the Empire had become extinct. It carries with it "65,000 acres and 12,000 farmers", which are being managed locally in Princess Serena's name. There has allegedly been some talk of Princess Petra moving to the Empire to oversee these possessions in her mother's name (and later in her brother's) when she is old enough. In addition the Empire gave Princess Serena the huge sum of Ł 20,878,100,000, making her an instant billionaire. The Princess has begun using this money to develop the country (under Parliamentary guidance) and to donate to charities.

That same year, Princess Serena enrolled at Lionsgate University, Kelssek, as a first year student in philosophy. She went on to obtain a Master's degree there before returning to her country.

Links

• Princess Serena is interviewed by Mélanie Dupré of PINA.