The two founding figures of Austenasia, the Pater Patriae and the Founder – formerly Emperor Terry I (r. 2008 – 2010) and Emperor Jonathan I (r. 2013 – 2024) – of the House of Austen have released a joint video statement on the ongoing dispute with Andrewasia.
An edited version of the video statement was originally published by the YouTube channel of the Grand Duchy of Westarctica on the 23rd of August, with the original later being released to micronational communities on Facebook.
A transcript of the video statement is available:
Jonathan: Hello. We’re here in Austenasia. This is Jonathan Austen and Terry Austen, the founders. We …
Terry: Hello everyone.
Jonathan: We created Austenasia on the 20th of September 2008. This is just a quick statement to categorically state that we have not given Andrew Creed a.k.a. Andrew Musgrave any intellectual or legal right to use the name or concept of Austenasia
Terry: Can I just say one word there. And being the first emperor, I one hundred percent support what Jonathan is saying.
Jonathan: Thank you. Yes, he’s just a former prime minister who was voted out by the democratic Parliament at the culmination of a constitutional crisis primarily of his own making. He has nothing to do with Austenasia anymore. He can hire all the celebrities he wants, book all the venues he wants. [The] reason he had to go to York was because he couldn’t get here into Wrythe, which is where we founded Austenasia, because he has nothing to do with the nation. He has the domain name – that’s it – and a few people who likewise we’ve never heard of. Nothing to do with us. This is just to reiterate that we as …
Terry: Fake. Fake news as somebody once said […]
[Cutaway]
Jonathan: Hello again. Just a little further something from myself. I just wanted to clarify that the official website of the Empire of Austenasia is austenasia.org. There is a statement on there laying out in full the position of the Austenasian government which has the complete backing of myself as Founder. To reiterate on the matter of intellectual property and copyright and the like, Andrew has no rights whatsoever to Austenasia, the name, symbols et cetera.
Jonathan: But also speaking about micronational legitimacy for a moment. This entity he is trying to create plain and simple isn’t Austenasia. Despite what he might have told people, Austenasia still exists. It is a functioning micronation with an active political system, taking part in diplomatic organsations, engaging in charitable and cultural projects. We still exist. We’ve never gone anywhere. A former Austenasian crowning a non-Austenasian outside of Austenasia without the Austenasian regalia does not a new Emperor of Austenasia make. It just doesn’t work that way. Andrew and Johannes have nothing to do with the Empire of Austenasia that I created and which continues to exist and function to this day.
Jonathan: The fact that this so-called coronation took place outside Austenasia really does demonstrate how little control, influence, and connection Andrew now has to the empire. It’s basically just a website. That’s all it is. He has no connection with the actual Empire and his entity has no continuity; legal, in terms of population, whatever, it’s completely separate, completely cut off from Austenasia. It’s fake news as my dad called it yesterday. And like I say it has nothing to do with the actual Austenasia, [the] website of which can be found at Austenasia.org.
[Cutaway]
Jonathan: […] And yeah, but as we as as the Austen family reiterate our loyalty to Emperor Alexander, to his Counsellors of State, and to the Prime Minister, Lord John Gordon.
The statement marks the first major statement from Lord Jonathan since June last year, and the first major statement from Lord Terry in years.
The Imperial Capital, and the Carshalton Nations more widely, have all expressly reiterated their loyalty to and recognition of the constitutional government following Musgrave’s attempts to misappropriate the Empire’s identity.
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