---
title: "The End of the Reign of Terry I"
url: https://austenasia.org/history/the-year-of-the-three-emperors/the-end-of-the-reign-of-terry-i/
date: 2026-08-13
modified: 2026-08-13
lang: en
author: "austenasia1"
description: "January - February The notable events with which the year 2010 began were primarily domestic, and started with heavy snowfall over the Empire. December 2009 had seen snow falling in..."
image: https://i0.wp.com/austenasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/untitled.png?fit=491%2C433&ssl=1
word_count: 805
---

# The End of the Reign of Terry I

**January - February**

The notable events with which the year 2010 began were primarily domestic, and started with heavy snowfall over the Empire. December 2009 had seen snow falling in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but that had since melted, and a small flurry on New Year’s Eve failed to settle. However, at 10pm on 5 January, snow began to fall, and the Empire awoke the following day to a white blanket which forced local schools to close and the Emperor’s children, Crown Prince Jonathan and Princess Caroline, to stay at home with their father.

![](https://austenasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/figure-04-page-3.jpg)

A few days later, on 8 January, came the funeral of Peggy Boxall, the paternal aunt of Empress Margaret who had passed away in late December. Terry I accompanied his wife’s family and the friends of the deceased to an atmospheric service at a still snowy cemetery in Morden.

Most of the rest of January then passed without incident. On 27 January, Terry I gave Imperial Consent (assent to legislation) to some Acts of Parliament, passing them into law. Most of the new laws made some minor changes and decisions in regards to matters of titulature, and one ceded a nominal few square feet of land to a friendly foreign state in order to strengthen Austenasian diplomacy with said nation (the land in question, the Tincomarus Department, was re-annexed by the Empire in March 2011 and forms part of Commius Flats, Wrythe).

In short, the first month of 2010 saw the reign of Terry I continue in much the same way as it had throughout 2009; the Emperor functioning as a literal father figure to half the nation and providing supervision and legitimation for - but not seeking to interfere with - his son’s government. Although Terry I would soon abdicate the Throne, the governance of the Empire was stable, and the idea that unprecedented change was mere weeks away was not one which was in the forefront of most people’s minds.

However, if one looked beyond the external situation, the prospect of an abdication may not have seemed quite so unforeseen. Ever since an article had been published on the foundation of Austenasia in the *Sutton Guardian* (a local British newspaper) a year ago, knowledge of Terry’s status as Emperor of Austenasia had spread far beyond those who had originally been aware, that is, the family and friends of the Austens. He received unsolicited e-mails and requests on social media from foreign leaders and people interested in Austenasia who assumed he played a far greater role in the government of the Empire than was the case, and while attending parents evenings at his children’s schools the Emperor was saluted as such by students and even addressed tongue-in-cheek as “Your Majesty” by some teachers. Furthermore, although at the start of the Empire’s history Acts of Parliament were given Imperial Consent verbally, from October 2009 onwards the Prime Minister had insisted that his father provide a signature for each one so as to provide proof for posterity that the legislation had been properly passed. Being constantly asked to sign things and recognised in public had resulted in Terry’s enthusiasm for his reign diminishing.

Things came to a head on 15 February. Although generally speaking the Imperial Family did and does get along happily, no family is perfect, and every now and then a row inevitably breaks out. It was during such a row - the cause of which has since been forgotten - that Terry I announced that he no longer wished to be Emperor, and was giving up the Throne. After tempers had quickly calmed, the realisation dawned that the Emperor had irreversibly abdicated before witnesses, and that the Throne was now to pass down the Line of Succession.

Emperor Terry I, in accordance with Austenasian law, lost upon abdication all the Austenasian titles he had held while Emperor, leaving him known as Sir Terry Austen in regards to a knighthood which had been awarded to him some months previously by the Grand Duke of Flandrensis. Empress Margaret became Vicereine Margaret (Vicereine being the female equivalent of Viceroy) due to her status as the titular leader of the small piece of land which had been ceded to a foreign friendly nation the previous month.

Crown Prince Jonathan, however, did not become Emperor Jonathan I upon the abdication of his father. Rather, he refused the Throne, a decision he had the full right to make under Austenasian law. The Constitution mandated that the Emperor could not be Prime Minister and vice versa, and the Crown Prince had no wish to give up his elected position for an office the functions of which were, at that time, primarily ceremonial. This resulted in the choice of whether or not to claim and ascend to the Throne passing to the second in line.