What is the royal protocol, if any, in Changeling: The Lost?

Question

I'm wondering how changelings are supposed to behave toward royalty.

Of course, in real life the behavior of a queen to her subjects (and vice versa) is dependent on the queen, the particular subjects in question, and the situation. Nonetheless, there is still a protocol that one is supposed to follow (eg. in greeting).

Changeling has the added complication of multiple Courts, and I realize protocol probably differs between them (eg. Winter may have less ceremony than Spring). Other things being equal, though, is there any way to generalize how the Lost are to behave towards their king or queen? Is it with the formality of England, or more like the respect I show my boss at work?

Answer 1

There is no one answer

Like in Vampire, each Freehold is a kingdom unto itself that exists with little, or sometimes no, reference to others, and as a result the protocol in any given Freehold is a combination of local tastes, local rulers' preferences, tradition, any relevant parts of the oaths that hold the Courts together, and of course the themes and moods the storyteller wants to get across. As evidenced in the short story "The Longest Day of Summer," the City of Endless Summer (Miami, Florida) has a mostly modern protocol with light flavorings of medieval terminology, but there's no reason your freehold has to work that way.

The only sort-of exception to this attitude is the Winter Court, in that the universal nature of the Icelaw emphasizes secrecy, speaking in code, doubletalk, and other forms of evasiveness that form a protocol of their own when the Coldest Court is among is allies and enemies. Of course, in privacy this is less relevant.

If it helps at all, in my games I tend to have it function by individual monarchs; the Queen of Autumn prefers 'Your Magnificence' when addressing her, while the Ruby Lady of the Emerald Court tends to ask that you call her Sarah. The King of Summer prefers the title 'Imperator' and to be referred to as 'Sir', while the lord of Winter is obliquely referred to as the King of Hearts, or else the Suicide King.