View source for Charles Ross

{{infobox official 2
| name          = <small>[[w:His Grace|His Grace]]</small><br>'''Charles Ross'''<br><small>KNI, COD, CUBMC, KStP, KCW, CAO, KOB, GCV</small>
| image         = Charles Pic.jpg
| caption       =
| office 1      = [[Monarch of Phokland|Tsar of Phokland]]
| assumed/in 1  = In
| date 1        = 10 February [[2007]] - 25 August [[2019]]
| hos 1         = 
| hos name  1   = 
| predecessor 1 = ''Throne established''
| successor 1   = Tsar Mia Sanchez I
| assumed/in 2  = In
| date 2        = 8 October [[2019]] - 31 December [[2019]]
| hos 2         = 
| hos name  2   = 
| predecessor 2 = Tsar Mia Sanchez I
| successor 2   = ''Throne dissolved''
| office 4      = [[Commissioner of Bregusland]]
| assumed/in 4  = In
| date 4        = 14 March [[2019]] - 7 December [[2020]]
| hos 4         = [[Austenasian Monarchy|Monarch]]
| hos name 4   = [[Jonathan I, Emperor of Austenasia|HIM Emperor Jonathan I]]
| predecessor 4 = ''Office established''
| successor 4   = ''Office abolished''
| office 5      = [[North Dracul|1st Lieutenant Governor of North Dracul]]
| assumed/in 5  = In
| date 5        = 22 April [[2020]] - 7 December [[2020]]
| hos 5         = Governor
| hos name 5    = [[Eric Harvey Williams, Jr]]
| predecessor 5 = ''Office established''
| successor 5   = [[Luke Gauthier]]
| office 7      = [[Attorney General (Austenasia)|3rd Attorney General of Austenasia]]
| assumed/in 7  = In
| date 7        = 16 November [[2020]] - 6 December [[2020]]
| hos 7         = Emperor
| predecessor 7 = [[Manolis Afentoulis, Duke of Thessalia|Manolis Afentoulis]]
| hos name 7    = [[Jonathan Austen|Jonathan I]]
| successor 7   = [[Anthony Clark]]
| office 8      = [[w:United States Secretary of the Interior|2nd Dracul Secretary of the Interior]]
| assumed/in 8  = In
| date 8        = 7 December [[2020]] - ''Incumbent''
| hos 8         = President
| predecessor 8 = [[Amber Friedley]]
| hos name 8    = [[Dmitri Howie]]
| successor 8   = 
| birthdate     = 30 January
| citizenship   = {{ubl|{{Flaglist|Empire of Austenasia}}|{{Flaglist|Dracul}}|{{Flaglist|United States}}}}
| Religion      = Roman Catholicism
| spouse        = 
| residence     = [[Bregusland]], [[Austenasia]]
| occupation    = 
| nickname = Charlie
| allegiance = {{Flaglist|Commonwealth of Dracul}}
| branch = Dracul Army
| serviceyears = 2020 - ''Current''
| rank = Captain
| unit = 
| commands = 
| battles = 
| awards = Draculian Iron Cross<br>[[Austenasian Order|Commander of the Austenasian Order]]
}}
	
'''Lord Charles Aelred Raphael Ross, Duke of Occidentia, Margrave of Phokland''' is a [[Dracul|Draculian]] [[Micronationalist]], [[w:Politician|Politician]], [[MicroRamble|Media Host]] and [[Austenasia|Austenasian]] nobleman who has held numerous positions within the micronational community, with prominent ones including, [[State President of Phokland|State President]] of the [[Phoklandian Free State]], [[Commissioner of Bregusland|Governing Commissioner]] of [[Bregusland|Bregusland Colony]], [[Official Historian (Austenasia)|Official Historian]] of the [[Empire of Austenasia]], [[Foreign Office (Austenasia)|Austenasian Consul in Arizona]], [[w:Press Secretary|Draculian Presidential Press Secretary]], [[Attorney General (Austenasia)|Attorney General of Austenasia]], [[w:Lieutenant Governor|Lieutenant Governor]] of [[North Dracul]] and Dracul Secretary of the Interior.

Through his micronational career (spanning as far back as 2007), Charles has gained a small amount attention through his leading role in establishing several micronational-themed media platforms, including; [[Television Territory]], [[Phokland News Network]], [[Television Graustark]] and his most notable platform, [[MicroRamble]], a micronational commentary and current events program he operates with fellow micronationalist, [[Thomas Bainbridge]].

==Early life==
Charles was born in [[w:Arizona|Arizona]] on 30 January. The son of a former U.S. politician he demonstrated a fondness for history and politics at an early age. This affinity stuck with him through most of his childhood, culminating in his creation of the [[Kingdom of Rosston]] in early [[2007]]. At a young age, Charles demonstrated a fondness for public speaking and the English language, participating in several poetry recital events and having won four state-level competitions by the age of 11.

==Micronational career==
Ross began his micronational career in 2007 when he created/ran the [[Kingdom of Rosston]] in the playground of his primary school until it's dissolution in [[2013]].

=== Phokland ===
Following the restoration of Rosston (now renamed [[Phokland]]) in [[2017]], he was selected as Prime Minister of the new country. From there he became the monarch of the [[Principality of Phokland]], a position that later evolved into [[w:Viceroy|Viceroy]] for the [[Viceroyalty of Phokland]] then to [[w:Tsar|Tsar]] of the [[Tsardom of Phokland]] and finally State President of the [[Phoklandian Free State]].

=== Austenasia ===
While a part of Phokland, Charles began associating with other micronations, notably the [[Empire of Austenasia]] where he became the nation's Official Historian, Council to Arizona and, Commissioner of the [[Austenasian Crown Dependency]] of [[Bregusland]]. Over time, however, he began drifting away from Austenasia and began to focus more on his primary project, that being Phokland and later, Dracul.

=== Dracul ===
He continued with Phokland until early 2020 when a split in the government caused the nation to dissolve, leaving Charles stateless. Shortly after Phokland's dissolution, he was approached by Vice President of the [[Commonwealth of Dracul]], [[Stephen Luke]] with the proposition of him becoming the new Lieutenant Governor of [[North Dracul]] (a position he held until December of 2020 when he resigned after a spat with North Dracul's Governor [[Eric Harvey Williams, Jr|Eric Williams]]). Ross accepted the offer and shortly thereafter assumed office on 22 April 2020. In his time as Lieutenant Governor, Ross helped to streamline the state's executive office and created North Dracul's first official website.

After taking office, Charles began dedicating the majority of his time to Dracul, subsequently taking the additional responsibilities of becoming the Commonwealth's ''de facto'' chief marketing adviser, the Dracul Army's head recruiter (and later Commanding Officer), Deputy Secretary of State, Draculian Ambassador to the [[Grand Republic of Cycoldia]] and the [[w:United States of America|United States]], as well as Secretary of the Interior. Through his numerous positions and heavy involvement in government affairs, Lord Charles has cemented himself as a prominent Draculian politician and adviser, with the latter being most visible through his relationship with the Vice President's Office.

After leaving the office of North Dracul's Lieutenant Governor, Charles dedicated the bulk of his attention to his role as Secretary of the Interior and since taking office, has worked to streamline the department and create cadet agencies, such as the [[Land Administration Agency (Dracul)|Land Administration Agency]].

=== Community notoriety ===
Throughout his micronational carrier, Charles has developed some small notoriety within the community; this mostly stemming from his work towards improving [[MicroWiki]] and more recently, his work in helping to revitalize the wiki forums as a primary means of communication for several micronationalists. Additionally, he has gained attention for his media productions, such as the ''[[TVT|Bregusland Report]]'', an Austenasian news program which he hosts and [[MicroRamble]], a podcast which he co-hosts along with other micronationalists. Ross has also received criticism over the years coming primarily from his criticisms regarding the [[GUM]] and for his botched administration within the [[Organisation of Active Micronations (2019)|OAM]], the latter causing the eventual disbandment of said organisation. However, despite these critiques Charles has been able to stay on rather good terms with a majority of the community, particularly within the [[MicroWiki Sector|MicroWiki]] and [[Discord Sector|Discord]] sectors.

== Honorifics  ==
===Titles and styles===
* {{Flaglist|Empire of Austenasia}} - His Grace, Duke of Occidentia
* {{Flaglist|Empire of Austenasia}} - Sir, [[Order of Saint Constantine|Knight of the Order of Saint Constantine]]
* {{Flaglist|Empire of Austenasia}} - Sir, [[Order of the Bullmastiff|Knight of the Order of the Bullmastiff]]
* [[File:DoshevikanFlag.png|25px]] [[Domanglia]] - Sir, Knight of the Order of Cthulhu
* [[File:Flag of Gradonia.svg|25px]] [[Kingdom of Gradonia]] - Sir, [[Order of William I|Knight Cross of the Order of William I]]
* [[File:Flag of Hrafnarfjallv3.png|25px]] [[Kingdom of Hrafnarfjall]] - His Highness, Margrave of Phokland
* [[File:HREflag.png|25px]] [[Holy Roman Empire]] - His Highness, Prince Elector of Phokland
* [[File:Flag of the Sovereign Order of Saint Chad 2020.svg|25px]] [[Sovereign Order of Saint Chad]] - Sir, Knight
* [[File:WyvernFlagImproved.png|25px]] [[Kingdom of Wyvern]] - Sir, Knight
* [[File:WyvernFlagImproved.png|25px]] [[Kingdom of Wyvern]] - The Right Honourable, Lord
* [[File:Flag of Cycoldia Real.svg|25px]] [[Grand Republic of Cycoldia]] - His Highness, Earl of Hitchcock
* [[File:Flag of Naveria.svg|25px]] [[Commonwealth of Naveria]] - His Grace, Viscount of Arcelia
* [[File:Flag of Naveria.svg|25px]] [[Commonwealth of Naveria]] - Sir, Grand Croix of the Order of Varconia
** [[File:Flag of Rosemia.svg|25px]] [[Seigneurie of Rosemia]] - His Grace, Duke of Rosslandia

===Honors===
<center>
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="center" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background:white; border: 2px #a2a9b1 solid; border-collapse: collapse; display:inline-block;"
|-  bgcolor="white"
! colspan="4" align="center" |<span style="color:black;">Ribbon bars worn by Lord Charles</span>
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" |[[File:Ribbon bar of a Knight of Saint Patrick.svg|x30px]][[File:Ribbon bar of the Order of William I.svg|x30px]][[File:St. Anne's Brotherhood.png|x30px]]
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" |[[File:Medal Y7.png|x30px]][[File:Medal Y5.png|x30px]][[File:OV Ribbon 2.svg|x30px]]
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" |[[File:Ribbon of the Cycoldian New Years 4.svg|x30px]]
|}<br>
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="center" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background:white; border: 2px #a2a9b1 solid; border-collapse: collapse; display:inline-block;"
|-  bgcolor="white"
! colspan="4" align="center" |<span style="color:black;">Breast stars worn by Lord Charles</span>
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" |[[File:Knight Cross William.svg|x120px]][[File:Marx Badge.png|x120px]]
|}<br>
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" align="center" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background:white; border: 2px #a2a9b1 solid; border-collapse: collapse; display:inline-block;"
|-  bgcolor="white"
! colspan="4" align="center" |<span style="color:black;">Collars worn by Lord Charles</span>
|-
| colspan="4" align="center" |[[File:Order of William I.svg|x135px]]
|}
</center>

=== Heraldry ===
{| border="0" align="center" width="80%"
|-
!width=20% |[[File:Arms of the Duke of Occidentia.svg|center|x220px]]
!width=20% |[[File:House of Ross coa.png|center|x220px]]
!width=20% |[[File:Coat of Arms of Charles of Hitchcock.svg|150px]]
|-
|<center>Coat of Arms in Austenasia<br>(2020 &ndash; present)</center>
|<center>Coat of Arms in Phokland/Graustark<br>(2019 &ndash; 2020)</center>
|<center>Coat of Arms in Cycoldia<br>(2020 &ndash; present)</center>
|}

==Personal life==
Outside of micronationalism, Charles Ross spends a majority of his free time either researching history or writing. Additionally, he is a huge fan of film and enjoys watching movies either at home or at the cinema. Charles also spends a large chunk of his time working on podcasts and engaging in political activities with the [[w:Arizona Libertarian Party|Arizona Libertarian Party]].

== Political views ==
[[File:CRoss Political Compas.png|150px|thumb|Ross' Political Compass]]
Charles has (on numerous occasions) self-identified as [[w:Progressive Conservatism|Progressive Conservative]]/[[w:Libertarianism|Libertarian]] with strong personal beliefs related to colonialism, sovereignty disputes and, social/human rights.

=== Micronationally ===
In a micronational context, Ross is staunchly [[w:monarchism|monarchist]] with a firm belief that a strong head of state helps a micronation develop further than it would with a loose electable government. Additionally, he believes that the pomp and pageantry that comes with a monarchy also helps to create a culture within the nation and helps to give it legitimacy.

==Quotes==
{{Quote|Oh f*** me.|Charles Ross, [[2019]]}}
{{Quote|F*** it let's take over Greenland.|Charles Ross, [[2020]]}}
{{Quote|There is not a single quote attributed to me that does not contain the f word.|Charles Ross, [[2020]]}}

==See also==
*[[Commonwealth of Dracul]]
*[[Empire of Austenasia]]

==External links==
*[https://charlesross.myportfolio.com/home Personal website (defunct)]

{{Empire of Austenasia}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Austenasia]]
[[Category:Micronationalists]]
[[Category:Heads of state]]
[[Category:Tsar]]
[[Category:Presidents]]
[[Category:Commonwealth of Dracul]]
[[Category:Nobility]]
[[Category:Duke]]