Austenasian Ambassador to the United Kingdom

Ambassador of the Empire of Austenasia to the United Kingdom
Coat of arms of the Empire
Incumbent H.E. Lee Cant since 4 February 2017
Style	His/Her Excellency
Residence	Austenasian Embassy to the United Kingdom
Appointer	The Monarch, Prime Minister or Chief Ambassador
Formation	13 November 2008

The Austenasian Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its Crown Dependencies is the official diplomatic representative of the government of the Empire of Austenasia to that of the United Kingdom.

As Austenasian recognition of the United Kingdom is not currently reciprocated, the position is - at present - unaccredited, and serves a primarily ceremonial role.

Upon the creation of the office of Chief Ambassador on 13 November 2008, the holder of said office was given the responsibility of seeking diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, as such was at said time the sole neighbour of the Empire. Over time - certainly by December 2011 - it became accepted that the Chief Ambassador held ex officio the separate office of Austenasian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, although this was only made official upon the passage of the Diplomacy Act 2014 on 13 June 2014.

On 13 November 2008, Act 22 (Diplomatic Relations with the United Kingdom) instructed the Chief Ambassador to actively attempt to gain British recognition of Austenasian sovereignty. This was repealed by Act 108 (12th Revision to Existing Laws) on 6 December 2009, which removed the legal requirement for the Chief Ambassador to actively seek British recognition, and instead instructed him to find instances of where it could be argued that the United Kingdom had given Austenasia tacit recognition. Act 151 (22nd Revision to Existing Laws) on 9 April 2011 reinstituted the Chief Ambassador's aim of seeking official diplomatic recognition from the United Kingdom.

From 19 September 2015 to 4 June 2016, the Austenasian Ambassador to the United Kingdom had as an official base of operations the First Embassy at Roehampton. The embassy consisted of the student accommodation of Emperor Jonathan I at the University of Roehampton, and served primarily as a means of ensuring that the Emperor's university residence fell under Austenasian jurisdiction without annexing it outright. The incumbent Ambassador during the majority of the time that the embassy was claimed, Countess Eritoshi, visited the First Embassy several times a month.

On 25 January 2017, the Foreign Affairs Act 2017 separated the office of Ambassador to the United Kingdom from that of Chief Ambassador. The incumbent, Lee Cant, was appointed by Jonathan I on 4 February later that year, and on 6 February his residence was claimed as the current (Second) Austenasian Embassy to the United Kingdom.

Four other diplomats are under the authority of the Ambassador to the United Kingdom:

• Consul-General in England: Alfie Smith (since 21 April 2020)
  • Envoy to Portsmouth: HI&SH Empress Hannah (since 31 January 2023)
• Consul-General in Scotland: Lord James Stewart (since 7 February 2020)
• Consul-General in Wales: Vacant
• Consul-General in Northern Ireland: Sir Jonny Blair, KOA (since 25 March 2015)
• Consul-General in the Isle of Man: Heather Easton (since 17 March 2020)

List of Ambassadors

Number	Name	Portrait	Resident of	In office	Appointed by	Notes
1	HIH Crown Prince Jonathan		Wrythe	13 November 2008 - 24 December 2011	Parliament	Appointed to the post of Chief Ambassador by Act 21 (Ambassadors), and charged with gaining diplomatic recognition of the Empire from the United Kingdom. Re-sent the Empire's Declaration of Independence to the UK Home Office on 30 December 2008, and arranged for articles to be written about Austenasia in the local Guardian newspaper on 22 January 2009 and 23 September 2011. Led a diplomatic mission on 20 May 2011 to Tom Brake, British Member of Parliament for the UK parliamentary constituency surrounding Wrythe and Zephyria, which was ultimately unsuccessful in gaining diplomatic recognition for the Empire but did result in Mr Brake stating in the local newspaper that he "wish[ed the Crown Prince] every luck with his campaign" to have Austenasia recognised. Left office upon losing his seat as Representative of Wrythe in the December 2011 Austenasian elections.
2	HIH Crown Princess Caroline		Wrythe	24 December 2011 - 24 June 2013	Declan I (Monarch)	Appointed to position of Chief Ambassador by the Monarch. Delegated most of her duties as Chief Ambassador - including representing the Empire to the United Kingdom - to her brother and predecessor, Crown Prince (and, after January 2013, Emperor) Jonathan. Replaced with Countess Eritoshi upon the Liberation of Orly.
3	HIH Eritoshi, Countess of Memphis		Thanasia	24 June 2013 - 17 March 2016	Jonathan I (Monarch)	Appointed to position of Chief Ambassador by the Monarch after playing an instrumental role in the Liberation of Orly. The position of Austenasian Ambassador to the United Kingdom was officially made explicitly separate from that of Chief Ambassador on 13 June 2014, albeit continuing to be held ex officio by the latter. Oversaw the establishment in Roehampton of the First Austenasian Embassy to the United Kingdom on 19 September 2015. Resigned for personal reasons.
4	Lord Charles Clarke, Duke of Grantabridge		Lichtenstein	17 March 2016 - 23 September 2016	Jonathan I (Monarch)	Appointed to position of Chief Ambassador by the Monarch. Resigned upon his home-town of Lichtenstein being ceded back to the United Kingdom after a term relatively uneventful apart from the relinquishing of the Roehampton embassy on 4 June 2016.
5	Lord Rear Admiral Evan Keller, Duke of New Virginia		Shineshore	27 September 2016 - 4 February 2017	Jonathan I (Monarch)	Appointed to position of Chief Ambassador by the Monarch. Due to living in Shineshore, an enclave of Canada, the Foreign Affairs Act 2017 on 25 January 2017 removed the requirement for the Chief Ambassador to be ex officio Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Continued to hold office as a place-holder until the appointment of his successor.
6	H.E. Lee Cant		Hackney Central	4 February 2017 – present	Jonathan I (Monarch)	Appointed by the Monarch; the first Ambassador to the United Kingdom who has not been either Chief Ambassador or an Austenasian national. His residence in London was claimed as the current Austenasian Embassy to the United Kingdom two days after his appointment as Ambassador. With the appointment of a diplomat in the Isle of Man in March 2020, the British Crown Dependencies were explicitly added to the remit of the ambassadorial position the following month.