Duchy of Dorset

Duchy of Dorset
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Who's Afear'd"
Location of Dorset in Great Britain
Capital	Dorchester
Official languages	English
Religion	Anglican
Demonym(s)	Dorsetine
Government	Unitary semi-constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	George II
• Lieutenant	Absent
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	House of Lords
• Lower house	House of Commons
Establishment
• Independence from the United Kingdom	21 March 2022
Area
• Total	2,653 km2 (1,024 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 census	772,268
Currency	Pound sterling (GPB)
Time zone	UTC±00:00 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+01:00 (British Summer Time)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+44

Dorset, officially the Duchy of Dorset, is a sovereign country under a semi-constitutional monarchy, most often characterized as a micronation. Dorset is situated in South West England on the English Channel coast and is entirely enclaved by the United Kingdom by all borders but maritime, and covers an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi). Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The capital is Dorchester, and is thus also the seat of the dukedom and government. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.

Dorset's independence was declared by its self-titled monarch, Duke George II, in March 2022 after over 1500 years under Anglo-Saxon rule. The aforementioned George II is the head of state and is vested with the authority of the realm, ruling through direct edict and political intrigue. Formally, the office of Lord Lieutenant is granted presidency over the duchy by the duke's grace, and oversees more mundane and civil matters. The legislative body of Dorset is the Parliament, a bicameral body which has the authority to promulgate legislation, and is divided into the House of Lords and of Commons.

Dorset has a varied landscape featuring broad elevated chalk downs, steep limestone ridges and low-lying clay valleys. Over half the county is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Three-quarters of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast Natural World Heritage Site due to its geological and palaeontologic significance. It features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. Agriculture was traditionally the major industry of Dorset but is now in decline and tourism has become increasingly important to the economy. Dorset has ports at Poole, Weymouth and Portland, and an international airport near Bournemouth. The county has a variety of museums, theatres and festivals, and is home to the Great Dorset Steam Fair, one of the largest events of its kind in Europe. It is also the birthplace of Thomas Hardy, who used the county as the principal setting of his novels, and William Barnes, whose poetry celebrates the ancient Dorset dialect.

Toponymy

Dorset derives its name from its capital of Dorchester. The Romans established the settlement in the 1st century and named it Durnovaria, a Latinised version of a Common Brittonic word possibly meaning "place with fist-sized pebbles" The Saxons named the town Dornwaraceaster (the suffix -ceaster being the Old English name for a "Roman town"; cf. Exeter and Gloucester) and Dornsæte came into use as the name for the inhabitants of the area from Dorn (a reduced form of Dornwaraceaster) and the Old English word sæte (meaning "people"). In the 10th century the duchy's archaic name, Dorseteschyre (Dorsetshire), was first recorded.

History

The duchy is home to a long and storied history, ranging from its earliest settlement in the Mesolithic period through to Roman rule and further beyond into the Middle Ages and English Civil War, with the native Corfe Castle acting as a royalist stronghold during times of conflict. Notably, it was also the Dorset Regiment who faced the first gas attack against British forces during the First World War, and they sustained particularly heavy losses at the Battle of the Somme.

Dorset has seen much civil unrest throughout its history; in the aforementioned English Civil War, an uprising of vigilantes was crushed by Oliver Cromwell's forces in a pitched battle near Shaftesbury. The doomed Monmouth Rebellion began at Lyme Regis in western Dorset as well, and a group of farm labourers from Tolpuddle were instrumental in the formation of the trade union movement. During the Second World War, Dorset was heavily involved in the preparations for the invasion of Normandy, and the large harbours of Portland and Poole were two of the main embarkation points.

Geography

Dorset covers an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi) and contains considerable variety in its underlying geology, which is partly responsible for the diversity of landscape. A large percentage of the county comprises either chalk, clay or mixed sand and gravels. The remainder is less straightforward and includes Portland and Purbeck stone, other limestones, calcareous clays and shales.

Dorset's diverse geography ensures it has an assortment of rivers, although a moderate annual rainfall coupled with rolling hills, means most are typically lowland in nature. Much of the county drains into three rivers, the Frome, Piddle and Stour which all flow to the sea in a south-easterly direction. The Frome and Piddle are chalk streams but the Stour, which rises in Wiltshire to the north, has its origins in clay soil. The River Avon, which flows mainly through Wiltshire and Hampshire, enters Dorset towards the end of its journey at Christchurch Harbour. The rivers Axe and Yeo, which principally drain the counties of Devon and Somerset respectively, have their sources in the north-west of the county. In the south-west, a number of small rivers run into the sea along the Dorset coastline; most notable of these are the Char, Brit, Bride and Wey.

Government and Politics

Constitution

The Duchy of Dorset is a Semi-Constitutional Monarchy governed by a codified constitution and a series of accompanying constitutional conventions.

Duke of Dorset

Though he is required to follow the constitutional conventions of the state, the duke exists outside of the national constitution. The crown itself is hereditary in the male line of the royal family through agnatic primogeniture, though provisions exist allowing a female line to inherit in the absence of qualified male heirs. Provisions also exist regarding the education of princes and the formation of a regency in extraordinary cases.

The duke is given the right to govern by edict or letters patent, and to declare any accused person innocent, or alternately to mitigate or suspend their punishment or pardon them. He is also given supreme power over religious matters. He appoints also the titles of presidency over the House of Lords and of Commons, most often to a figure recommended by his government.

The duke is also vested with the sole power to promulgate laws, and to carry them into effect, and only by his consent may any proposal for a law be advanced. He is permitted to dissolve the parliament, summon them and dismiss them, though if dissolved, new elections for the House of Commons have to be held within six months; he is also permitted to convoke extraordinary sessions of the legislature at his discretion.

Lord Lieutenant

The Lord Lieutenant of Dorset is the highest civil official in the duchy, and is vested with the power to act on behalf of the duke. Most often, the Lord Lieutenant attends to the more mundane duties of administration within the dukedom, and is often invoked to grant advice and to mediate relations with foreign entities. Additionally, he may utilise the Great Seal of the Realm upon permission of the crown.

He is appointed at the will of and by authority of the duke, and serves for a duration as long as His Highness pleases.

Ducal Chancellor

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Dorset is the formal head of government, and presides over both the cabinet and parliament. He, alike the Lord Lieutenant, is a keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm. He is appointed at the will of the duke, though constitutional conventions have long established that the chancellor is chosen at the advice of the cabinet and from among either the House of Lords or of Commons.

Bill of Rights

A Bill of Rights is provided by the constitution of the duchy. It provides for:

• Liberty of the subject and the right to his own property according to the laws and edicts of the realm;
• The right of the subject to lawful profession and emigration so long as no obligations are attached to them;
• Liberty of conscience, conviction, expression and religious affiliation;
• Equality of all subjects regardless of personal character;
• Freedom of the press, subject to legal restrictions;
• The right to directly appeal grievances to the government;
• Freedom from arbitrary arrest and punishment save through conviction in a court of law;
• The right to be free of all taxation other than taxes prescribed by law or edict.

Parliament

The ducal parliament was divided into two houses, which are constitutionally equal in their rights and status.

The House of Lords consists of:

• All subjects granted titles of nobility;
• Five members of the ducal household;
• One deputy of the Diocese of Salisbury;
• The minister of the ducal chapel;
• The mayors of all towns in Dorset;
• The chief magistrates of the court;
• Any subject appointed by the duke.

The House of Commons consists of:

• Two elected officials for each dependency;
• Five mayor-chosen deputies from each town;
• Any subject appointed by the house.

Judiciary

The judiciary is independent of the civil government and is organised by the Lord Chief Justice, who in turn is appointed by the duke. The Supreme Court, consisting of twelve designated justiciars, is given the authority to rule upon dubious or uncertain points in the constitution; its decision is decreed to be final, though may be vetoed by the duke.