Skirmish of the Treasury
| Skirmish of the Treasury | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Emperor Terry I forces open the door to Princess Caroline's Quarters to retrieve the stolen money. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Austenasian Army |
 Attacking British force | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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HIH Crown Prince Jonathan |
British 11-year-old boy HIH Princess Caroline | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3 | 6 | ||||||
The Skirmish of the Treasury was an incident that occurred on Monday, 25 May 2009, when some attackers from the United Kingdom infiltrated the Imperial Residence of the Empire of Austenasia with the help of the then Princess Caroline and stole the Treasury - the container containing money raised by taxes - from the Prime Minister's Office, which was soon retrieved by the Austenasian Army. This was the first conflict involving the newly formed Austenasian Army, and the only conflict to date in which the Monarch has led Austenasian forces into battle.
Prelude
On 25 May 2009, HIH Princess Caroline (now Crown Princess) of Austenasia celebrated her 11th birthday. She invited several of her friends from school - as well as Lord General William - to her party, held at a crazy golf course in New Malden. Afterwards, the party headed back to the Imperial Residence. Once inside, the then Crown Prince Jonathan and Lord General William went into the Prime Minister's Office (now known as the Imperial Quarters) to discuss matters relating to the Austenasian Army, founded only two days previously. HIH Princess Caroline then led her friends in an attack on the Office.
Skirmish
Princess Caroline and two of her friends burst into the Prime Minister's Office. Crown Prince Jonathan got them out and locked the door to prevent further disturbance of the meeting. The rest of the attackers then arrived, and they all tried to break down the door. The Lord General opened it and told them to leave, but instead, they tried to push past him, with Princess Caroline and two other attackers getting in. The Crown Prince helped the Lord General to force shut the door and get the attackers out, except for Princess Caroline, who they detained.
With Princess Caroline a prisoner in the besieged Prime Minister's Office, Crown Prince Jonathan interrogated her to find out what she was trying to do. Before he got her to tell him, Lord General William realised that the attackers were vandalising the door. The Crown Prince offered to free Princess Caroline should they stop vandalising his door. They agreed, and the Lord General opened the door to let the Princess out. As soon as the door was opened, the attackers shone torches (flashlights) in the faces of the two government figures, temporarily blinding them while they also sprayed a strong-smelling aerosol - apparently air "freshener" - into the room. The Crown Prince and Lord General fell back, allowing the attackers further into the room. While Lord General William attempted to detain another attacker, Crown Prince Jonathan got a torch from one of the attackers and shone it back at them. In the chaos, Princess Caroline took the Treasury (a money box containing the year's taxes) and ran away with it into her quarters followed by the Crown Prince and the attackers.
The situation was now reversed. It was now Princess Caroline's Quarters which were under siege by the Crown Prince and Lord General, with the attackers defending the stolen Treasury inside. While Lord General William re-secured the Prime Minister's Office, Crown Prince Jonathan went downstairs and informed the Emperor and Empress (at that time called the Princess Consort) of the situation. Emperor Terry I went upstairs, leading the Crown Prince and Lord General in a charge on the Princess' door. The Austenasians easily overcame the defences, and Emperor Terry ordered Princess Caroline to return the Treasury. She did so, but the Emperor departed back downstairs before the money could be counted. When it was, back in the safety of the Prime Minister's Office, it was found to be missing 82p.
Crown Prince Jonathan and Lord General William now had a problem. 82p of their tax money was still in Princess Caroline's Quarters, they were outnumbered 3:1, and they did not wish to ask the Emperor to help them again - after all, they were his army and thus it was their job. Luckily, Princess Consort Margaret had arranged a meal for everyone downstairs. The attackers and Army went downstairs to eat after arranging a brief uneasy truce, with the Crown Prince and Lord General finishing early and going back upstairs. The Lord General used the time to find some weapons (a slingshot and one of the attackers' aerosol cans) and tidy up the ransacked Prime Minister's Office while the Crown Prince retrieved the 82 pence from the undefended Quarters of Princess Caroline.
The Princess and her forces came back upstairs after eating, only to find their loot gone, the truce over and the Army ready for battle. They surrendered, and within 10 minutes the Britons had left the Empire to go home, some of them being escorted part of the way by Lord General William. Princess Caroline was then arrested by the Austenasian Police.
Aftermath
Princess Caroline was arrested after the Skirmish by the Austenasian Police, and held to trial six days later by Parliament. The Princess was arrested for treason due to her involvement in an attack on Austenasia, but was also tried for two counts of high treason (under Austenasian law, treason refers to actions committed against the nation whereas high treason refers to actions committed against the Monarch and Imperial Family) after being accused of spraying the Emperor and Crown Prince with air freshener (referred to as "chemical weapons" in the trial), armed robbery due to stealing the Treasury while "armed" with the aerosol cans, and attempted assault and conspiracy to commit assault due to trying to attack the Crown Prince and Lord General.
The Princess was found guilty of the latter three charges but was acquitted of the treason charges due to lack of evidence and a successful defence of duress. She was sentenced to undertake four community sentences under the supervision of a Representative, with the Emperor permitted to order her to undertake up to five more until 1 October later that year. She was also ordered to give a public apology; she did this on 14 June later that year, in front of the entire Austenasian population (which then numbered only 7, including herself) and some members of the extended Imperial Family.
