Music is developing in the Kingdom.  There is a growing awareness of the need to get away from the harp playing image and to prove the Kingdom can produce other styles of music.  Guitars and pianos, the idea imported from earth, are starting to catch on and the Queen has encouraged recitals to be held in the larger settlements.  She has even attended a few. 

The Council aren’t sure they approve, L’Evallier is downright sniffy about it, but the Queen’s favour means the musicians are safe.  Elves have taken to the new music well.  Much to everybody’s surprise so have the dwarves and sprites.  Most assumed these groups’ contribution to culture was pretty limited.  Musical style is mainly classical or light pop.  Rock and roll is still several centuries away from coming in here. 

The Queen is also keen to encourage her subjects to develop their own musical  instruments.  After all her subjects vary in terms of the number of limbs they have and fine motor skills so musical instruments need to reflect that.  Nobody has yet taken up the challenge.

Entertainment is mainly music organized by the different species for their own kinds only and in the style that they like.  This means the Queen doesn’t have to cope with a full Royal Command Performance.  She merely has to sit through an elf recital, a dwarf gig and so on, much easier to cope with a lot shorter in length. 

The sprites are the nearest thing the Kingdom has to clowns but given their mischief making often leads to damage being done, very few consider their antics funny.  Every species watches FNN and tunes into This Week’s Royal Gossip Show, chaired by Roherum, much to the monarch’s disgust (though she is quietly stunned at just what people can find to gossip about). 

Some dwarves and pixies do indulge in juggling from time to time but again tend to save their talents for their own villages.  Some of the species organize their own sports teams (cricket mainly) but this is very much an amateur thing and other groups, most notably the elves, consider anything bringing you out in a sweat vulgar in the extreme.  Yes that does include sex.

Whilst the Kingdom has had internal wars and battles with other worlds, the people themselves are expected to stick to the roles their species and/or status dictates to them.  This is why Eileen’s defection and her attempt to abandon her fairy godmother commission is a shock and could see her executed for treason.  The Queen in refusing to carry out that law, indeed trying to accommodate Eileen, also goes beyond the bounds of anything done in her world before and it is only because she is who she is that she gets away with it. 

Nobody is at all  surprised when Eileen doesn’t want to return and the Queen’s idea to contain Eileen fails.  Eileen finds the species and status restrictions unjust, though she benefits from her own high rank.  Eileen is the nearest thing the Kingdom’s had for a revolutionary and nobody is very comfortable about it given how close she is to the Fairy Kingdom throne, including Eileen herself.

The Kingdom, whilst despising humanity for its warlike, greedy attitude to say nothing of its pollution of Earth, is more than happy to pinch what it considers to be good ideas.  Fairy-vision is an example of this though the jury is still out as to whether bringing television to a magical world, any world come to that, is all it’s cracked out to be.  Alcohol is the other big import and the Queen imbibes very happily, too much so at times as far as Eileen’s concerned. 

The Queen also loves earth food and sees that as a harmless way of getting to know other cultures without actually having to deal with the people/beings themselves.  Eileen despises that attitude for the snobbery that it is.  The Queen’s Council is loosely based on the style of government Elizabeth I would have had and the Fairy Queen is vaguely aware of the similarities though disapproves.  She feels each world should have its own form of government but knows the Tudor Queen couldn’t possibly have copied her here or indeed at all!  The idea then that humans sometimes come up with reasonable systems of their own does not go down that well with Roxannadrell.  It’s much easier to despise humanity.

The Fairy Kingdom developed fairly quickly.  The use of magic encouraged the development of more magic (in terms of overall quantity performed, the power of the actual magic itself as there is always someone who wants to find out just what they can do with a wand if they try hard enough (!) and in term of "services" used to support magic and its practitioners, ranging from supply shops to ways a magical being could boost their individual magical capacity).

The Kingdom was and still is not above taking short cuts.  If another world has an idea it likes, it pinches it and renames it.  Sometimes it's a direct lift (fairyvision for example being an obvious lift from television), othertimes it becomes an adaptation (gardening techniques are applied to magical gardens where the plants can and do talk back telling their keepers exactly what they need in terms of feed, water, soil etc, so there is no danger of overwatering or underwatering for example).

The Kingdom cannot physically expand further.  Its dimensions are fixed.   Every part of the realm has been lived in at some point though due to magical wars making certain areas barren that is no longer the case.  Eileen feels the more responsible magical beings should be allowed to live, suitably disguised, on other worlds, to create more space in the Kingdom itself for those who could not/should not live elsewhere but the Queen and Council jointly shouted this down and even Eileen knew when she was beaten.  She didn't like it but she did know.

Transportation is by foot, wing, boot power (in the case of sprites), instant transportation spell (with the risk you may not rematerialize in the same order you disappeared in or at all!) or by using the cherry transporter trees.  These are slower but safer.  Entry is via the trunk via a special lever and inside the tree are abacuses used to set the co-ordinates for wherever you want to visit.  From the outside the trees do not appear to move.  The action takes place inside the trunk. The magic that propels them is conducted via the roots and branches. 

The Kingdom plants receptive cherry tree transporters on whatever world they visit, hence the one at Brenebourne. But not all areas in the Kingdom can take cherry trees, especially those places made barren by magical fighting so the instant transport charm must be used too.  Hanastrew hates it, she tends to land in lakes, but Eileen is expert at all forms of magical transport as is the Queen.

Travelling is done via the instant transport spell (but it comes with the risk you and your bits may not rematerialize in the right order or at all!) or using the slower, safer transport trees.  The trees appear motionless when viewed from the outside.  The magic is in the inside of the tree (a little like the Tardis) and you set your destination by setting abacus beads to get the coordinates you want.  Therefore geography is an important subject in the Kingdom’s schools. 

You have to know where you want to go and what its co-ordinates are.  Sprites can fly a short distance by powering their boots (this is a bit like having a running start anywhere in that it’s fine to get you going but you can’t keep it going forever).  Fairies of course have wings but to fly any great distance takes time and a lot of physical and magical stamina so they too tend to use the spell or the trees.  The skies can get congested at times.  And there’s the risk of crash landing on some unfortunate pedestrian below.

Arts play an important role in the Kingdom.  The Grand Hall in the Palace is renowned for having the most gold objects anywhere in the magical realm so metal working is highly prized as any dwarf would tell you.  The Queen is also proud of the ornate sculptured black entrance gates to the Palace and its massive ruby and sapphire main doors.  It is one of the few things about the Palace and its grounds that has remained unaltered from monarch to monarch over the centuries.

There’s no shortage of work for jewellers in the Kingdom!  The Council commission a jewelled piece for the Queen's birthday, which always goes down well.  The jewellery the Queen does not wear daily goes on display once a  year in different towns so people can get to see the Crown Jewels.  There are portraits focussing mainly on landscapes (and funnily enough none of the areas made barren by too much magical fighting, they seem to have been forgotten about for some reason). 

The Queen doesn’t have much time for music though fanfares accompany her wherever so she goes so that may affect her attitude to brass band music.  The populace at large know what they like.  There are some galleries and libraries in the larger villages and towns though, as with other worlds, it does tend to be the la-di-da that visit them most.

Whilst the Kingdom has had protests, riots and civil wars, particularly in Gwendolyn’s reign, political demonstrations as we know them are a rare thing here.  Mostly the Queen and Council govern with no protests at all.  It does take desperate or selfish actions by the monarch especially to get folk out on to the streets. 

The Council is appointed by the Queen but she sounds out each species for recommendations first.  Usually there are one or two candidates deemed worthy enough by their own kind to serve on the Council and those then get interviewed several times by village elders and so on before only one name is put forward to the monarch.  Village elders can and are influenced by the feelings, usually voiced loudly, by their own people. 

FNN would dearly love to influence things here as they’ve seen the media do on earth but absolutely nobody in the Kingdom will tolerate that.  FNN is there to report facts, not opinions, the only exception being Roherum’s This Week’s Royal Gossip Show as it is felt okay to tittle tattle and giggle over the royals and their indiscretions.  Understandably the royals are not fans of this show.

Eileen, on earth, does like programmes such as Question Time because although it is a talking shop, she can see the point of giving people a forum like that.  In the Kingdom, with no forum in the offing, people would take to the streets.

The Council represents all 22 species in the Kingdom and all have picked their best, most well connected “person”.  (The jury’s out on whether the orcs count as people).  This has always been the case and they see no reason to change but Roxannadrell would like at least one or two more lowly folk serving on the Council.  She knows she has no chance of getting that kind of concession from the elves.  Though this doesn’t stop the monarch voicing her disappointment every so often. 

Not that the likes of L’Evallier take any notice of this.  They feel it is for each species to decide who to send to the Palace and don’t like the Queen trying to interfere here.  Eileen has sympathy with the Queen’s aim, one of their few areas of agreement, but the Council doesn’t want the godmother interfering either as they’ve made clear.  Each Council member keeps a detailed diary of what they do at each Council meeting and circulate it to their own kind.  Naturally there are often 22 different versions of the same Council discussions!

The Council has one representative from the 22 different species.  L’Evallier is Council Leader and is the poshest elf imaginable though he is honest, honourable and courageous.  The Queen knows she needs him and his blunt advice even when  he’s being a pain in the neck, possibly especially then.  Eileen respects him and not many get that compliment. 

Major Council characters featured in the novels are Rodish, then Balkish (Chief Dwarf), Thunderrock (troll), Haldra (orc), Nimble (goblin) and Brankaresh, later Abstar (Chief Wizard).  The Chief Wizard is the most powerful non-royal magical being on the Kingdom which was why Brankaresh’s treachery was such a serious matter for the Queen and why Eileen felt she had to kill the wretch the traditional way - remove head, arms and legs at one go with a very powerful charm to ensure no chance of self defence.  Fortunately this method of execution is not used often.

Abstar is very keen not to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps! He likes the Queen, he likes being at the Palace, he likes his job and above all he likes living!  The definition of a level headed being, who are at a premium in any magical world!

There is a wide range of wildlife in the magical realm ranging from the classic mythical beasts like the dragons and unicorns to wildfowl similar to that found on earth.  The main differences in the latter are that the Kingdom’s varieties tend to be much brighter coloured and they can fight back against almost any predator.

Everything is affected by magic in the air in the realm so if some creature wants to eat the Kingdom equivalent of a mallard, it knows it has to be strong enough magically to take it or risk being blown to bits the moment the unfortunate prey enters the digestive tract. Fresdian, later Rose, is the Kingdom’s expert on all things flora and fauna and has written several books adding to the realm’s general knowledge (though it doesn’t stop her being written off as an eccentric, which suits her quite well).

The Kingdom’s wide range of terrains from mountains to deserts to swamps host a huge range of creatures, most of whom you don’t want to come across on a dark night, on any night come to that.

Plant life varies greatly in the Kingdom too from huge trees to gorse like shrubs to flowers in every imaginable colour.  There is no such thing as weeds (so in that respect Derek would consider the realm paradise) and every village and town takes great pride in ensuring their flowers are not only in bloom, they’re at least twice the size of their nearest neighbours. 

The witch community is renowned for their herbal knowledge.  The good witches use their knowledge to help others.  The bad ones use their knowledge to brew poisons.  Dwarves are wary of apples (and old women selling them even more so!) but fruit is grown in most areas similar to that found on earth.  They also have their own fruits, which tend to be luminous in colour, heavily scented, and very juicy.  The reason these haven’t been named is there’s disagreement as to what they should be called given magical fruits have the nasty habit of changing shape depending on how good or bad weather conditions were.

FNN would like to do a series of  history programmes on the fairy royals but neither Eileen nor the Queen are keen and without their co-operation the programmes won’t be made.  This is due to the fact FNN would need access to the royal files/Library and only these two can grant that. FNN know the Council are not very keen on them, they owe their existence to the fairy royals so won’t bite the hand that feeds them. 

FNN sometimes try to persuade the Queen to allow them access here, knowing it’s a waste of time trying to get Eileen to change her mind, but to date have failed.  The Queen doesn’t trust them to stick to those royals with a reasonable record.  She thinks they want to dig up all the gossip and scandal concerning Queen Gwendolyn, great-grandmother to Roxannadrell and Eileen.  The one comfort the Queen has on all this is that it’s one of the few areas where she and Eileen are united.

The fairy-vision system itself is a direct lift of television from earth.  The Kingdom is happy to despise humanity but nick its good ideas. Gwendolyn saw the usefulness of having a system where news could be broadcast around the realm without the need for using magical energy.  Sadly it gave the Kingdom FNN with their goblin news reporter, Roherum, who thinks he’s God’s gift when everybody else knows he isn’t.  Having said that, he can be insightful (it usually happens by accident) and knows the weatherman is after his job. 

The main programmes on FNN (Fairy News Network) are the news bulletins though Roherum also fronts This Week’s Royal Gossip Show which Roxannadrell loathes (and is amazed at what can be found to gossip about, this amazement is not in a good way). There are some wildlife programmes but most things on the schedule are fronted by Roherum or written by Roherum or commissioned by Roherum and sometimes a combination of these.  Nobody’s sure where Roherum came from to be able to do all this but they know they’re stuck with him.  His avuncular manner, to the disgust of the weatherman is popular.  Even the Chief Witch liked him.

Wizards in the service of the Queen are expected to produce a wide range of spells for defensive use, conserving magical energy and better transportation. The latter is an ongoing project as the jerky start up and landing process of the cherry tree transporters has defeated the realm’s finest minds and the Queen herself has given up on it. 

There is competitiveness between the wizards firstly to get the position of Chief Wizard and, secondly, to better one’s rivals as the more spells the Queen brings into daily use the quicker the promotion for the wizard concerned.  The Queen also rewards wizards by bestowing extra magical powers.  Some of these are granted on a license for a short period of time, others are permanent.  All of them are expected to be used to encourage the wizard’s professional development. 

There isn’t yet a professional body to monitor conduct (though after Brankaresh’s treachery there is no doubt the wizarding community could do with one.  The one problem would be they’d never agree on who would run such a body).

Witches and wizards tend to meet together in small groups every now and again.  The Chief Witch inherited her title from her family, a branch of the fairy royals thanks to Gwendolyn’s indiscretion by marrying a wizard, having a child by him and then dumping both of them.  Nobody except Gwendolyn herself was surprised when the two defected to the dark side.  Gwendolyn because she had moved on had assumed they would move on too.  Sadly for the realm she was wrong.  This one incident alone triggered another civil war. 

The Chief Wizard, however, has to work his way up the ladder and earn the respect of his peers, so they’re happy for him to take the title.  This, however, can be abused.  Brankaresh used murder, intimidation and fear to work his way to the position.  Though even he could not be blatant about it.  The crucial thing was not to draw his nefarious business to the attention of the Queen.  In that sadly he succeeded as she was taken in by his charm, unlike the cynical Eileen. But then in her line fighting foul magical creatures, Eileen knows to always ask questions, especially the awkward ones.  That habit has helped keep her alive.

Eileen’s defection caused shockwaves due to the Kingdom’s attitude to humans.  The realm has been divinely commissioned to keep a watching brief on earth and fairies, in particular, are often sent out when it is felt sending a full angelic squad would be too frightening or a bad case of overkill. 

The Kingdom has had millennia to study humanity’s warlike qualities, its greed, its pollution and the way it abuses the planet.  Naturally  not every human is like that but the fairy world likes its prejudices as much as any other civilization so focuses on the negative.  There’s also a certain amount of the “’we’re so much better than them” syndrome. 

Eileen’s marriage works, much to everybody’s surprise, but nobody is prepared to credit that Derek is a rather special human being.  Eileen knows that his wonderful gardening skills would be prized in her old world had it not been for his species.  She loathes prejudices and to her great credit hates the ones of her own world the most as she feels they’re the ones she can condemn the most.

The Queen believes if she can get Jennifer to come to the Kingdom and stay there for a while, the girl will see the advantages of the magical realm and stay for good.  That worries Jenny, as does the renowned Kingdom prejudice against alien beings, but the Queen knows that can be overcome.  The Queen has a great deal more influence with her subjects than most monarchs have and she wouldn’t be afraid to use that. 

This influence is exploited by the Council at times, especially when it can be used against the likes of the Witch, but they also resent it as it causes difficulties.  It’s not unknown for a law they’ve passed to be overturned by her, not just by her using her right of veto but by drumming up public support.  What aggravates the Council is knowing they can’t do anything about this, the public would resent it and the Queen would go bananas.  A potty monarch with huge  power is never a good combination

The public love the royal visits as they like a decent show, the Queen always looks good and they like to laugh at their high born nobility having to put themselves out for their monarch.  The public also suspects Her Majesty has a quiet snigger about this too.  As does the nobility. All know there’s nothing they can do about it. 

Less welcome is Roherum’s purple prose on every visit.  This is a guy who cannot see anything wrong with hyperbole and for whom there can never be too many adjectives.  Royal visits are set up by the Queen, with support from the Council and the leaders of the village or town chosen for the visit though the ruler is thinking of employing someone in the Palace to do this for her. She’s happy with Wes being her aide for filing, running errands and keeping her diary up to date but is less sure if he could manage the practical side of arranging a visit and do it without offending someone. Wes isn’t known for tact. In the meantime the Queen will keep organizing her own jollies.  She loves meeting the people seeing it as a vital part of her job. 

The Council see the importance of the visits but believes the Queen gets some of her less “sound” ideas from meeting the hoi polloi that little bit too often.  They know they can’t voice that opinion.  The Queen would give them very short shrift.

The high nobility tend to dread the Queen coming to stay with them for a while.  Unlike the nobles in Queen Elizabeth Tudor’s time, who dreaded it due to the expense, the Kingdom’s nobility despair of their ruler’s generosity.  When she visits, she opens their doors to the hoi polloi in the surrounding areas so she gets to see plenty of them as well!   And there’s no way the nobility can tell the Queen to go and visit the peasants at their hovels rather than insist on them coming to the local lord’s mansion!  The people love the monarch for this.  The nobles think the Queen is misguided.  And the Queen is well aware they think that.  What she also knows is they can’t do anything about it without sounding like whinging snobs! 

FNN follow the Queen’s visits too though to be kind to her nobles she does insist they only film her when she’s out and about and not in the noble houses.  There is some appreciation for this but the nobility still wishes she’d stop bringing the peasants in for tea.  And they shudder at stately homes on earth which are open to the public.  There’s a general feeling the so-called nobles on earth who do this are letting the side down.

Witches and wizards tend to meet together in small groups every now and again.  The Chief Witch inherited her title from her family, a branch of the fairy royals thanks to Gwendolyn’s indiscretion by marrying a wizard, having a child by him and then dumping both of them.  Nobody except Gwendolyn herself was surprised when the two defected to the dark side.  Gwendolyn because she had moved on had assumed they would move on too.  Sadly for the realm she was wrong.  This one incident alone triggered another civil war. 

The Chief Wizard, however, has to work his way up the ladder and earn the respect of his peers, so they’re happy for him to take the title.  This, however, can be abused.  Brankaresh used murder, intimidation and fear to work his way to the position.  Though even he could not be blatant about it.  The crucial thing was not to draw his nefarious business to the attention of the Queen.  In that sadly he succeeded as she was taken in by his charm, unlike the cynical Eileen. But then in her line fighting foul magical creatures, Eileen knows to always ask questions, especially the awkward ones.  That habit has helped keep her alive.

Seasons in the Kingdom are the same as on earth but certain areas keep their favourite seasons far longer than we do.  For example, there is a Winter Wonderland area in the Kingdom so the other seasons are brief. 

Flora and fauna again resemble that found on earth but there are species in the Kingdom that could never be found outside a magical environment.  There are trees and beanstalks that grow and grow and where climbing is very much done at the climber’s own risk.  Not only is there the terrifying thought of what you might find at the top, there are the creatures that live in these plants that need facing as well.  Not all are friendly!  The giant flowers in the Palace gardens really are giant.  And you should see the bees that pollinate them! 

Colours are brighter than on earth.  The subtler shades are not appreciated by most in the realm, the attitude being if you’ve got colour, you may as well have as much of it as possible!  Colour blindness is unknown in the Kingdom though given the brightness of the hues this counts as a miracle though the Queen and Eileen believe eyes react to whatever environment they cope with and magical eyes are used to such brightness.

The fairy squad, set up by Eileen, practices in the Palace grounds, well away from where the rest of the Household relaxes during off duty times.  Eileen set up a force field around the practice area which the Queen has since reinforced (yes, Eileen does know and yes, she’s livid about it - she loathes having her abilities questioned but is aware the monarch would happily make an issue out of this by telling Eileen to come back and fix it if she’s that unhappy). 

Having said that the squad have got used to having Household members stand outside the force field to watch the squad at work.  Applause has been known.  New squad members run the gauntlet of mocking laughter when they foul up.  Hanastrew has made no attempt to stop that.  She calls it character forming.  The newer squad members call it something too but not by something I'd care to repeat! 

The squad as a whole doesn’t really like being entertainment for the staff, every so often they send a spell “wide” so it bounces off the force field.  This give the squad a chance to have a laugh as they see those Household members not aware the squad do this jump out of their skins.

The squad practice sessions include setting up fake battles and Hanastrew and her team destroying these using various spells depending on what skill they’re working on.  Hanastrew sets theory papers, based on ones Eileen set her.

The squad prefers the practical sessions.  It’s more fun making something explode with a suitable charm than writing down your theories about what you’d do in certain situations.  Magical Ethics is not a popular subject as everybody in the Kingdom knows they’ve used magic in dodgy situations or to achieve things they should’ve used more honourable  means to get.  Having to sit a paper on Magical Ethics brings on bad consciences!

For the evil side of the Kingdom, Magical Ethics is a waste of time. This causes resentment amongst the good guys. Why can’t they just get on with their job and send the evil ones to the next world? Why must paperwork get in the way?  But Queen and Council see the Magical Ethics papers as a way of gauging mental states.  Anyone writing they “want to blitz communities apart ASAP regardless of what said community has done” or show prejudices will be getting a visit from the authorities PDQ. 

Eileen loathes the paper.  She sees it as a form of government interference which doesn’t achieve anything useful.  She has no problem with the interference - it’s the lack of practical gain that gets her goat. After all everyone writes down what they think the government wants them to write! 

Most beings in the Kingdom don’t take much interest in life outside of their own realm.  Not only are they getting on with their own lives, humans are considered warlike, polluting and greedy.  So when Eileen defects to marry a human, the entire Kingdom is shaken by it. 

Fairies visit other worlds regularly and have been known to deputize for the angelic squad, when sending them in would be considered too frightening or a case of  overkill.  Eileen is the only one who wants to stay on earth though!  Fresdian (Rose) comes to love life on earth (though naturally it’s the wildlife she’s most interested in). 

There is no question of the Kingdom having its own “space programme”.  Any world the Kingdom wants to visit, well it sends representatives and usually the world in question does not realize.  Another reason for the lack of interest in other worlds is the Kingdom has been at war at some point with practically all of them!  And most in the Kingdom relish the relative peace and calm now and don’t want anything rocking the boat.  If that means ignoring the neighbours, so be it.

Most beings in the Kingdom have a healthy scepticism towards the Council, something they’ve developed for themselves, though they’re not surprised by humans being disillusioned with their politicians.  The Council blame FNN for this perception though the Queen sympathizes with her people.  It isn’t that the Council are greedy or self seeking but they are slow, use language best left in the archives as it is far too long-winded, and tend to be reactive rather than proactive. 

Also the Queen and Eileen go out on load of various visits around the realm.  The “sticks” rarely get to see the Council.  FNN do not broadcast serious programmes like our Newsnight for example but cover the basics of politics only, believing correctly it is all most people are interested in and the ones that want in depth analysis are probably in need of that in depth analysis on themselves! 

L’Evallier despairs at this attitude.  He would like to see more taking an interest in what the Council actually does do, see the difficulties it has at times (especially with the Queen, who is not all sweetness and light) and provide the realm's future Council members (and better still enough within a species to ensure there is an election to choose who represents that species.  At the moment it is the most obvious being who takes any interest in the art of governing that gets put on the Council and L'Evallier, with the benefit of hindsight, can see how the treacherous Brankaresh took advantage of that).

Arts play an important role in the Kingdom.  The Grand Hall in the Palace is renowned for having the most gold objects anywhere in the magical realm so metal working is highly prized as any dwarf would tell you.  The Queen is also proud of the ornate sculptured black entrance gates to the Palace and its massive ruby and sapphire main doors.  There’s no shortage of work for jewellers in the Kingdom!

There are portraits focussing mainly on landscapes (and funnily enough none of t he areas made barren by too much magical fighting, they seem to have been forgotten about for some reason).  The Queen doesn’t have much time for music though fanfares accompany her wherever so she goes so that may affect her attitude to brass band music. 

The populace at large know what they like.  There are some galleries and libraries in the larger villages and towns though, as with other worlds, it does tend to be the la-di-da that visit them most. 

Music is developing in the Kingdom.  There is a growing awareness of the need to get away from the harp playing image and to prove the Kingdom can produce other styles of music.  Guitars and pianos, the idea imported from earth, are starting to catch on and the Queen has encouraged recitals to be held in the larger settlements.  She has even attended a few.  The Council aren’t sure they approve, L’Evallier is downright sniffy about it, but the Queen’s favour means the musicians are safe. 

Elves have taken to the new music well.  Much to everybody’s surprise so have the dwarves and sprites.  Most assumed these groups’ contribution to culture was pretty limited.  Musical style is mainly classical or light pop.  Rock and roll is still several centuries away from coming in here.  The Queen is also keen to encourage her subjects to develop their own musical  instruments.  After all her subjects vary in terms of the number of limbs they have and fine motor skills so musical instruments need to reflect that.  Nobody has yet taken up the challenge.

Palace staff wear a uniform of black jacket with matching trousers or skirt, white shirt or blouse with big red buttons, red socks, stockings or tights and red shoes.  Smart appearance is compulsory at all times.

The Queen wears gowns and tiaras almost always and refers to this as  her working uniform.  Eileen prefers smart casual trousers and tops especially when flying.  This has caused some disapproval but the Kingdom generally can see Eileen does have a point here.  Tutus are no good to anybody when caught in a cross wind! 

Eileen can and did dress up during her time in the Palace, which, for ceremonial occasions, she doesn’t mind, being glad to play her part.  Where Eileen resents is when the Queen expects her cousin to “doll up” for private dinners and things like that.  Eileen has no problem with the Queen laying down the law, it is the monarch’s job, but to tell her own cousin how to dress is a step too far.  Eileen never looks scruffy.  She has far too much pride for that and, for Eileen, that should be enough to satisfy the Queen. Naturally, given the growing antipathy between the pair, it isn't.

Jenny prefers to wear smart casual skirts and tops.  The Queen approves (given the girl is a hybrid, the monarch does not feel Jenny should wear quite the same clothes as she herself does.  Jenny, if she knew about this, would tell the monarch to stuff her tiaras and gowns and wouldn't wear them if someone paid her to do so).

Food is grown and prepared manually and magically though almost everyone prefers honest grub rather than that conjured up out of thin air as there’s something about magic that leaves its mark in food.  Experts say the taste isn’t so fresh.  It’s as if the magic has taken something from the food. 

The Queen is keen the royal kitchens cook a wide range of cuisines from different worlds, though she is particularly fond of earth food.  Her favourite dish is a properly prepared old fashioned roast chicken dinner followed by raspberry crumble and icecream.  Some food snobs do look down their noses at their monarch for such humble tastes but they never do it in her presence so she considers she’s won that argument.  She tunes into The Great British Bake Off using her crystal ball as a kind of laptop fitted with I-player device and insists her Head Housekeeper and team of chefs watch too.  Recent developments from the royal kitchens have included getting to grips with cooking a Victoria sponge.  Even L'Evallier, no fan of humanity, conceded this cake had its merits when it was served with drinks at a recent Council meeting.

The Queen also argues that the griffin and dodo are endangered enough without her Household cooking them as well.  Eileen likes Italian food and her favourite dish is seafood lasagne.  Jenny is a good cook and her favourite dish is honey pepper beef with mangetout and fresh pasta.  Jenny makes a wonderful Victoria sponge (and to the Queen's amazement without any magic being used at all).

Grudges cast long shadows.  Things from the past affecting today form the basis of many a great story.  Anything you can use here?  And bear in mind that a character’s development takes time.  Eileen has become awkward because she has become fed up with being “used”.  The Witch wants to take the Kingdom to avenge slights, real and imagined, on her family by the fairy royals.  The Witch “forgets” her own family attacked the royals, naturally the royals were going to fight back. 

Have your characters got enough to play for?  Their ambition has got to be strong enough.  It’s no good just wishing for something to happen.  Have they the means, or the ability to find the means, to achieve them?  What will they do to achieve them?  Have they got limits? Can they see to the end of the road?  Do they know where they want to end up?

Does your setting have a history, which may well affect your characters?  The Fairy Kingdom has a history of wars between witches, wizards and fairies, leading to barren areas, which in turn is leading to overpopulation in certain parts of the realm.  This led to Eileen suggesting the more responsible magical beings living, in disguise, on other worlds.  She got shouted down yet she knows this issue won’t just go away no matter how much the Queen and Council try to ignore it. 

Has your world got issues it needs to face?  What is its system of government?  If your world seems real to you, it should seem real to your readers.  And every world has to be run by someone - someone with a past, character traits that can benefit the realm/cause it great problems.  There’s got to be some great stories in that!

Kingdom Council meetings are as dull as they are on earth.  There’s something about the word “Council” that induces automatic dullness.  Even the Queen finds this.  She has tried to speed proceedings up to try to limit how long the dullness goes on for.  She isn’t always successful. 

Planning meetings at FNN are dull too to all except Roherum who leads them and insists on thinking he’s fascinating his listeners/viewers. FNN is dominated by programmes Roherum thinks the people want.  To his colleagues’ annoyance, he is usually right. 

Though the Queen could do without This Week’s Royal Gossip Show.  Sadly for her it’s FNN second top rated programme after their main news bulletin.  Whilst it’s not impossible for her to have this removed, she is well aware how unpopular it would make her.  The villages and towns have their own meetings to settle issues but it’s always done over drinks and picnics so at least these are more fun!

There are staff meetings at the Palace too which are usually held quarterly and run by the Lord Chamberlain or, if he is busy, the Head Housekeeper.  Royal staff are meant to bring any problems they have to these meetings so the issues can be resolved.  Nobody has yet done so.  Nobody wants to admit to having problems (and on the plus side it speeds the meetings up no end too).

Fairies are the top species in the realm, mainly due to their powers and the way the royals tamed the Kingdom and stopped the infighting, though it took them centuries to do it.  Most of the Kingdom doesn’t have a problem with this though every so often a disgruntled wizard or witch rebels and shakes the Kingdom throne up somewhat. The fairies act honourably and don’t throw their weight around though there is always the odd exception. 

Hanastrew and the squad generally go down well with the populace given they’re the first line of magical defence.  Fairies tend to despise humanity’s view of them - they are not twee, yes they like flowers but don’t necessarily live in them and the ones that do are considered suspect by their own kind.  Fairies are tough, good fighters and love nothing better then righting injustices.  They very much see themselves as the good guys of the magical world.

The relationship between fairies and witches is a complex one here.  There are good witches and bad fairies after all though it is expected each support their own type only.  Having said that there are examples of cross magical type friendships and Eileen and the Chief Witch were known to have been very close as children. 

It is also recognized that the better witches are good at herbal medicines and are often employed for that purpose.  The witches you want to avoid are those involved in the occult and in the Kingdom’s case actively trying to seize the throne and kill anyone getting in the way of that aim.  It is less well known that the Chief Witch in her way was fond of Eileen, recognizing that the godmother had always tried to be fair to her even on issues where they disagreed.  Not that this would count for anything with the Queen.  She sees it as highly suspect behaviour on Eileen’s part.

There isn’t anything like a police force in the Kingdom. The nearest thing is the fairy squad, set up by Eileen, and now run by Hanastrew.  It is expected each group will do its utmost to keep their own in line.  This works reasonably well as nobody wants the fairy squad turning up and acting in what they’d consider was a heavy handed manner.  The fairy squad isn’t known for subtlety. 

The overall authority is the Queen of course and nobody wants her acting in a heavy handed manner either as she could let all hell loose magically speaking.  Crime rates are relatively low but, sadly, when it  takes place it tends to be “spectacular”.  For example Brankaresh murdered rivals to steal their spells and overthrew the Queen briefly and the Witch deliberately let a dragon loose to cause as much devastation as possible. 

Village settlements tend to be well run - nobody wants to rock the boat and upset the neighbours. Though there is one exception to this.  Villagers tend to unite in the cause of a decent planning dispute and it’s not been unknown for a local mayor making the wrong decision to face a very unpleasant fate.  That’s the problem with living in a magical world.  Almost any fate is possible!

The Council represents all 22 species in the Kingdom and all have picked their best, most well connected “person”.  (The jury’s out on whether the orcs count as people).  This has always been the case and they see no reason to change but Roxannadrell would like at least one or two more lowly folk serving on the Council.  She knows she has no chance of getting that kind of concession from the elves.  Though this doesn’t stop the monarch voicing her disappointment every so often. 

Not that the likes of L’Evallier take any notice of this.  They feel it is for each species to decide who to send to the Palace and don’t like the Queen trying to interfere here.  Eileen has sympathy with the Queen’s aim, one of their few areas of agreement, but the Council doesn’t want the godmother interfering either as they’ve made clear. 

The Council has one representative from the 22 different species.  Each Council member keeps a detailed diary of what they do at each Council meeting and circulate it to their own kind.  Naturally there are often 22 different versions of the same Council discussions!

L’Evallier is Council Leader and is the poshest elf imaginable though he is honest, honourable and courageous.  The Queen knows she needs him and his blunt advice even when he’s being a pain in the neck, possibly especially then.  Eileen respects him and not many get that compliment.  Major Council characters featured in the novels are Rodish, then Balkish (Chief Dwarf), Thunderrock (troll), Haldra (orc), Nimble (goblin) and Brankaresh, later Abstar (Chief Wizard).

The Kingdom has 22 different species, which is why the Council is made of up 22 members.  Each species by law must have a Council representative.  The Council also represent different areas in the realm so everybody has a “MP” they can take their problems to.  The Queen, on her visits, will often hear what her Council have been doing to help the populace and has been known to grill the Council if she feels their help has been lacking or not given quickly enough.

The fact FNN exists tends to focus the Council’s collective minds on getting the help done and out of the way or they’ll be roasted by the broadcasters.  The Council hate that. The Kingdom welcomes it. FNN have achieved something useful!  Forms of address can be tricky in Council meetings and the Queen has got around this by calling everybody by name making the meetings less formal. 

There is a Post Office like arrangement at the Palace as the Queen is inundated with mail and again if any problems her Council haven’t dealt with come up here said representative gets a roasting and is literally booted out of the Palace to tackle said problem forthwith.

The settlements run themselves but under General Magical Law applied to all beings equally by the Queen and Council.  So therefore any village troublemakers are dealt with village leaders in a way that is deemed appropriate.  Almost anything is appropriate. 

The main provisions of the General Magical Law is not to use more magical energy than necessary for the task in hand and don’t rebel against the monarchy and Council.  Some villages and towns tend to use things like our medieval stocks as a form of punishment.  Others turn their errant beings into something nasty for a while (the really errant ones don’t get turned back again at all). 

Village leaders have to send a note once a week to the Palace to say what disciplinary actions have been taken against whom and why so the government keeps a watching brief on what’s going on.  This is how Wes and Stan got such a bad reputation.  Everything they did in their home villages was written down and passed on.  All the punishments their home folk tried failed and that was written down.  This is why they were sent to the Palace.  Their village leaders felt it was high time the Queen had a go at sorting these sprites out.

The Queen believes if she can get Jennifer to come to the Kingdom and stay there for a while, the girl will see the advantages of the magical realm and stay for good.  That worries Jenny, as does the renowned Kingdom prejudice against alien beings, but the Queen knows that can be overcome. 

The Queen has a great deal more influence with her subjects than most monarchs have and she wouldn’t be afraid to use that.  This influence is exploited by the Council at times, especially when it can be used against the likes of the Witch, but they also resent it as it causes difficulties.  It’s not unknown for a law they’ve passed to be overturned by her, not just by her using her right of veto but by drumming up public support. 

What aggravates the Council is knowing they can’t do anything about this, the public would resent it and the Queen would go bananas.  A potty monarch with huge  power is never a good combination.