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.  And in this day and age it is no longer possible even with magic to stop news of Eileen's defection getting out given the spread of fairy-vision throughout the realm and the populace's addiction to the Fairy News Network led by its avuncular presenter, Roherum,who is renowned for being the national berk (and loved for it too).

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, whether that world knows it or not, 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.

The fairy-vision system 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 the 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 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 likes him.   Nobody is too sure if Roherum should be flattered or horrified by this.

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 always 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.  There’s no shortage of work for jewellers in the Kingdom! 

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 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. 

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.

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). 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, or 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. 

Practising magical skills is a requisite for all social groups.  This resembles the mediaeval requirement for all men to practice their archery.  There’s much resentment against groups like the elves for having more magical powers than the sprites, though the sprites refuse to acknowledge their tendency to fight means their not having a lot of power is actually a good idea.  There’s even more resentment from other groups who have to break up the fights sprites indulge in and/or have to clear up the damage. 

Sprites also like sex a lot and reproduce a lot.  Female sprites out and about attract a lot of interest.  Some welcome it, some don’t (guess what is a major cause of the fighting!!!). 

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 facing a very unpleasant fate.  That’s the problem with living in a magical world.  Almost any fate is possible.

Most magical groups keep well away from the Palace and its politics and with good reason.  The Kingdom has a violent history and the trouble nearly always revolves around the Palace and its owner! 

Circuses exist in the Kingdom though circus owners complain it’s harder to get the customers in thanks to the advent of fairy-vision. 

Most groups get on reasonably well with the others though it’s taken centuries of effort by the fairy royals to get to this point.  But it’s been a long time since the last dwarf buried their axe in the back of the nearest elf. There is a general loathing of sprites for their fighting and irresponsible attitude to sex and reproduction. 

Villages tend to be self sufficient - they all have their own butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. 

Sport is enjoyed, though it’s not common everywhere (and no elf would ever join in, not even with the highbrow sports of croquet and polo and so on).  The Queen has her own herd of unicorns whom she rides directly.  Her carriages are either propelled magically or are pulled by unicorns.   She rides horses too though they are considered the poor relation to the noble unicorn.

As with all societies, there are the haves and have nots.   The “higher” magical beings - fairies, witches and wizards, elves - have the greatest powers.  The “lower” ones - the sprites - have significantly less and resent it.  The fact they wouldn’t handle extra powers well they ignore.  Dwarves and trolls fall in the “mid-range” and, to be fair, everyone, including the sprites, has the chance to earn magical gifts from the Queen so even the lowliest sprite can add to what they were born with. 

The schools teach relevant skills to the relevant groups and each group specializes.  There’s a reason why nobody other than a dwarf can mine and go into raptures about gold.  Some things just are in the blood! 

The Witch’s dragon wanted to experiment with genetics by turning Jenny  into a lady dragon and mating with her, figuring their offspring would inherit her magical skills and making dragon kind independent of those like the Witch without whom he could not exist.  He was right to think along those lines.  Jenny was equally right to be horrified by the idea!

Fairies are the top beings in the realm, mainly because it is run by a Fairy Queen.  Earth depictions of them as twee are despised. The only thing twee about Eileen is her collection of classic skirts made out of a certain well known material!  The godmother class is the highest kind of fairy and it is from them recruits for the angels are usually found when godmothers reach the end of their time in the Fairy Kingdom.  Fairies like Hanastrew are not yet godmothers but are clearly going to get there.  Those like the fairy squad will be the working fairies, some of whom will gain promotion, some of whom will stay put. 

Not every fairy wants to be a godmother - a great deal more responsibility comes with it. Fresdian (Rose)managed to disguise her true godmother class to avoid those responsibilities. 

All fairies practice their skills regularly.  Most fight like demons too when called on to do so by the Kingdom.

THE QUEEN'S HEAD COOK
(never named, she considers it undignified, or upset, nobody wants to go hungry!)

The Queen’s Head Cook guards her recipes and papers as jealously as her boss and sovereign guards the fairy royal powers.  The Head Cook sets the daily menu and those working under her have to cook in the pre-determined way - that is what she thinks is right.  In fairness, the meals prepared are delicious and the Head Cook generally is right but don’t look for invention and originality here. 

It has only been the Queen’s insistence that cuisine from other worlds makes a regular appearance that anything new comes on to the menu at all.  Some of these new dishes go down well (lasagne, pizza, casseroles), others do not (the idea of toad in the hole has totally been misunderstood here!  They look for the toads and believe humans are mis-selling the dish because there aren’t any toads in it). 

The one thing the Head Cook is proud of is the way the kitchen staff work as a well oiled team, nobody goes hungry and the kitchens are kept meticulously clean.

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 role 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.

The Queen’s maids and ladies-in-waiting come from the upper classes and are mainly dwarves
and elves. It is considered an honour to serve the monarch this way so even the most uppity elf
will not turn down the chance to be a royal maid.  As well as carrying out their duties, they act as a “sounding board” for their boss on the very strict understanding nothing they hear gets passed on
to FNN. This is particularly important when Roxannadrell has a good whinge about the Council and so far there have been no leaks. It is expected any good stories can be written down and kept utterly secure so the maid in question can publish her memoirs the moment she leaves office.  This works well for the Queen as most maids stay with her for decades so it takes ages for a new royal insider book to appear.  What is not widely known is the maid who’s written the book gives over a small percentage of, appropriately, royalties to the Queen so employee and employer make a tidy profit out of the memoirs. This is roughly akin to Queen Elizabeth the First taking a share of the profits brought back by the likes of Sir Francis Drake!