The Royal Family

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"These are the Empress' children. The oldest ones stand in a row at the back. The Redundant Heir holds a goblet in one casual hand. The drip that runs down its stem seems too treacle-like for wine, and too brightly red. To his left stands the Dutiful Daughter; to his right the Brooding Captain. Before them, the younger children sit on stools: the Heartbroken Bibliophile, the Recalcitrant Sculptress, the Bellicose Prince, and the Delicate Duke (who is still much mourned in patriotic corners of society).

At the very front, cross-legged on the floor, sits the Playful Prodigy. She has the cheeks of a cherub and blue, mischievous eyes. In her arms is a baby, wrapped in a black swaddling-cloth: presumably the Captivating Princess.

Only the oldest child is absent: the Empress' Shadow, who did not Fall."

After an unfortunate episode involving gaoler's honey that took place sometime in 1870s, all of the Empress' children save two have been transformed into monsters. One stayed on the Surface, and the Captivating Princess, who was born in the Neath, managed to avoid the effects (at least superficially). One may see the siblings as they were before, but only in a mirror. Thanks to this predicament, many of the royal children suffer from severe insecurities and other character flaws, but they still seem to retain sapience despite their appearances. Their quarters are hidden beneath the Shuttered Palace, locked behind five locked doors.

The Empress' Shadow

The Empress' Shadow

Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise (born November 21st, 1840), the Princess Royal, nicknamed "Vicky," remained on the Surface and married the future Kaiser Frederick III of Germany. Frederick only ruled for three months in 1888 before his untimely death of cancer, leaving his and Vicky's son Wilhelm II as Kaiser. This does not appear to have changed in the world of Fallen London.

The Redundant Heir

Prince Albert Edward (born November 9th, 1841), nicknamed "Bertie," seems to have transformed into a gigantic humanoid creature with a severe hunch and limp. He occasionally visits Flute Street to presumably alter his deformed appearance. Bertie's wife Alexandra of Denmark and now-grown son Prince Albert Victor have history surrounding London's politics. In his youth Albert was quite the playboy, visiting London's brothels with other high society men.

In the real world, Victoria blamed Bertie's carousing for Prince Consort Albert's death, but Bertie succeeded her as Edward VII anyway. Prince Albert Victor died of influenza in 1892; he avoided this fate in the timeline of Fallen London.

The Dutiful Daughter

Princess Alice Maud Mary (born April 25th, 1843) has become "the Serpentine Coils." In the mirror, sheis a tall, thin, and neat woman wearing a brocaded gown.

She married the Prince of Hesse in Germany; her youngest daughter Alexandra (now Tsarina of Russia) is known to exist, born in 1872, so we may presume she raised her family on the Surface as in real life, making only occasional visits to London. Her final trip to England was in late 1876, so perhaps it was around this time that the siblings all took red honey. In the real world, she provided comfort to Prince Consort Albert as he died, then provided moral support to her mother, but their relationship was rather turbulent toward the end of Alice's life. Historically, Princess Alice died of diphtheria in 1878.

The Brooding Captain

Prince Alfred Ernest Albert (born August 6th, 1844), nicknamed "Affie," is now "the Shadow with Teeth," a black mass of razor sharp teeth with a long red tongue. His current form doesn't have limbs, so he's restricted in his actions. He has a rivalry with the Captivating Princess.

In the mirror, he's a heavy-set man with gleaming Admiralty medals adorned on his person. In the real world, he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14, and became captain of the HMS Galatea in 1867 at the age of 22. In Fallen London, he brought the ship down to the Neath; in real life, he remained in his position on the Galatea until 1879 before being promoted and assigned to other ships.

The Heartbroken Bibliophile

Princess Helena Augusta Victoria (born May 25th, 1846) has become "an abhorrence of rusting quills." She has a unique taste for red honey that's distinct from her siblings; namely, she partakes in honey extracted only from one individual, who is kept separate from the other prisoners. Her discarded poetry also litters the floor of the Palace. In the real world, she helped write a biography of Prince Consort Albert and translated several books from German to English. She was considerably devastated when her father died, and began to court Albert's librarian, who was dismissed when the flirtation was discovered.

The Recalcitrant Sculptress

Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (born March 18th, 1848) is "the gaunt thing with a coat of glass feathers." Since her transformation into a monster thanks to the effects of red honey, her sculptures have taken on the appearance of horrifying and warped humanoid shapes. She was known as the prettiest of Victoria's daughters and a skilled artist. In our world, she pursued an artistic career despite her royal status, and enrolled in the National Art Training School in 1863. She ultimately produced several famous sculptures.

The Bellicose Prince

"It was all and yet none of these. You must return, and return again, until you have eaten your way through to your own rotten core, and devoured it. Until then, this torture is no less than you deserve."

Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert (born May 1st, 1850) has become a "weeping, horse-sized grub."

As a child, Prince Arthur was enthralled by war; he staged mock battles with tin soldiers and dreamed of one day leading the Empire's armies. After the Fall, he and his siblings were granted an immense supply of red honey — but as he consumed the memories of soldiers, he found the grim reality of war far different from the glory he had imagined. He abandoned the honey, which temporarily spared him from transforming into a monster like most of his siblings.

When London launched the Campaign of '68 against Hell, however, Arthur seized his chance. He fled the Palace and joined the Campaign in disguise, selling his family's possessions to fund his way in. But just like his experience with honey, the horrors of trench warfare quickly brought him down to earth. As the tide turned against London, the higher-ups issued orders to retreat, but Arthur, still seeking glory, burned the letter sent to his platoon. The platoon was ambushed by Hellish forces, and the entire unit was captured except for Arthur and one other man, who both escaped as deserters. Arthur's guilt in causing this series of events took a massive toll on his self-image, and he turned to red honey again; with his habit renewed, he was transformed into the writhing, weeping maggot of a man he had always believed himself to be.

In his current form, Arthur cannot speak but may communicate through other means.

In the mirror, Arthur is a middle-aged, mustached man with pale blue eyes; he wears a military uniform adorned with medals. In our world, Arthur spent his life in the military, and was Victoria's favorite child. In the Fallen London timeline, however, it appears she paid him little mind.

The Delicate Duke

Prince Leopold George Duncan (born April 7th, 1853) had hemophilia, a blood disorder common among the royal families of Europe, which left him in poor health. In the Fallen London timeline, he has died, and it's unknown whether he recovered or not. Historically, he was made the Duke of Albany in 1881 and died in 1884.

The Playful Prodigy

Princess Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore (born April 14th, 1857) is "the spider-thing with face-hands and needle-fingers." Before her transformation, she had the cheeks of a cherub and blue, mischievous eyes. Her room is webbed with threads. She likes playing with dolls. She rests in her room like a spider would in her lair, suspended on the ceiling and dropping down to prick unsuspecting persons making them go unconscious. She is then able to wrap them up in webs to extract traits from her victims. This would allow her to return to human form and be even better than before.

In the Sunless Skies timeline, Beatrice was able to return to human form (presumably using the abilities outlined above). The Generous Princess, as she's now known, is notorious for her extravagant (and extremely dangerous) gifts and services and is the center of society in New London.

In real-life, she was originally supposed to marry Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte; this would imply that the Anglo-Zulu war, in which Louis-Napoleon died (ending the marriage plans), did not happen thanks to the Fall. Furthermore, the existence of the Bonapartist separatist faction in France further implies that the Bonaparte dynasty does not have the relevance it did historically. Beatrice was babied by her mother, became Victoria's constant companion after Albert's death, and married a German prince (to Victoria's exasperation at losing her innocent baby daughter).

The Captivating Princess

The Captivating Princess was born during the year of the Fall, and thus does not have a historical counterpart. Unlike her siblings, she has retained her human form, which is also unnaturally beautiful; it is implied that she exchanged her body for its Parabolan counterpart in order to remain human.