Lord Keeper of the King's Seal

The Lord Keeper of the King's Seal, commonly referred to as the Lord Seal, is a senior advisor to the monarch of the Balancín Kingdoms. In contemporary times, the Lord Seal is a senior member of the government and usually a member of the Balancín Parliament. Holders of the office are empowered to use the King's Seal, a representation of his power and authority as King. This has, historically, granted holders significant power within the Kingdom and has led to most Lords Seal being considered heads of government. Appointed at the discretion of the monarch, the Lord Seal does not depend on the consent of Parliament. Since the establishment of the Balancín Kingdoms, however, the Lord Seal is expected to "seek" the confidence of Parliament.

The office was first created in 2665 by a royal charter by King Alfonso I and has been held nearly continuously since (with the exception of periods of interregnum). On certain occasions, the Lords Seal have held different governmental titles alongside being Lord Seal. The current Lord Seal, the Duke of Mountbatten, also holds the title of Lord President of the King's Council. The title of Lord President of the King's Council is also one that has held significant weight throughout history. Often, the personality of the respective office holders contributed to which office held more power, as well as who held more sway over the reigning monarch.

Since the establishment of the Balancín Kingdoms, the office of Lord Seal has been considered to be equivalent to that of a prime minister. Many news outlets have reported it as such. The first post-democratic Lord Seal was Lady Christina De Leon. She was succeeded on 1 January 3024 by the Duke of Mountbatten.

List of Lords Seal

Since the creation of the office in 2665 there have been 45 Lords Seal. Throughout different periods, the Lords Seal have held certain political affiliations. Since 3024, alignment to a political party has been illegal within the Balancín Kingdoms. The eras of Lords Seal represent different eras of political affiliation within the Kingdom.

During the first era (2665 - 2680), is characterised by a generally united court. No major political affiliations arose, despite around specific issues but were rarely consistent across issues.

The second era started in 2680 and continued until the Pius Revolution. During the second era, the major political divide was between the conservative Rooks and the liberal Whigs. The divide came during the later reign of King Charles I, when many in court preferred to supplant Queen Elisa I and instead instal her son, Charles, as King. Those who supported the Queen became known as the Rooks, while those who supported Charles became known as the Whigs. Eventually, more conservative minded members of the court coalesced around the Rooks, while liberals became Whigs. The Rook-Whig dichotomy continued until the reign of King John, as Queen Regent Elisa Pius ruled much of the country to the distaste of both Rooks and Whigs.

The third era started in 2840 with the Crusades to install King Antony Edmund II as King against the Pius Revolution. Despite most direct supporters of Elisa Pius being executed in Antony Edmund's early reign, there were some radical supporters of hers who continued to speak out in Parliament. That minority described themselves as "loyalists" but later became known as the Chequers, a derogatory reference to the game which is considered much simpler and less intelligent than Chess. The Rooks continued to dominate politics for the entire third era and became far more reformist. Many former Whigs became Rooks during this period as King Antony Edmund spearheaded liberal reforms.

The fourth era began with the defeat of the Earl of Win de la Ross in the 2914 general election. Called as the first major mass democratic exercise, Queen Isabel vocally supported the Kingdom's right to choose a democratic leader. After his defeat in the election, she appointed the left-wing radical Marco Winn to the position of Lord Seal after his leftist party won a plurality in the election. After this, the Rooks narrowed to become a more traditional, conservative party. Reformers created their own bloc, which became known as the Pawns after the derogatory name given to them by the Rooks. The radicals saw periodic spouts of power in the early 2900s. The fourth era ended in 2986 with the abolition of the monarchy after the Pawns and the Radicals announced support for the republican United Federation of Planets.

The fifth era was the briefest and extended from the re-establishment of the monarchy in 3021 until the establishment of the Balancín Kingdoms in 3023. No political affiliations were used for royal roles and the fifth era represented a time when the office held significantly less political weight, owing to the democratic institutions that still operated within the country.

The sixth era started upon Maximilian II's establishment of the Balancín Kingdoms in 3023. The ruling Christian Alliance was a broad church party that represented a wide range of Christian monarchists. Once their common goal was achieved, this consensus broke down. The bulk of the moderate party stuck together under the leadership of Christina De Leon. They adopted the historical name "the Rooks" for their faction of status-quo conservative christians. More radical Christians created the Bishops, using the same Chess metaphor as before. Once the Bishops had formed, the naming convention stuck. Liberal democratic reformers chose the historical name "Pawns", and radical socialists became known as "the Chequers". The fifth era continues to this day, though has thus far been dominated by the Rooks.

The First Era (2665 - 2680)

Lord Seal		Term of office	Monarch
	Lord Juan Pius	5 November 2655 until 19 October 2658	Alfonso I
	Lord Carlos Murcia	19 October 2658 until 20 October 2660
	Lord Juan Pius	20 October 2660 until 4 May 2661
		4 May 2661 until 30 October 2680	Charles I

The Second Era (2680 - 2821)

Lord Seal		Term of office	Political affiliation	Monarch
	Sir Ricardo Dafydd	30 October 2680 until 1 November 2685	Rook	Charles I
	Lord Ause Fallon, Duke of Belemadena	3 November 2685 until 24 November 2691	Whig
	Lord Vic de Vigo, Earl of Basque	24 November 2691 until 20 May 2695	Rook
	Geoffrey Albares	20 May 2695 until 28 June 2695	Whig
	Lord Vic de Vigo, Earl of Basque	28 June 2695 until 1 February 2703	Rook	Elisa I
	Sir Geoffrey Albares	1 February 2703 until 21 December 2723	Whig	Charles II
	Archbishop Alfonso Ferdinando	10 January 2724 until 10 January 2729	Independent
	The Duke of Rajoy	10 January 2729 until 8 August 2739	Rook
		8 August 2739 1 November 2739		Charles III
	The Lord Aerion	1 November 2739 until 20 December 2740
	Sir Geoffrey Albares	20 December 2740 until 27 July 2745	Whig
	Sir Eduardo de la Serna	27 July 2745 until 28 December 2748
		28 December 2748 until 26 August 2756		Philip II
	Sir Enrique Basque	30 August 2756 until 15 January 2762
	Prince Robert Martell	15 January 2762 until 30 January 2762
	Lord Guillermo Montoro, Duke of Cantabria	30 January 2762 until 17 July 2780	Rook
	Lord Pedro de Vigo, Earl of Basque	17 July 2780 until 1 March 2790
	Sir Roman Luis	1 March 2790 until 21 December 2793
	Bishop Bernardo Swuil	21 December 2793 until 19 February 2801	Independent	Oberon
None, direct rule (2801 until 2804)				Antony Edmund I
	Lord Bernat Aido, Earl of Aido	15 February 2801 until 6 August 2801	Rook
		6 August 2801 until 13 January 2802		Charles IV
		13 January 2802 until 17 October 2809		Maximilian I
	Lord Nan Beesbery, Earl of Win de la Ross	17 October 2809 until 3 March 2817
	Lord Bernat Aido, Earl of Aido	3 March 2817 until 26 November 2821

The Third Era (2840 - 2914)

Lord Seal		Term of office	Political affiliation	Monarch
	Lieutenant R. A. Grantham	7 September 2840 until 6 July 2842	Rook	Antony Edmund II
	Finnick Wealsey	6 July 2842 until 1 January 2859
		1 January 2859 until 10 January 2859		Charles V
	The Lord Solbes	10 January 2859 until 19 February 2863
	The Lord Carmichael	19 February 2863 until 10 March 2863
	Carme Cose	10 March 2863 until 19 March 2863	Chequer
	Lord Gammon Lear, Duke of Mountbatten	19 March 2863 until 28 December 2870	Rook
	Carme Cose	28 December 2870 until 14 January 2871	Chequer
	Finnick Wealsey	14 January 2871 until 30 October 2890	Rook
	Lord Michail Lear, Duke of Mountbatten	30 October 2890 until 6 October 2899
		6 October 2899 until 3 April 2904		Alfonso II
	Lord Ocam Beesbery, Earl of Win de la Ross	3 April 2904 until 23 March 2908
		23 March 2908 until 4 July 2914		Isabel

The Fourth Era (2914 - 2986)

Lord Seal		Term of office	Political affiliation	Monarch
	Marco Winn	4 July 2914 until 3 August 2917	Radical	Isabel
	Sir Jordan Van Hoff	3 August 2917 until 5 September 2917
	Lord Ocam Beesbery, Earl of Win de la Ross	5 September 2917 until 1 December 2927	Rook
	The Lord Urso	1 December 2927 until 21 November 2934	Pawn
	Sir Henry Darnton	21 November 2934 until 1 May 2940
	Maximiliano Martinez	1 May 2940 until 31 January 2941	Radical
	Lord Trent de Vigo, Earl of Basque	31 January 2941 until 17 April 2941	Rook
		17 April 2941 until 13 January 2942		Philip III
	Lord Gerard Calvo, Duke of Belemadena	14 January 2942 until 30 June 2948
	Maximiliano Martinez	30 June 2948 until 1 March 2951	Radical
	Lord Tristan Maekar, Duke of Mountbatten	1 March 2951 until 6 July 2961	Rook
	Maximiliano Martinez	6 July 2961 until 16 August 2965	Radical
	Lord Tristan Maekar, Duke of Mountbatten	16 August 2965 until 23 October 2969	Rook
	The Lord Adolfo	23 October 2969 until 23 October 2975	Pawn
	The Lord Moore	23 October 2975 until 9 January 2976
		9 January 2976 until 1 May 2980		Charles VI
	Sir Orazio Schillaci	1 May 2980 until 21 September 2983	Rook
	Alfredo Dafydd Mantovano	21 September 2983 until 4 February 2986	Radical

The Fifth Era (3021 - 3023)

Lord Seal		Term of office	Monarch
	Emiliano Matias Alejandro	8 March 3021 until 11 June 3021	Charles VI
	Prince Brandon Blackfyre	11 June 3021 until 14 June 3021
	Prince Antony Caliban (later the Prince Regent)	14 June 3021 until 6 September 3022	Mary
	Sir Michael Rodean	6 September 3022 until 29 May 3023	Maximilian II
	Prince Antony Caliban, Duke of Sinacras	29 May 3023 until 27 July 3023

The Sixth Era (3023 - present)

Lord Seal		Term of office	Political affiliation	Parliament	Monarch
	Lady Christina De Leon	16 August 3023 until 1 January 3024	Rook	None	Maximilian II
	Lord Zacarias Maekar, Duke of Mountbatten	1 January 3024 until present		The Partial Parliament of 3024