by Jeremy Zentner

Space operas often incorporate creative monarchy systems as part of their planet-spanning worldbuilding. And why not? Readers love a good monarchy! But there’s no reason not to be as creative with your royalty structure as you are with the rest of your story. Read on for some worldbuilding tips reflecting the ways some masters in the field have created extraordinary space royals.

Use historical references as inspiration, not a mirror. Using historical references is a good way to flesh out structural hierarchies, but don’t copy and paste. Handing a Roman legionary a blaster isn’t going to win you points for originality. Instead, use varying sources of antiquity to create a unique story. Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire was heavily influenced by the Byzantine Empire. However, she also used elements from the Aztecs and Mongolians when she depicted ritual sacrifice and the emperor’s warband. These three civilizations helped build a rich background for Martine’s epic. Be sure to do your research so that you have a basic understanding of the civilizations that inspire you. Martine is a historian in the field of Byzantium. You don’t need to get your PhD, but do at least read up on the history you plan to draw from. 

Incorporate modern norms. Historically oppressed customs can be incorporated and celebrated within space monarchies. For instance, Everina Maxwell’s novel Winter’s Orbit involves an aristocratic arranged marriage between two men to peacefully stabilize the Iskat Empire. It blends the hallmarks of traditional romances with a modern space opera, combining the old romantic trope of hopefuls pushed together by circumstance with a celebration of modern matrimonial customs.

A matriarchal dynasty can also help break traditional molds when it comes to space opera royals. My favorite example is K. B. Wagers’s The Indranan War series. The first book, Behind the Throne, depicts a strong matriarchy on the planet Indrana, where men take on homemaker roles and women are the rulers of the Indranan Empire. Wagers explains this dynamic is due to Indranan males being genetically susceptible to “space madness” and therefore, traditionally sidelined from leadership. 

Power is rarely absolute; establish a competing political faction. To make your spacefaring empire more realistic, you can use legislative or political bodies to flesh out the world. In David Weber’s Honorverse series, the Star Kingdom of Manticore is ruled by a queen who influences political ministers to push her agenda through parliament. There are also differing factions in Frank Herbert’s classic, Dune, such as the assembly of noble houses known as the Landsraad, and the Spacing Guild, which holds extreme influence over both the Landsraad and the Emperor. These competing factions, whether they are democratic institutions or economic powerhouses, help build a richer monarchical system. 

Employ unique titles for sovereigns. Another great way to personalize your monarchy is to alter an old royal title and create something new. John Scalzi’s Interdependency series uses the term emperox as a gender-neutral title, as the heir in The Collapsing Empire is not favored by gender. In Kate Elliott’s Unconquerable Sun, the ruling matriarch carries the title Queen-Marshal, firmly reflecting a society entrenched in constant warfare. Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice uses the term Lord of the Radch, the Radch being the citizens of the empire. Leckie employed that simple yet unique term to make something special. Whatever names you like, keep in mind that there are more titles than “emperor.” In fact, the etymology of emperor goes back to Roman military ranks and didn’t imply a sense of dynasty until much later.

Nothing says power like access to a commodity. To further flesh out the space monarchy, you can give your dynasty a monopoly on a rare resource. Certainly, Dune applied this to the melange, the source of space navigation and long life. In John Scalzi’s Interdependency series, the emperox laid claim to power by occupying the only planet centrally located to a network of wormholes known as The Flow. You can also use technology as a resource to give an edge to your ruling sovereign. The Lord of the Radch in Ancillary Justice wielded shielding technology that made Radch starships and armies invincible to planets outside the empire. These are prime examples of power through scarcity, but there are more ways a dynasty can claim power.

Give legitimacy to antiquated royals with a good old-fashioned Armageddon. In David Weber’s Honorverse series, there’s a rich background in which the founding colonists experienced a pandemic that killed much of the population. To recover, the survivors sold land and mining rights to new immigrants and gave them political powers, establishing a noble class with the colony’s founder as head monarch. Weber completes his creative space monarchy with a constitutional parliament and a queen on the throne. 

The fountain of youth can be fuel for a royal’s reign. Classics like Dune have used immortal-like beings as part of star-spanning epics. In Ancillary Justice, the Lord of the Radch reigns through clones for a thousand years. She also uses thousands of clones as synchronized avatars, allowing the Lord to rule a vast empire no matter how far the frontier extends. Scott Westerfeld’s Succession duology also uses immortality as a means of imperial control. The emperor holds the secret to immortality, gifting it to people of power in exchange for loyalty, further enriching the emperor’s own dominion. 

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but I hope it will serve as a good starting point for creatively crafting space royals. The key is to look beyond the tropes, beyond the traditions of stereotypical royal culture, and to make the dynasty your own.

Author Bio:

Jeremy Zentner is a librarian and a sci-fi addict. He has published short stories in sci-fi and supernatural fiction. He lives in rural Illinois, USA.