The Rise Of Australasia-Chapter 1078 - 806: Exaggerated Ceremony Budget

If in the first half of 1932, people lamented over the demise of the Russian Empire, mourning the collapse of a massive empire that had endured for hundreds of years,

then, in the latter half of 1932, people were excited about the repeatedly mentioned prospective establishment of the Australasian Empire in the news.

Of course, the Australasians were thrilled about this, and foreign populations also expressed curiosity and recognition.

After all, being able to witness the establishment of a vast empire with one's own eyes is indeed a fortunate experience for an average person.

After the public opinion had fully fermented, Arthur did not hide his ambition and openly declared in an appearance that he would establish an empire for all Australasians.

This statement naturally excited most Australasians, as they were also very willing to see the establishment of the empire.

For the Cabinet members, they were undoubtedly lucky. With the imminent establishment of the empire, they were granted permission to continue their cabinet roles until the new round of Cabinet elections after the establishment of the empire.

But at the same time, they were also unlucky. Their so-called great contributions had only earned them about six months' tenure.

To continue in the Cabinet Government after the establishment of the empire would definitely be much harder than it was in the current Kingdom Government.

After all, the significance of the first Cabinet of the Imperial Government far outweighed that of the Kingdom Government's countless other Cabinets.

Moreover, Arthur had mentioned the importance of preparing for war multiple times. If a war truly broke out during the tenure of the first Imperial Cabinet, it would present an unprecedented opportunity for the first Imperial Government.

Not only would they have the fame of being the first Imperial Cabinet, but also the merit of winning a war, which would surely secure at least a Baron's title of nobility.

If they had a considerable amount of achievements accrued from before,

and with a significant contribution afterward, it wouldn't be impossible to become one of Australasia's few Earls.

Indeed, after the establishment of the empire, the promotion among the nobility was bound to be simpler than before.

The once difficult to attain Earl, though still requiring many achievements after the empire's establishment, would at least not be as unreachable.

For Arthur, of course, there had been plans to expand the aristocratic classes correspondingly.

The new nobles of Australasia posed no threat to Arthur; on the contrary, they would be significant allies to help maintain his rule in the future.

Given this, Arthur didn't mind raising the number of Earls in Australasia, allowing the nobility's ranks to climb in a new wave.

Of course, there weren't many legitimate opportunities to promote nobility titles. The establishment of the empire was one such occasion, and then there were the merits earned during World War II.

While the Philippines and Kalimantan were feverishly expanding their militaries, Australasia was also busily preparing for the grand ceremonies related to the establishment of the empire.

Not just Arthur, the government also took the establishment of this empire very seriously. Australasia had invited almost every recognized nation in the world, including Nicholas II, a Monarch of a now-defunct realm.

Naturally, all countries accepted Arthur's invitation, even those engaged in war sent their Foreign Ministers to participate.

Arthur was quite generous in his response. He not only promised to use airplanes to transport these foreign guests but also arranged them all to stay in the Sky Hotel of the Kingdom State Building.

However, this newly constructed building would soon be renamed following the establishment of the empire.

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Arthur had not expected that, after all the twists and turns, this building, similar in height to the historical Empire State Building in the United States, would still end up being called the Empire State Building.

As time moved into 1933, the date Arthur had set for the empire's foundation was drawing nearer.

In order to help people better adapt to the establishment of the empire, Arthur specifically selected Australasia's National Day, the 10th of January, to announce the establishment of the entire empire and to hold the coronation ceremony.

It is worth mentioning that Arthur's birthday was on the 13th of January, the fourth day of National Day.

Although Arthur had never made a grand celebration of his birthday, many Australasians already referred to the 13th of January as King's Birthday, considering it a highly significant festival for celebration.

In addition to the high approval and affection for Arthur among the people, being so close to National Day was also a substantial reason.

With enough time at their disposal, the people naturally did not mind celebrating this day alongside Arthur.

Had this day been a regular workday, there probably wouldn't be many who would be willing to take a day off specifically to celebrate the festival.

Regarding the impending establishment of the Australasian Empire, the British were somewhat reluctant, yet they were helpless to prevent it.

Although Britain is called the British Empire, in reality, it is just the United Kingdom. The British throne came from India, and it was unexpected that Australia, which had gained independence from Britain, had already reached the stage of establishing an empire.

But upon closer consideration of Australasia's current strength, as well as its dominance over the entire Pacific Ocean, the creation of an empire seemed justifiable.

The British had no reason to object, and the British Government, for its own interests, naturally would not oppose the actions of Australasia.

After all, Australasia's might had long been acknowledged as a superpower no weaker than France.

If the British opposition led to Arthur's anger, thus forcing Australasia to side with France and jointly confront the United Kingdom, that would be quite the spectacle.

Compared to recognizing Arthur's claim to the throne, the British were even less willing to see a union between France and Australasia.

For King George V of Britain, his attitude towards Arthur was one of complete envy.

After all, Arthur and George V were contemporaries, and George V, in theory, was actually Arthur's cousin.

However, the status of George V in Britain and that of Arthur in Australasia were vastly different.

Even many British held a higher regard for Arthur than for George V, as after all, Arthur was the British people's most nostalgic ruler from the Victorian Era, the favorite grandson of Queen Victoria; a legacy that no one else could replace.

Even now, Arthur's family retains the right to success to the British throne, albeit dozens of places down the line of succession.

Yet due to the same lineage of Victoria, Arthur could be considered the legitimate heir to the British Royal Family.

But by the time of William, the blood relation with the British Royal Family had become quite distant. Arthur had no interest in the British throne for the time being, and naturally would not jeopardize his relationship with the British Government for a vague title.

For Arthur, the mere agreement of the British to allow him to establish an empire was already good news.

As for who would ultimately take the British throne in the future, Arthur had no interest.

Regarding the legitimacy of establishing an empire, there were not many who still doubted it. Even if Arthur had not claimed the inheritance of the Russian Empire from the Eastern Roman Empire, not many countries or people questioned the empire's legitimacy.

After all, in this era, power was the most formidable. Legality could not establish an empire, but power could.

As long as Arthur's lineage was pure European royal blood, as long as Australasia was a standard Western-style power, everything else could be deemed irrelevant.

Moreover, Arthur himself held a high position within the European royal families and had already secured support from many of them.

Especially with his public decision to rescue the Russian Monarchy, he won the favor of several national royal families.

After all, Arthur's actions may seem unrelated to them now but could become the only way to save their lives in the future.

A monarch with control over a nation's rule willing to save their lives was far more important than the feigned loyalty of domestic officers.

With Arthur present, even if they lost their own thrones, they need not fear for their and their families' lives.

Such a guarantee, if not enough to secure their support for Arthur, meant their support was no longer significant.

Especially when several long-established European Kingdoms stepped out to support Arthur and the establishment of the empire, debates over the empire's legality ceased.

After all, if these venerable kingdoms agreed, what did it matter if the common people did not?

Particularly, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Family was very keen to see Arthur establish the Australasian Empire and become its first Emperor.

Compared to the British Royal Family's name change to Windsor, Arthur's adherence to the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha surname undoubtedly proved more popular with those European royal houses and German nobility.

Currently, whenever the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Family is mentioned, people first think of Arthur, the famous ruler of Australia.

This greatly enhanced the renown of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Family, whose internal members could not possibly withhold their support for Arthur.

Rather uncommonly, even Emperor William II of Germany, who had long been absent from the public eye, stepped forward to support Arthur's empire building.

It was precisely because of the support from these individuals that no one in public opinion opposed the establishment of the empire; at this point, to do so would mean becoming a target of collective animosity.

Six months of preparation was barely enough for Arthur, given that this would be his last coronation ceremony and his ascension as the first Emperor of Australasia was highly significant to him.

Only if Arthur, the first Emperor, did well would the Australasian Empire be recognized by more domestic people, allowing the throne to be passed down through the royal bloodline.

Moreover, with his desire to strengthen national cohesion and gain further recognition for the empire from the public, Arthur placed even greater emphasis on this coronation ceremony.

The government also clearly understood Arthur's priority and its importance, specifically allocating over 30 million Australian dollars for the ceremony's budget.

Nearly one-tenth of government revenue demonstrated the government's loyalty to Arthur and its importance placed on the coronation.

Arthur was naturally very pleased and from the royal family's funds, added another 15 million Australian dollars as contingency.

This brought the maximum budget for the coronation to an astonishing 45 million Australian dollars.

Forty-five million Australian dollars might not seem like much to the Powers, but for smaller countries, it could be more than a year's revenue.

Compared to the cost of the most powerful battleship, 45 million Australian dollars could order over four Super Dreadnoughts. The expenditure on a single coronation ceremony alone indicated its immense scale.