Yesterday, at the Kingdom of An Tir’s July Coronation, the freshly-made Queen stood up in court and said publicly, eloquently, and firmly, that They stand by tradition — the tradition of a person’s worthiness being the only thing that truly matters in the Crown lists.
Not gender.
Not gender of fighter, or gender of consort.
This is still, dumbly, a cause for contention in the SCA. The Board of Directors did what the US was doing (until June 26 2015) – leaving it up to Kingdoms, to Crowns, to decide each time. Many Crowns have quietly left it to the last minute then just let whomever sign up for the Lists, but the last pair in An Tir (who seem to be lovely people, otherwise) actually forced all same-sex couples presenting for the Avacal Crown Tournament (their first as a kingdom, so the tournament rules fell to the Crown of An Tir) to meet with them before approving their entrance. Which was a flat-out insult, and a shitty precedent to set.
So Her Majesty Mary Grace’s words were a great relief. She made a statement with clear intent. She said it in a tone that invited no argument. And I stood there and cried happy tears behind the thrones, so fucking proud to be part of the retinue for such a magnificent–indeed, worthy–team.
LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
Thalia de Maccuswell 