Duchy of Biscay

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The Duchy of Biscay (Basque: Bizkaiko Dukerria; Killarne: Riæmchdiuc Biscæié), colloquially Biscay (Bizkaia, Biscæias) is an autonomous region and historical vassal state of the Kingdom of Killarney, encompassing the main islands of Santua and Terpoatrea and 21 additional inhabited islets. Located approximately 115 km southeast of Atlantica Alba in the Bay of Biscay and 150 km northwest of the Basque Country the archipelago straddles the SpanishFrench border on the European Mainland.

The Duchy of Biscay had a total population of 1,117,874 according to the December 2020 census. Its capital and largest city is Portua, the most populous of the duchy's 30 estates; Portua is located in the southeast of Santua on a natural harbour which is home to the Duchy's largest seaport (container ports, ferry terminal, etc.) and takes up nearly half (988,303 km2 of Santua's total urban area while occupying just over a third of Santua's geographical area. While all estates (the local government areas) of the Duchy of Biscay are governed by elected councils, the duchy as a whole is represented only in the national Parliament of Killarney, which has created a devolved executive administration responsible for general internal affairs of the duchy, but which neverless is not elected directly by the local population but rather unilaterally appointed by Parliament to which it is ultimately answerable via the Cabinet of Killarney.

One of the oldest vassals of Kilmark–Killarney and the only one remaining since the 1880 abolition of the dukedom system in the country, the Duchy of Biscay was originally established in 1551 when the eldest son of the 17th King of Kilmark–Killarney's heir Crown Prince Auditorus Emmanuel married Mary, Lady of Biscay, the former (now King of Kilmark–Killarney as Auditorus Emmanuel II) who had led the duchy to independence from the Spanish Empire (it had for at least the past 300 years been a vassal under various Iberian dynasties) in 1544 with the support of the Killarne Army and Navy. Following the marriage and royal ascendence, the Duchy of Biscay was permitted to retain internal autonomy, however the traditional head of state, now married to the crown prince of Kilmark–Killarney, became sidelined in authority by the crown prince, who more or less maintained an autocracy of his own over the Biscay court and government, with the duchy ultimately becoming the responsibility of the Killarne government and the Parliament of Killarney.

Following the duchy's creation as a vassal of Kilmark–Killarney, all future crown princes of the Dual Monarchy (namely, the contemporary heir to the throne of Kilmark–Killarney) would take on the official title of the Duke of Biscay, with "crown prince" being an informal designation. All other children of the ruling monarch and royal consort are designated simply as 'princes' or 'princesses'. A female heir to the throne is officially titled the Duchess of Biscay, or informally the "crown princess".