We continue our series on these micro-icons who have made today’s micronationalism. Once is not customary, it is the turn of Princess Olivia-Eugénie of Aigues-Mortes to be in the spotlight.
Olivia-Eugénie d'Aigues-Mortes is an exception because she is the only one to be a character created from scratch to correspond to the very concept that her micronation had set for itself at the beginning: to be a parodic micronation inspired by the Principality of Monaco. Thus, our First Lady born with her Principality is a female theater character played by a man. Let it be said, she is not a drag queen, nor a transgender woman, nor a non-gendered man, nor a transvestite, in short, she is quite simply a Princess for laughs.
Aigues-Mortes is a small medieval town on the shores of the Mediterranean. In the sixties, the French jet set had their habits there and went there on vacation. From this time, the city has retained a very “open” and above all festive spirit. The most important time of the year and moreover that of the "votive festival", the largest annual gathering where the population goes so far as to take a week off so as not to miss any of the traditional festivities. Here we like to have fun and what's funny.
In such a place, establishing an absolute and, above all, imposed micro-monarchy could never have seen the light of day. It is for this reason that humor was essential to win over the population, starting with what is its very unifying symbol: its princely couple.
One of the two founders who had performed in the theater was inspired by two theater characters to give birth to our Princess: the Australian Dame Edna Everage and the Swiss Marie-Thérèse Porchet. But again, he had in mind his childhood memories of the English comedian Benny Hill whose female characters were most hilarious.
The idea of this princely couple including a humorous princess enjoyed almost instant success throughout the village. Thus was born the Principality of Aigues-Mortes before making its entry into the Olympus of the best-known micronations.
Olivia-Eugénie is therefore a form of “Princess in spite of herself” or anti-princess as one could speak of an anti-hero: touching and against the grain. If in Aigues-Mortes its existence and its reason for existing posed no doubt. It was not quite the same in the micronational world, between conservative and rigorous minds on the one hand and individuals from countries where homophobia is not considered a crime. In addition to homophobia, the Princess also had to face a principle which was very well expressed by HM Queen Anastasia during an interview on HBO: "Micronationalists have a horror of people who play characters, because we don't we consider ourselves not as fantasy people, but as Sovereigns or Presidents who are indeed real”
As for homophobia, Olivia-Eugénie never wanted to enter into controversy even when she was the target of cyber-harassment. She was not there to carry an LGBTQ+ message, she was there to unite her people through the humor that she creates and which occurs around her. This aspect of her person was truly understood and perceived by her micronational peers on the day of the closing gala of MicroCon 2017 in Atlanta, a good five years after her first public appearance as the improbable Princess of Aigues-Mortes. And especially the one and only time she attended a micronational event outside the ramparts of her beloved principality.
“Because there is only one princess like that and it’s ours.”
Today, she is the exception that proves the rule because she is the only “character” of the Micronational World to be recognized at her rank. She owes this unequivocally to her people, to the people of Aigues-Mortes who have always supported this particularity concerning their Princess. Why that? Well, if you ask a local, they'll answer with amusement: "Because there's only one princess like that and it's ours."
And yes, in the south of France, small villages love to have a little something apart that makes them unique from the others. With Olivia-Eugénie, they were served and they wouldn't change it for the whole world. As for the fact that she is brought to life by a man, everyone loves the idea of having this false mystery planned, preferring to pretext an ungrateful nature as if it were a state secret of which no one would be fooled.
Recognized and defended by its citizens, Olivia-Eugénie d’Aigues-Mortes broke a code without seeking to revolutionize the micro-world. She is a pioneer in this because she was able to be recognized by her peers without making any particular demands. She does not represent one community more than another, she just illustrates this ability to be accepted for what she is: A quirky princess certainly, but always kind and funny.
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