Britannian Imperial Family

The Holy Empire of Britannia is ruled by the Britannian Imperial Family (皇室), with its members holding the highest positions within its government and military. The Imperial Family are descended from Sir Ricardo von Britannia, the designated heir and lover of Queen Elizabeth III. When they die, an emperor or empress is buried in the Imperial Mausoleum.

Each of member of the Britannian Imperial Family is ranked by both birth order and inheritance. As an example of birth order, Clovis is the Third Prince while Lelouch is the Eleventh Prince, making them Charles' third born and eleventh born sons. Lelouch's mother, Marianne, was the Emperor's Fifth Empress. The numbering of the Imperial princes and princesses is separated by gender; for example, Euphemia is the Third Princess and Clovis is Third Prince.

The princes and princesses use the same nobiliary particle as their mother, though the usage does not mirror any real-world method. For instance, Lelouch vi Britannia and Nunally vi Britannia, the children of Marianne vi Britannia, and Clovis la Britannia, the son of Gabrielle la Britannia. Though the names of only two of Charles's consorts are known, the differing names of his known children within the series alone can be used to infer that Charles has, or has had, at least eight consorts. Based on supplemental materials, one could infer as many as 10. In addition, the series has vague references to 108 consorts. The order of succession appears to be male-preference primogeniture, though the number of children and precise inheritance is difficult to determine. Lelouch himself is both 11th Prince and 17th heir to the throne, and while this six place gap can be explained by Lelouch having a number of nieces and nephews, but there is no evidence for this, either way. However, Nunnally's rank in the order of succession, as 87th, strongly suggests that Charles has many, many sons who are younger than Lelouch.

However, this presumed order of succession has been contradicted both in canon, and out of it. Lelouch becomes 99th Holy Britannian Emperor through force of arms and the power of Geass, ignoring that many of his brothers yet live. Nunnally's ascension to the throne lies in a gray area. As the closest living relative to the deceased Emperor Lelouch, she has a firm position as Heir Apparent. However, her elder half-siblings would also have a point to argue from, as a genetic relationship to her mother, Marianne, would not be a major consideration in choosing the next Emperor. Though of the siblings introduced in the series, only Cornelia retains the mental ability to argue the point by series' end. Some spin-off manga do this to a greater degree, with Nightmare of Nunnally having Euphemia elected Empress over many of her siblings for no specified reason, and Oz the Reflection unveiling Maribelle, a princess older than Nunnally, yet lower ranked in the succession than she.

Each member of royalty is entitled to elect a personal guardian called a "Knight," who are given authority and placed directly under their command, though only Cornelia and Euphemia are shown to have done so, other than the Emperor, within the series. Cornelia's Knight is Guilford who, along with her, commands a unit of Knightmare Frames. Suzaku Kururugi also served as personal Knight to both Euphemia and Lelouch (as the Emperor of Britannia), donning the title "Knight of Zero" in his service with the latter. In Oz the Reflection, Oldrin, Lyre (Orpheus), and Oiaguro served Marrybell as her Knight during Charles' and Lelouch's regime and Carine is likewise shown to have a personal knight, named Dasko la Clermont.

Other Members of the Imperial Family
The following includes members of the Britannian Imperial Family who appear in side-stories and other material related to the Code Geass series. Some members may be non-canonical to the primary Code Geass timeline.

Video Game Characters


Castor rui Britannia (キャスタール・ルィ・ブリタニア, Kyasutāru ru~i Buritania) and Pollux rui Britannia (パラックス・ルィ・ブリタニア, Parakkusu ru~i Buritania) are a pair of Fifteenth and twin princes introduced in the Code Geass video game for Nintendo DS. Repeat playthroughs of the storyline add them as new antagonists to allow the recruitment of Cornelia and Euphemia, as well as certain other Britannian officers.

The princes are both Knightmare Frame pilots; Castor pilots the Knightmare Frame Equus and his brother pilots the Knightmare Frame Aquila. They both also possess a unique Geass ability. While Pollux uses an inferior version of Lelouch's power, Castor's ability allows him to telepathically communicate with his twin brother. To Pollux's annoyance, he is frequently mistaken for his brother.

The brothers are named after the Castor and Pollux, twin brothers from Classical mythology who becomes identified as the twins in the constellation of Gemini.

Code Geass: Renya of Darkness
Claire li Britannia is a princess of Britannia during Japan's Edo era, originally sent to Japan at a young age by her parents to avoid being harmed by the conflict amongst the members of the Imperial Family. In Japan, she resided in a hidden village of fallen Japanese nobles under the alias of "Carla."

Her identity is later revealed to her friends when Alto Weinberg arrives in Japan with the purpose returning Claire to Britannia as its next empress. By unknown means, the previous emperor Aurelien died and First Prince Basilio was assassinated, splitting Britannia into various factions. Lorenzo il Soresi, who controlled the most powerful faction, wished to have Claire serve as his puppet. Upon arriving in Britannia and allying with her younger brother-in-law Neils, Claire took control of a sizable portion of Britannia, enough that she became a threat to Lorenzo, who invited her to a conference. At the meeting, Lorenzo revealed that she was the only living member of royalty that had any aptitude for ruling. Her brother Richard was skilled at painting and music, but had no interest in politics, and other siblings such as Biaggio, Zofia, and Candy were only interested in frivolity.

Code Geass: Oz the Reflection
Marrybell mel Britannia is a Britannian Princess and the 88th in-line to the succession of the throne. She is the founder and leader of the Glinda Knights, a counter-terrorism organization within the Britannian military. Though she appears gentle and refined, she personally serves on the frontlines as the captain of the Grandberry, the Glinda Knights' floating airship. Thanks to her keen strategic abilities, she gained the favour of Second Prince Schenizel, who granted her priority use of any prototype machines developed by Camelot for the Knights of Rounds.