2 April
Prime Minister Herman Loeder read Pienaar's memorandum. He checked his desk calendar in case it was in actual fact All Fool's Day. The document contained proposals that practically removed the King's practical military powers. Checking the list of signatures it was clear there was wide backing from the senior commanders from the Army and the Navy. He felt that Treasury Minister Jan De Voor might be persuaded to block the changes due to financial parsimony but politically it would be hard to block the opinions of the military staffs. He knew he could do nothing but approach the King personally before setting the memorandum before his Cabinet for discussion.
5 April
Prime Minister Herman Loeder entered the King's office where he conducted most of his day-to-day work. Charles shook Loeder warmly by the hand, "My dear Herman what is the matter that is so urgent? Is it in connection with events in Ubangi?"
"Indirectly your Majesty, I have received a memorandum from the Ministry of War which complies reports made by the Army regarding the future structure of the order of battle. The main scope of the paper is the almost entire absorption of the Household Troops into the regular Army."
After a pause the King smiled, bemused and rubbed his chin. He was surprised none of the Household officers in the Ministry had heard anything, evidently the Army had been careful in who had access to the study. He also wondered how the QIS had managed to miss the policy change, obviously its range of contacts were not as wide as he had been led to believe.
"Tell me, does the Minister back this?"
"Yes your Majesty, Pienaar has signed it. Other others include the Chief of Army Staff, the Staatssecretaris of the Army and the Staatssecretaris of the Navy."
"They navy?" One of the King's eyebrows raised, "Why the Navy?"
"They seem eager to acquire the Marines should the Household be disbanded."
"Does the Staatssecretaris of the Marines Willem de Rave know about this proposal?"
Loeder flicked through the back pages, "Not as far as I know. I suspect the Navy is only involved on an informal basis between the Chiefs of Staff."
The King shrugged, "Am I not the Admiraal of the Fleet? Am I not the Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces? Who consulted me? These brass hats are trying to use the civil war to try and launch a power grab. What justifications do they give? How can they think they can unconstitutionally try to remove my powers?"
Loeder shifted uneasily in his seat. He opened the folder to read the preamble, "The justification is to avoid costly duplication of effort and to increase the potential of the Army. The Tactical Operations Branch proposes a reduction from Twelve Royal Household regiments to just one. The Dragoon regiments will be absorbed into the regular Army, five of the six Fusilier regiments are likely to be disbanded with the remainder becoming a paratroop unit stationed in the Netherlands. It does not specifically mention the Marines but an attached Naval paper does. Your role as Commander-in-Chief is unaffected."
The King paced the room a little, Loeder sensed the moment to interject, "Your Majesty, it is hard to defy the weight of the opinions here given the standing of the men involved. When this gets into the Hague the politicians will tear into this like hungry wolves. Only the DMZSBD will back you if you try to fight this, most of my own party would support this proposal, especially given the public mood since the war began and you can't have failed to have read the newspaper editorials."
"I know Herman, I know." The King sat back down.
"You Majesty, it might be one thing for your brother to act like a Medieval monarch in darkest Africa but in Europe times have changed. This is the only thing I can say. Politically if I don't bring this to the Cabinet and it leaks then the government could fall."
The King nodded. "Let me think on it. I'll telephone you tomorrow once I've read over the memorandum and noted its finer points."
9 April
The two recently elected Ubangian Economic and Social Action Party (UESAP) members finally took their seats in the Ubangi Shari Second College to represent the Provinces of Vakaga and Haut-Mbomou. Rumours abound that a re-election is called for, but for the present Prime Minister Limbani is happy to accept both members as proof of the reconciliation and willingness to work with all sides, even if in the long-term their political careers may be shorter than they anticipate.