her human form but the hostage (in the form of a fly) he was hoping to exchange in order to achieve this is accidentally killed after Amy swatted it with a newspaper and the goldfish he picked up is not in fact the transmogrified Queen. The Commonwealth of Nations was mentioned as a contemporary institution. The Emberverse series by S. M. Stirling In the apocalyptic series that begins with Dies the Fire, some of the British Royal Family are evacuated to the Isle of Wight. Elizabeth II The Queen fled to the Isle of Wight with the rest of the British Royal Family on the third day after The Change occurred. However, she died shortly thereafter in December 1998. Charles III the Mad The real-life Charles III (the Prince of Wales at time of publication). He ascended the British throne following the death of his mother Elizabeth II in December 1998, Charles led the remnants of Britain through the early years after the Change. His knowledge of organic farming (which he had been experimenting with since the early 1980s) helped the survivors with their food problems. He later married an Icelandic refugee, who was popularly blamed for manipulating him. In his later years he went insane and refused to have new elections for parliament and instead ruled by royal decree, which eventually caused a rift between him and Nigel. After about a decade on the throne, he officially died in 2008 of a stroke but it was a common rumor that he was killed by his wife who wanted to assume power for herself and her infant son. William V the Great The real-life Prince of Wales. He became the King of Great Britain and Emperor of the West following the death of his father and after defeating a coup by his stepmother. After the Change occurred in 1998, William went to serve in the military. Nigel saved his life in a battle with pirates during this service. He personally led a "crusade" against Moorish pirates off the Canary Islands and on his return was crowned Emperor of the West. Under his leadership the British Empire was reborn. He tried unsuccessfully to convince Nigel to return to Britain by promising him wealth, land, and title. He would serve as king from 2008 until his death in a fox-hunting accident in 2039. Charles IV Fictional son of William V. Served as