By Kippy Marks–
When a candidate campaigns to become a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess, there is always a representation of colors that allows voters to know whom they are voting for. In most cases, candidates will also have a “catchphrase” and a coronation theme for their step-down.
We have taken a look at the last 43 Royal Houses and have gotten to know a little about each of them. Now, I am featuring the remaining Royal Houses one at a time with each leading us to the current Reigning Monarchs and to the candidates of The Grand Ducal Council’s 50th Reign. Here is a spotlight on the 44th Royal House:
2016–2017
The 44th Royal House of the Beautiful Butterfly and the Penguin of Peace
Grand Duke XLIII: The Penguin of Peace Peter “U-Phoria” Griggs
Colors: black and white
Symbol: penguin
Grand Duchess XLIV: Migitte Nielson
Colors: purple and black
Symbol: monarch butterfly
Coronation Theme: “A Night at the Russian Disco “
Their court consisted of:
Royal Crown Prince: Madd Dogg 20/20
Royal Crown Princess: Miss Shugana
Prince Royale: Ken Harper
Princess Royale: Cis-sy Fit
Prime Minister: Miso Hornay
White Knight: Ryder Moore
Miss Debutante: Mama Celeste
Royal Baby: Troix Boyd
Miss Royal Baby: Kelly Rose
King of Hearts: Jared Neil
Queen of Hearts: Sendra Rose
Mr. Royal Bunny: Gareth Gooch
Miss Royal Bunny: Menorah Manischevitz
Royal Daddy: Lee Earl
Royal Daddies Boy: Kody Staubitz
California Gold: Intensive Claire
Best in Show: Pup Mez
Grand Duchess Migitte became aware and involved with the Ducal Council in 2014. After two years, she was ready to run for Grand Duchess of San Francisco. I asked Migitte to share a little of her journey. She told me for the San Francisco Bay Times, “When I ran for the title, I did not think I was going to get the votes because I was a cisgender female who is a drag queen. A female who does drag? Why would they want that?”
In the past 43 years, The Grand Ducal Council has always had a male as a drag queen.
Migitte continued, “I beat the odds and became the first cisgender female to become a Grand Duchess in San Francisco. It was the most fun, stressful, and fulfilling year of my life.”
About three months into their reign, Grand Duke Peter Griggs got extremely sick and many of us didn’t think Peter was going make it. Grand Duke Peter Griggs did survive, and he made it to their step-down coronation, Migitte said, “I was so grateful he was there in person; and that I received a lot of help from our court members, the House of Glitter, and my sisters from the Alameda Imperial Court and Sacramento Imperial Court during the prior absence of my Grand Duke.”
During their reign, Migitte participated as a rider in the AIDS/LifeCycle. Migitte said, “I got to experience riding a bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles with thousands of other riders and roadies. A big part of our success was all due to the sponsors we had. The bars that allowed us to do the fundraisers were The Edge, Oasis, Midnight Sun, Aunt Charlie’s, and Divas, and without their support and love we couldn’t have raised as much money throughout the whole year as we did. I am very grateful to them all.”
During her reign, Migitte did a lot of traveling to other Realms meeting other Kingdom members in the Imperial Court System. She traveled to Portland, Denver, New Mexico, Fresno, Stockton, Sacramento, Alameda, San Diego, Long Beach, Las Vegas, and Reno. Migitte said, “I really enjoyed visiting other realms and getting to see what they do in their own communities. I developed a lot of friendships and still have them to this day.”
Their Court won awards such as “Absolutely Fabulous Musical Contingent” in the 2017 Pride Parade, Migitte received several honors from her travels abroad from other Monarchs and their Realms such as Lifetime title awards. To this day, Migitte still travels and supports the reigning monarchs in the Ducal Council, although work and family have kept her from doing as much as she would like to do to help out.
I was unable to reach Grand Duke Peter Griggs for this feature, but Peter did share the following in an excerpt from their Coronation program:
“I want to say that I am humbled and honored to be a part of this organization and will continue to be an upstanding member of the Council. Distributing the money we raised this year gave me feelings that I don’t think I will shake anytime soon. I realized that every single award we gave to these organizations is great, no matter how big or small.”
On September 22, 2023, the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco will celebrate 50 years of Camp and Fundraising. The celebration will take place at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Please consider becoming a sponsor.
Inquiries: 50thanniversary@sfducal.org
Ticket sales for this event have been extended to September 1, 2023, ($60) and are on sale now through September 1, 2023, with a hard stop on that final date. Save the dates both for your ticket purchases and for this once-in-a-lifetime historic event!
Kippy Marks is Grand Duke XL of The Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco. He is the first ever elected African-American Grand Duke.
Celebrating 50 Years of the Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco
Published on July 27, 2023
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