Krønberg started off as the corporation Krønberg
Technologies. The R&D department came up with "must have"
improvements in FTL propulsion (one either had these improvements, or
one took twice to three times as long to get anywhere). The
results turned Herr Krønberg's company into a multi-planet
corporation. Suddenly he was dealing with tax and import laws
that were driving him crazy, and keeping far too many lawyers
employed. He stumbled upon the idea of declaring the company to
be an independent nation, crowned himself Monarch and declared his
daughter, Blanche, to be Princess and Heir Apparent. He got away
with this by threatening to recall the lease on all Krønberg
Technology engines. You see, he didn't sell the engines, but
leased them out. By leasing an engine from KT, you get an instant
(or nearly so) replacement when one wears out or develops
problems. Suddenly, the governments of several powerful planets,
including Earth and Kentaurus, were faced with the aspect of having
feckless space fleets. KT technicians could turn off any engine
remotely. Admirals and presidents were left with the choice of
recognizing the nation status of Krønberg, or having starships
that were stuck with slower-than-light speeds. Quite the
bloodless coup.
At Herr Krønberg's death, Blanche became Queen and eventually
gave birth to Princess Sofia. Blanche had quite a head for
diversifying Krønberg's resources, and secured lend-lease
options and 51% First Refusal Rights on resource rich moons and planets
in dozens of systems. She had quite a knack for moving in just as
some other company was about to go bankrupt and buying up their
resources.
I can tell you as an authority on the subject that there's no truth to
the rumor that Krønberg actually owns a star. (Just the
energy output rights of one. Queen Blanch made good use of her
Court Lawyers.)
Princess Sofia ascended to the throne and monarchdom. She majored
in jurisprudence in college and received a Ph.D. in the History,
specializing in the Age of Reason. She was a remarkable social
engineer and developed Krønberg's long overdue Constitution,
replacing the obsolete Articles of Incorporation.
Queen Sofia gave birth to Mariah, the current Princess.
Sophia was a beloved and inspired Matriarch, but a lousy mother.
Mariah grew up spoiled and accustomed to having far more money than she
could ever spend. On Queen Sofia's death, Princess Mariah decided
that she didn't want to ascend to the throne and assume the
responsibilities of a nation. That's when I was hired, but that's
another story. It was a matter of being in the wrong place at the
wrong time.