The Caliphal Household

New Andalusia was meant to be demotic, not democratic. Yusuf I was familiar enough with the arguments of Moorish Dissent to appreciate the distinction, but he feared and hated majority rule, and by the end of his life was vindicated by watching plebeian Cabralia plummet into monarchism. It's why the UCNA (several Charters later) still, uniquely, uses Borda count voting.

For all his efforts, though, the UCNA did slide towards democracy as time progressed. Most of this was the work of his right-hand man, who in his defense strengthened the Maxaha because he had a lot of weak caliphs to deal with, and the government needed to function somehow. But a side effect of Don Musa's efforts was the creation of a new and totally undemocratic force in Andalusian politics: the Caliphal Household.

For such a powerful institution, the Caliphal Household is actually fairly young. Yusuf I organized it late in life (maybe during the 1830s?), once he realized that his retinue was organized around him, and not the house. (There were also some concerns about maintenance costs; after the Second Mahdist War, Port-Royal started adopting some of Seville's pageantry.)

Its purpose was to maintain a budget for the House of Umayya, and to see to the health, wealth, education and security of its members. Needless to say, there was some mission creep in there...

The structure and organization of the Caliphal Household

The Caliphal Household is structured as a family waqf, and is primarily dedicated to stewardship of the House's resources. Its designated beneficiary is the caliph of the House of Umayya.

• Per Maliki law, there doesn't actually need to be a caliph of the House of Umayya for the Caliphal Household to exist. In particular, during regencies the regent of New Andalusia does not have unlimited access to the Caliphal Household's resources.

To avoid any arguments about whether a non-Muslim can actually be in charge of the Caliphal Household, its nominal administrator is the imam of the Yusufiyya Mosque. (It bears noting that the imam of the Yusufiyya Mosque is a political appointee; while they've used their position to criticize the caliph, and more often the Dons, no imam has ever dared interfere with the workings of the waqf itself.) Translated into English because I have no idea what these positions would be in Arabic, the practical administrators number something like so:

• The Almoner: While the Caliphal Household is primarily meant to keep land and money in the House of Umayya, it isn't entirely selfish. (In particular, the Caliphal Household's zakat belongs to the waqf.) The charitable spending is the responsibility of the Almoner.
• The Chamberlains: The High Chamberlains (responsible for individual palace complexes) are also sitting members.

And, of course, there's the all-important position of Secretary. As of 1930, it has been held by exactly two people.

Offices of the Caliphal Household

The highest office of the Caliphal Household itself (as opposed to the administration thereof) is that of Chamberlain of New Toleto. (Historically, the Chamberlain of Port-Royal was the highest office, but during the six weak caliphs internal power struggles left him firmly subordinate. In keeping with tradition, however, the Chamberlain of Port-Royal is always listed and announced first.) Underneath them lies a host of colorful titles and offices. Most of them are frivolous:

• Master of Kitchens: The Master of Kitchens was, originally, Yusuf I's chief cook. Originally this was an utterly unimportant position, but since Yusuf II the Master of Kitchens has been granted a bit more power. (The caliph now consults with the Master of Kitchens on the menu; he does not order.)
• The Equerry: The Equerry of the Caliphal Household is responsible for the House's horses, carriages, stables, and stud books. Assorted weak caliphs [who?] emphasized or de-emphasized this role. It remains relevant mostly because the sale of caliphal horses is a small but recognized part of the waqf's budget.
• Master of Mews: Falconry remains a fairly popular Moorish sport; the Master of Mews is responsible for the caliphal falcons. Under Yusuf II, the most recent sportsman of the house, the Master of Mews was raised in prominence a bit - resulting in a small scandal, after it was discovered that he was using funds to try and breed peregrine falcons in captivity. [details?]

Other titles and offices are... much less frivolous.

The power of the Caliphal Household

Unlike any other state body in the UCNA, the Caliphal Household has not become subject to the Maxaha.

• Because of its partial structure as a waqf, the Caliphal Household will exist in perpetuity. In principle the judiciary could dissolve the waqf, but it's not clear how: per Maliki law, the beneficiary of the Caliphal Household doesn't actually need to exist, so the absence of one isn't sufficient grounds.

The result of this is that the Caliphal Household is a constitutional black box. State finances go into it, but that money is subject to no oversight or accountability. The Caliphal Household, therefore, has a fair number of powers in its own right, like so:

• The HDH ("Guardianship of the State and Caliphate") is the UCNA's secret service. Nominally under the direction of the Palace Guards, the HDH is infamous for operating on both sides of the law, answering to nobody, and (rumor has it) fighting shadow wars with each other for purposes arguably unknown even to themselves.

This is a stub. It will be expanded upon.