One of the most prestigious and influential bodies in the kingdom is the King's State Council. The most basic duty of the council is to advise the King on how to govern the kingdom, but he retains overall power and can veto any decision taken. In practice, he usually delegates responsibility for various duties to members of the council, who take care of the matter on the King's behalf. There are many possibilities for political advancement for those on the council, which is filled with a mix of the King's favourites, great nobles and a few genuinely effective administrators.
    Technically, the King is able to invite anyone at all to the meetings, but the only ones in regular attendance are the Ministers. They are the individuals in charge of the departments involved in running the kingdom, such as finance, the military and foreign affairs. In the past, many important nobles have also attended the council simply because of their rank and position at court (Charles II de la Dure, for instance, sometimes simply called out that the council was in session as he sat in the midst of a palace garden party), but thanks largely to the ministrations of Cardinal Dumourieux numbers are kept strictly limited; indeed, unless the King is adamant he can usually dissuade him from inviting anyone except the regular Ministers, who are obliged to attend. He is fully aware that letting many more individuals onto the council could compromise his own position of power. Instead, he prefers to let the various factions either work through the councillors, allowing him to keep tabs on affairs, or to try and get the King's ear when he is outside the council chamber. Since he is not keen on discussing 'dull' matters of money, government and appointments when not at the council, it is very hard for other nobles to get him to listen to their wishes. All the court is aware of this problem, and know full well that Cardinal Dumourieux is the cause. Not surprisingly, there are a great many individuals at court with serious grudges against Dumourieux, though none have so far dared try to forge a serious plot or alliance to lessen his powers.
    The Cardinal has many spies in and around the Oisillon Palace, anxiously watching for any conspiracy and ready to take any steps to prevent a challenge to his pre-eminence. All other Ministers, though, are deeply involved with the patronage networks and factions at court.

Normally, there is no Prime Minister, and the King either takes more responsibilities himself or delegates them more evenly. Under Charles III, however, Cardinal Dumourieux has risen to command far greater powers than any other individual in the land. Quite simply, it is he who runs the kingdom on Charles's behalf, handing out tasks and responsibilities to royal agents and Ministers. Many of the most important tasks he takes upon himself, and he spends long hours poring over ledgers and reports. Despite the immense workload placed on the Cardinal, he apparently has boundless energy, and it is said that he does not sleep but simply says a short prayer to Shallya. He is a firm ruler, with a prodigious intellect and the ability to work any situation to his advantage. Sometimes this precludes taking the best course of action for Bretonnia. In practice it is he who chairs State Council meetings, standing in the King's stead whilst he is hunting, sleeping or engaged in some other graceful pursuit. Even when Charles is there, those who are sharp eyed notice him peer over at the Cardinal before answering. Power of this magnitude is a dangerous thing, and in gaining and keeping his position Dumourieux has made many enemies, not least the powerful De Semblancy clan. A major part of the Cardinal's time is spent in keeping the De Semblancy and other political enemies at bay; a task which gets harder every day.

The current Minister of Finance is Pierre Granvelle, second son of Bernard Granvelle, former governor of l'Anguille and head of a powerful noble faction. The position of his son on the council owes much to the extent of the Granvelle family's new-found influence; but even more important to the Granvelle's status is their proven ability as administrators, clerks and businessmen. Pierre is no exception; indeed, he is widely said to possess a magical affinity for numbers, so great is his arithmetic ability. He is able to accomplish in a matter of seconds calculations that even learned men need hours to complete, and he never makes mistakes; this is, for him, a serious point of honour. Coupled with this uncanny skill is a gift for management and accountancy, which has proved extremely useful given the somewhat chaotic state of Bretonnian finances. Taxes, dues, exemptions and pensions have accumulated over the centuries, so that today the system is positively byzantine in complexity. Even the financial wizardry of Pierre Granvelle is barely enough to maintain solvency, and any serious expenditure - such as on a major war - would soon bring the whole system crashing down. Pierre is probably the busiest man at the Oisillon Palace, and can spare but little time to parade the ballrooms and galleries of the great palace; most of his waking hours are spent shut in a small room with a candle and a quill. Relations with the other council members are good, especially with Cardinal Dumourieux, who values Pierre's skills very highly; in fact, he is one of the few individuals whom the Cardinal is prepared to trust, at least on matters of finance. Consequently, so long as he is able to give to the King and the Cardinal what they want to fulfil their various designs, Pierre is left to his own devices. There is much idle speculation amongst the other nobles at court as to what he does in his valuable spare time, and Pierre Granvelle is the butt of several unkind jokes devised by his family's enemies.

In the past, this post has been normally occupied by the Marshal of Bretonnia, who after the King commands all the armed forces of the nation. Thanks largely to the machinations of Cardinal Dumourieux, however, the present Marshal (François de Semblancy, the Cardinal's arch enemy) does not hold a place on the State Council. The last Marshal, Francois' father Chlodion de Semblancy, was Minister of the Army and the Navy, but although his son was appointed Marshal after his death, Charles II de la Dure instead elected to appoint an apparently unknown minor noble, Baron Henri Merienne. It was widely rumoured that the old King was somehow indebted to Merienne for some incident in early manhood; according to some reports the two were educated together, and a few speak of a horrible secret, the truth of which Merienne alone knew. Whatever the case may have been, Merienne died in 2511 IC, several years after Charles II; before his death the old King must have spoken with his son so that the Baron's position was not challenged. After Merienne's death, Charles III is said to have wept in joy, and then to have ordered the Baron's chambers entirely turned over and the contents burned without regard. None have explained the reasons for this conduct.
    In Merienne's stead Charles III, at the suggestion of Cardinal Dumourieux, selected his best friend, Louis Villeroi, then aged 17. This was a shocking move, and many observers then and since have muttered that the move marked the end of all dignity and respect in the State Council and in the country as a whole. Not least amongst those angered at the change was François de Semblancy; it is said that two servants were killed before his rage died down. His reaction was not totally unjustified; Villeroi is, although famously handsome, not very bright at all and is committed to ladies and courtly life rather than military affairs. He is a dreamy, rather whimsical young man given to flowing cuffs and sentimental poetry. Villeroi's origins, too, are somewhat shrouded in mystery; none can actually pinpoint the time he came to court before being appointed to the State Council and winning the adoring eye of King Charles. In fact, a generally hazy, ethereal quality seems to follow him everywhere, leaving all he speaks to faintly bemused.
    His apparent naivety and lack of decisive action suit Cardinal Dumourieux very well; there is one less politically interested individual close to the King to worry about, the influence of the De Semblancy is decidedly limited and the army is kept firmly under control.

Because this position is so dependent upon impressing visiting dignitaries, Cardinal Dumourieux and the King support the Marquis de Frejus as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Hubert de la Motte, head of the Amboise and cousin to the King is very effective in this role, and all visitors to the Oisillon Palace have gone away with very clear memories of the splendour of the King. He was appointed by Gontrand, Duc de Gascogne, during his regency. Certainly his elevation owes something to nepotism (Gontrand was Hubert's father; when first chosen as Secretary in 2507 IC, Hubert was just 21), but to everyone's surprise the young southerner has proved highly suited to the position.
    Much more of Bretonnia's international standing is built on the good organisational abilities of Hubert de la Motte than people know; thanks to him, Charles III de la Tête d'Or enjoys a reputation as the most magnificent monarch in the Old World. On the other hand, some have taken this the wrong way, and see the Bretonnian nobility as decadent and wasteful. Whether or not this is true is not Hubert's concern; he will continue to put on the best organised and most exciting parties for as long as he occupies this ministry. Yet his responsibilities do not end with diplomatic occasions; he is also charged with incoming and outgoing communications with foreign rulers. In this he displays far greater subtlety; he has a firm grasp both of Classical and of Bretonnian, as well as an advanced knowledge of Tilean, Estalian and Reikspiel; he has even learned a little Elven speech in his studies. If there is a danger attached to Hubert, it is perhaps that he is too good at what he does, and that the complex and almost illusionary base on which Bretonnia's international reputation stands (Hubert has been rather 'optimistic' in his descriptions of Bretonnian armies, fortresses and wealth) could be shattered through one or two false moves. Equally, Hubert is quick to form dislikes and judgements which, though usually based on piercing and accurate observations (sometimes a little too accurate), can arouse resentment amongst those slighted. To many, he comes across as merely arrogant and dissolute; he is both, but the danger comes in forgetting that he is also well-connected, ruthless and very clever, with many talents beyond what meets the eye. 

At present this post is held by Nicholas Fouquet, Comte de Sarlat. He was appointed in the last year of Charles II's reign, reportedly as a compromise with François de Semblancy; the Duc de Lyonnais, Marshal of Bretonnia, did not occupy the Ministry of the Army and the Navy during the time of Henri Merienne's ascendancy, but both the Duc and the King were convinced the powerful and distinguished family ought to have some power on the State Council. On the other hand, Francois did not feel he could stoop to occupying any post himself other than that of Minister of the Army and the Navy; consequently, the King tacitly accepted the Duc's choice of Nicholas Fouquet, one of his clients and a cousin of the De Semblancy.
    Charles III respected his father's selection, and has so far done nothing to challenge the position of Fouquet. François de Semblancy was, however, upset when the post he was hoping to gain - Minister of the Army and Navy - was taken by Louis Villeroi, forcing him to leave the tiresome Fouquet in place as his only means of gaining power on the State Council. The Minister himself is a famously voluble personality, with a loud voice, swaggering gait and a penchant for shouting and beating peasants. He excels at hunting and gaming, and has proven on a number of occasions that he can stomach a great deal of alcohol before keeling over. The Duc de Lyonnais did not actually know Fouquet personally when he was appointed to the post; he wanted someone close and, he hoped, easily led. Fouquet is not exactly what he wanted. It is not that he takes no interest in correspondence coming in to the Palace; he just takes much more interest in food, drink and fun, leaving little time for real work. François de Semblancy often finds himself at his wits' end trying to get Fouquet to do what he is told and to bring up some urgent point on the State Council. Many times he has considered removing Fouquet from the council, but he knows that, first, Cardinal Dumourieux would block any such move as he enjoys having the fairly unintellectual Fouquet on the Council; he, his agents and Pierre Granvelle handle most of the important royal correspondence, limiting de Semblancy's influence. Francois also recognises that, should he get Fouquet off the council, he would find getting another of his clients onto the council almost impossible due to the Cardinal's presence. Thus, the exasperated and often raging de Semblancy frequently finds himself engaged in blazing rows with Fouquet in an attempt to spur him into some sort of useful activity.