Interaction between the characters is never a bad thing. Unfortunately someone has to post last, this time it was me, meaning I have had the least opportunity to talk or react, at the same time everyone else has been robbed of what might have been a very beneficial debate. Talking about the crown and how a government should work would give a great chance to flesh out characters a bit. 

Anyway, it's past but I imagine a reactionary paragraph before the timeskip wouldn't be a problem?