On December 9th, 1998, an Imperial event took place here in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first Emperor and Empress of The Imperial Royal Sovereign Court of the Desert Empire, Inc. (IRSCDE, Inc.) were crowned. Mark Jensen-Jewel and DeShannon Christi Jewel took their places in the International Imperial Court System history by becoming Emperor and Empress I of Las Vegas.

Coronation, a gala function held once yearly, is where voters from within the boundaries of our “realm”, which includes Clark, Lincoln, and Nye Counties, crown the newly elected Monarchs. This is significant, as the community has a voice in selecting who they want to represent them in their organization’s fundraising capacity. The primary goals of the elected Monarchs are to further relationships with organizations and businesses within our community, to hold functions and fundraisers for the enjoyment of the community, to raise money for charitable organizations and to help those in the community who are in need of assistance. Each different elected Monarch sets his/her own standard and selects causes that he/she feels are important. The Monarchs also attend Coronations throughout the United States and Canada, representing the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada area in an attempt to further relations with outside communities.

In 2014, Emperor 16 Bill Schramm, later known as Grandpa Bill, wanting to recognize the hard work of the unofficial third tier title proclaimed that all Imperial Grand Dukes and Duchess (IGDs) of the Imperial Royal Sovereign Court of the Desert Empire, Inc. would be awarded a lifetime title at the end of their year. In the following years, the Board of Directors subsequently created qualifications and requirements for this role, bringing the Desert Empire’s top 4 working representation titles to a top 6 which now included Emperor, Empress, Imperial Crown Prince Royale, Imperial Crown Princess Royale, Imperial Grand Duke, and Imperial Grand Duchess. 

All previous “IGDs” were granted the lifetime status, and any future “IGD” would then after be given all rights of the lifetime title, making them honorary members for life, following the successful completion of their requirements.

In 2019, Emperor 21 Alex Brooks-Grey and Empress 21 Taylor Trash recognized the changing shift in gender inclusion and the community’s recognition and need for representation of a non-binary title in the Desert Empire’s leadership. Because of this, they proclaimed that the IRSCDEI would begin including in the top 6 titles, the non-binary titles of Emprex, Princet, and Duchet.

However, because this proclamation would make changes to the, then, governing documents of the IRSCDEI, the proclamation would not be able to go into effect until the bylawas and policies and procedures were updated and could pass membership voting rules. 

Starting in 2020 and continuing through to 2023, a governing documents committee was created and worked on making changes to these documents which included adding in the new non-binary titles, cleaning up the structure, as well as other updates, aimed at bringing our organization in to a new era, representative of a more modern and inclusive LGBTQ world.

2020 was a unique year for the entire Imperial Court System, and it was no different for the Desert Empire in Southern Nevada. While Reign 22 began in December and got it’s first few months existing in a normal world, Covid would soon drive this reign to look at how we do business, differently. But covid was not the only change to happen. 

This year was a year of fundraising online. Reign 22 came together to put on digital, live shows on Facebook, reaching out to an audience that reached far beyond the realm which includes Lincoln, Nye and Clark County. They were able to come up with unique and fun ways to entertain, making music videos, cooking live in drag, and allowing people at home to purchase surprise concoction drinks for entertainers.

Additionally, mid-way through the year, the Elected Emperor resigned from his position due to serious health issues. Because part of the year was already done and most of the year looked to be under tight restrictions due to covid, the Board and College of Monarchs voted to allow Empress 22 Phat Patty to reign as a solo monarch for the remainder of the year. Phat Patty was the first IRSCDEI Monarch to step-down without a counterpart. 

In 2022, Emperor 24 DWonno Catch and Empress 24 Anita Muffin Catch began their reign inspired and dedicated to a cause of inclusion. DWonno, being an entertainer that often crossed between the male and female personas but often not having a title or representative role that fit their persona, wanted to push the non-binary representation that was highlighted by Reign 21. 

During this year, Anita and DWonno added non-binary titles to all family line titles (titles that were not restricted by the governing documents) and added non-binary titles to the competition titles as a third line in both areas, giving equal representation to the non-binary members of our community. They also pushed to get finalized drafts of the governing documents completed in the Governing Docs Committee. While they were able to see the committee complete the final drafts by the end of the year, they weren’t able to take them to vote before their reign ended. 

Notably, this reign had a very involved family line, raising just under $78,000 and representing with 24 court members  in the court walk at their Mother Court ‘s Coronation in Reno. 

In 2023, Empress 26 Fanny D. Pack and Emperor 26 Misty Wayves experienced a very consequential and impactful year. In March, Misty Wayves, a past Empress, was installed as the Regent Emperor after the Elected Emperor was removed for violating the code of conduct. While navigating this inherently difficult situation, the Monarchs continued to push forward for the better of the organization and community. In the first half of the year, the Monarchs, along with their Board of Directors were able to finally get the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures passed by the membership of the organization. 

Important changes that were included in the passage were the addition of the non-binary titles in a way that was a first for the Imperial Court System. Influenced by Reign 24’s third line representation efforts to the non-binary community, the IRSCDEI would now welcome an official third line to its monarchy from the top to the bottom. Subsequently, at their step-down, we crowned our first tri-representative monarch with an Emperor, an Empress, and an Emprex, each being able to select their own family line to represent their gender. The IRSCDEI will now allow a male, female, and non-binary person to equally represent its membership each year, categorizing them into their own unique lines. 

Also, the College of Monarchs was restructured into the Council of Monarchs and formally including the body into the governing documents of the organizations. The restructure requires all members (successfully completed Monarchs and ICPRs) to be active members of the organization and pay yearly dues for Council admission. The duties of the Council were clearly defined and the Dean of the Council was given an active, voting seat on the Board of Directors. 

In 2024, Reign 26 was the first reign to have three Monarchs crowned with three separate titles as equal representatives of the organization. Greg Smith-Burns Catch Wayves was crowned as the Regent Emperor, Veronica Fierce Wayves was crowned as Empress, and Starlight Sparkle Catch was crowned as the very first Emprex of the Desert Empire. This year also got its first Imperial Crown Princet Royale, Felinda Love Fierce, and its first Imperial Grand Duchet Xris Fierce Wayves.