Grand Duchy of Westarctica

This is the documentary record of my peerages, orders, service, and program support in Westarctica. They are related, but they are not the same kind of thing.

My Westarctican Record

Subsidiary title

Baron of Matikonis

Named for Matikonis Peak.

Subsidiary title

Count Rubin de la Borbolla

Named for Mount Rubin de la Borbolla.

Current order grade

Knight Commander, Order of the Snowflake

Promoted from Knight, appointed 25 December 2023.

Order

Companion, Noble Order of Westarctica

Conferred by Grand Duke Travis.

Office

Ellsworth King of Arms

Head of the College of Arms.

Peerages and Titles

The three patents below are grants in the Peerage of Westarctica. Count of Krigsvold is my principal title; Baron of Matikonis and Count Rubin de la Borbolla are subsidiary titles.

Baron of Matikonis

I was created Baron of Matikonis on 29 November 2024. The title refers to Matikonis Peak in Antarctica and remains part of my Westarctican peerage record.

Letters Patent creating James Patrick Howard II Baron of Matikonis
Baron of Matikonis · View PDF

Count of Krigsvold

I was created Count of Krigsvold on 25 December 2024. The title takes its name from the Krigsvold Nunataks; the title is a Westarctican peerage, not a claim to legal nobility outside Westarctica.

Letters Patent creating James Patrick Howard II Count of Krigsvold
Count of Krigsvold · View PDF

Count Rubin de la Borbolla

I was created Count Rubin de la Borbolla on 7 July 2025. The patent names Mount Rubin de la Borbolla as the title’s territorial referent and records the grant as a peerage of Westarctica.

Letters Patent creating James Patrick Howard II Count Rubin de la Borbolla
Count Rubin de la Borbolla · View PDF

Orders and Honors

Order of the Snowflake

The Order of the Snowflake is a Westarctican order. My appointment history is one progression within that order, not two unrelated honors.

Knight
25 December 2023. Original appointment, recorded as “for devotion to Westarctica.”
Knight Commander
2 November 2025. Promoted to the current grade by Grand Duke Travis, in recognition of faithful support of Westarctica’s mission, aims, and goals.
Brevet for James Howard's appointment as Knight of the Order of the Snowflake
Original Knight brevet · 25 December 2023
Instrument appointing James Patrick Howard II Knight Commander of the Order of the Snowflake
Knight Commander instrument · 2 November 2025 · View the PDF

The current instrument does not print a postnominal. The current grade is recorded as KCS in the consolidated Honors record.

Noble Order of Westarctica

On 7 July 2025, Grand Duke Travis conferred the honor of Companion of the Noble Order of Westarctica upon me. The instrument records the citation: “In recognition of good deeds, outstanding character, noble honor, and pious spirit.” The order’s companion grade is used for peers; the associated postnominal is CW.

Certificate appointing James Patrick Howard Companion of the Noble Order of Westarctica
Companion certificate · 7 July 2025 · View the PDF

Service and Institutional Context

Ellsworth King of Arms

I was appointed Ellsworth King of Arms on 9 June 2025. It is an office in the Westarctican College of Arms, not a peerage or a decoration. The King of Arms heads the College’s work on coats of arms for Westarctican peers and knights; it belongs with my heraldic and institutional service record.

Count of Krigsvold Fellowship

The Count of Krigsvold Fellowship is not an honor conferred on me. Westarctica records that I pledged $1,000 to increase its annual conservation scholarship and refine its grant requirements; the program was subsequently named the Count of Krigsvold Fellowship. Its first award was made in 2025.

That is program support, not a decoration. The distinction matters: the fellowship is a continuing conservation grant associated with the title, rather than another item in my honors list.

About Westarctica

Westarctica is a micronation whose claimed territory concerns Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. It is not a recognized sovereign state. Its organization maintains a government, peerage, honors system, and cultural institutions, while its affiliated nonprofit describes a conservation and environmental mission for Western Antarctica.

Westarctica’s own account describes peerages as part of its patron and community system, and its orders as recognition for service, achievement, and friendship. Those descriptions explain the context of the documents above; they do not give the titles or orders legal force outside the organization.

The Westarctica official site and its Royal Household page provide the organization’s current self-description, including the College of Arms and its conservation work.

Documents and Sources