Question: I've been assuming the decree/writ that gives Helsing their
extralegal powers was issued by Queen Victoria shortly after the events in
Stoker's novel. Would it negatively effect Queen Elizabeth II if she were to
rescind her patronage? (on the order of 100 years+ later?)

OK, just got off the phone with my sister and here are the highlights (all I can recall of a VERY long discussion going back to about 1215.

1)Victoria could legally "warn advise and consent" She had tremendous moral authority but not much else.
But after Albert died, she didn't even address parliament. 

2)She could not and would not have issued a "Royal Decree" for anything like "Helsing". Parliment could, but they wouldn't. It wasn't "gentlemanly" to spy or do underhanded things.
In about 1870-1890 the British started fighting the IRA and THEN they started to get into spying and anti-terror sorts of activity.

3)Anything like the "Helsing" group would be authorized by parliament. But like MI5 or CIA or OSS, the parent organization would disavow black operations that went wrong.

5)After 100+ years they probably wouldn't even bother to acknowledge a Royal Decree (if such existed). Royal Decrees (when they still had effect which would probably be pre- Charles II) didn't last past the monarch that issued them, sometimes not that long depending on the political climate.

6)The French Monarchy is a much better model for what you want to do.

Overall her thinking seems to be:
1)No such thing as a Royal Decree of the type you want during Victoria's time.
2)Parliament _could_ have done the authorization, but wouldn't have since it was alien to the thinking of the time.
3)EVEN if such a group was organized by parliment, the 'black ops' part of the group would be disavowed just as MI5 or CIA does today. 
4)After 100+ years no one would pay any attention to either a Royal Decree or act of Parliament establishing such a group.

so there wouldn't be any retroactive change. it's not needed. plus it would be simpler to simply say that "Helsing' acted outside their charter (as I suggested with William "Captain"Kidd.) if you couldn't simply deny them entirely.

But this is fiction, so you can do anything you want to.
My preference is to simplify things, which is why I think it's better to have the govt. claim they acted outside their charter OR simply deny them entirely (Black Operatives usually get hung out to dry.) 


hope this helps.



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