The United Kingdom of Marie Byrd is a colossal, orderly nation, ruled by King Terrance with an iron fist, and renowned for its national health service, daily referendums, and multi-spousal wedding ceremonies. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless, devout population of 5.286 billion Marie Byrdians are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

The large, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Deheubarth. The average income tax rate is 78.5%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Marie Byrdian economy, worth 962 trillion Grant Island Pounds a year, is quite specialized and mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Arms Manufacturing, Information Technology, Book Publishing, and Uranium Mining. State-owned companies are reasonably common. Average income is an impressive 182,016 Grant Island Pounds, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.0 times as much as the poorest.

Harry Potter conventions are closely watched by the government for any signs of 'dueling', corporate lawyers are switching careers to the more lucrative field of green politics, the studies of art and philosophy are banned, and wigged-out hunters report playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Marie Byrd's national animal is the Penguin, which frolics freely in the nation's sparkling oceans, and its national religion is Church of Marie Byrd.

Marie Byrd is ranked 11,293^rd in the world and 38^th in Thaecia for Most Developed, scoring 89.47 on the Human Development Index.