European Royal Houses

Representing larger entities whose influence transcended national borders rather than individual people-groups, European Royal Houses thematically blur the lines between major and minor civilizations in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition. Like Native American Settlements, Asian Holy Sites, and African Kingdoms, a Trading Post must be built on European Royal Houses’ Palaces to ally with them. Royal Houses provide a unique ability and more units and technologies on average than other minor civilizations, but these are staggered across multiple ages rather than being available in the Exploration Age. These assets are quite impactful and the units often utilize novel mechanics – such as unit promotions, charged actions, (dis)mounting, and damage deflection – but tend to come at a higher cost than their counterparts.

From the game's History encyclopedia, AoE3: DE 100.19.18309.