diff --git a/src/render/ViewerRender.cpp b/src/render/ViewerRender.cpp
index 69c70eb..8303794 100644
--- a/src/render/ViewerRender.cpp
+++ b/src/render/ViewerRender.cpp
@@ -619,10 +619,17 @@ void Viewer::exportAtlasImage() {
         }
     }
     // Realm names (kingdoms/empires), regardless of the current colour mode -- an atlas is a
-    // reference, not "what you're currently looking at". Offset above the capital's own marker/name
-    // (rather than sharing its exact anchor point) so the two don't fight over the same box in the
-    // decluttering pass below; city-states are skipped (bare settlement name already covers them).
+    // reference, not "what you're currently looking at". Stacked *cleanly above* the capital's own
+    // settlement-name box (drawn separately below, unshifted at this same point) with a guaranteed
+    // gap -- not just "offset a bit", which previously still let the realm-name/culture block
+    // overlap the settlement's own label at the same point often enough that the (higher-priority)
+    // realm name would win the collision check and the capital's own name would silently vanish, so
+    // a capital never showed its own identity, only "Duchy of X" (built from that same name).
+    // City-states are skipped (their bare settlement name already covers them -- there's no separate
+    // realm identity to show).
     if (!planet.nationList().empty()) {
+        const float pad = 3.0f;                            // matches the collision-box padding below
+        const float settleFontMax = 17.0f * labelScale;     // worst case: a City-tier capital's own label
         for (const Nation& nat : planet.nationList()) {
             if (nat.tier == NationTier::CityState || nat.name.empty()) continue;
             if (nat.capital < 0 || nat.capital >= (int)planet.settlements.size()) continue;
@@ -632,20 +639,22 @@ void Viewer::exportAtlasImage() {
             int prio = nat.tier == NationTier::Empire ? 0 : 1;
             double lon, lat; dirToLonLat(planet.cells[cell].unit, lon, lat);
             Vector2 lp = projLonLat(lon, lat, mapLon, er);
-            lp.y -= font * 0.9f;
-            labels.push_back({ lp, nat.name, font, Color{245, 235, 210, 255}, prio, (float)nat.totalPop, false });
-            // The realm's dominant culture, as a smaller "(the Velmar)" label anchored just below the
-            // realm name (still above the raw capital point) -- a lower-priority candidate in the same
-            // greedy pass, so on a dense world it simply drops out on its own if it doesn't fit,
-            // without any special-case logic.
-            if (nat.cultureId >= 0 && nat.cultureId < (int)planet.cultureList().size()) {
+            float cultureFont = std::max(8.0f, std::round(font * 0.72f));
+            bool hasCulture = nat.cultureId >= 0 && nat.cultureId < (int)planet.cultureList().size()
+                              && !planet.cultureList()[nat.cultureId].name.empty();
+            float stackTop = lp.y - settleFontMax * 0.5f - pad;   // top edge of the settlement's own box
+            float cultureCenterY = stackTop - pad - cultureFont * 0.5f;
+            float realmCenterY = (hasCulture ? cultureCenterY - cultureFont * 0.5f - pad : stackTop - pad)
+                                - pad - font * 0.5f;
+            labels.push_back({ Vector2{lp.x, realmCenterY}, nat.name, font, Color{245, 235, 210, 255},
+                                prio, (float)nat.totalPop, false });
+            // The realm's dominant culture, as a smaller "(the Velmar)" label right above the realm
+            // name -- a lower-priority candidate in the same greedy pass, so on a dense world it
+            // simply drops out on its own if it doesn't fit, without any special-case logic.
+            if (hasCulture) {
                 const std::string& cname = planet.cultureList()[nat.cultureId].name;
-                if (!cname.empty()) {
-                    int cfont = std::max(8, (int)std::round(font * 0.72f));
-                    Vector2 clp = lp; clp.y += font * 0.62f;
-                    labels.push_back({ clp, "(" + cname + ")", cfont, Color{215, 205, 180, 235},
-                                        prio + 1, (float)nat.totalPop, false });
-                }
+                labels.push_back({ Vector2{lp.x, cultureCenterY}, "(" + cname + ")", (int)cultureFont,
+                                    Color{215, 205, 180, 235}, prio + 1, (float)nat.totalPop, false });
             }
         }
     }