I was actually thinking of having a Bonaparte named Jerome be elected as King of America.
List of monarchs III
- Thread starter Shiva
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I added a bit about Queen Vrjea hiding her husband's condition and ran things from behind the scenes, think Edith Wilson when Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke.
POD: The American attempt at forming a Republic failed, instead the Constitutional Convention agreed to form an American Monarchy. BUT the American Crown is elective and remains so for the entire list.
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of America
1789 - 1799: George I (House of Washington) [1]
1799 - 1857: George II (House of Parke Custis) [2]
1857 - 1867: Frederick (House of von Bayern) [3]
1867 - 1869: Hezekiah (House of Hosmer) [4]
1869 - 1887: Elihu (House of Livermore) [5]
1887 - 1924: Robert (House of Lee) [6]
1924 - 1925: Valentin (House of Gresse) [7]
1925 - 1935: Jerome (House of Bonaparte) [8]
1935 - 1975: Gonzalo (House of Bourbon-Sampedro) [9]
[9] "America, where any b*****d son can claim the highest office in the land and nobody will bat an eyelid ..." "Greeks, Frenchmen and Spaniards, Oh My!" - Gonzalo, illegitimate but acknowledged son of the Spanish King, granted the courtesy title of Count of Sampedro by his half-brother, left Europe in his late teens, and settled in the United Kingdoms. His royal connections, however minor and illegitimate made him a social butterfly among the elite of New York during the twenties, and he was swiftly married to socialite Lady Louisa Vanderbilt, daughter of the Earl of Staten Island, one of the richest men in the Kingdom's. The Earl was rich, but had no wish to put himself into the sights of the Electoral Committee, and when King Elect Charles (Curtis) died in 1934, the Earl placed his young son in law in the line for the throne. He narrowly met the criteria with regards to citizenship, but as his foreign title did not place him in line for the Spanish crown - there were many other legitimate heirs ahead of him - he was permitted to retain it (as King Elihu had retained his Dukedom of Livermore throughout his reign and it had been inherited by his son) and it would be his preferred title even whilst he was entitled to the style of Duke of Plymouth. A short period later, though, King Jerome died and Gonzalo became King - and would see a reign that would almost equal that of King George II.
The Vanderbilt fortune had propped up his candidacy and Gonzalo found himself unprepared for the responsibilities outside of the ceremonial and devolved much of the day to day duties formerly undertaken by the King to the King Elect and the Upper House of government. This catalysed a transformation of American politics - the King was Head of State, but the King Elect was essentially the Head of Government, a defacto Prime Minister in the British sense. And in this restructure of the role of King, Gonzalo and Louisa thrived, whilst the Earl focused on using his funds to manipulate those who sat in the Upper House, using his sons veto to put a strike through any candidate for King Elect that went against his interests.
The period 1940 to 1950 is often mockingly termed The Vanderbilt Regency. In 1950, the Earl of Staten Island died, and his heir proved ineffective in exerting any influence in government. The election for King Elect of 1952 was therefore free of the Vanderbilt influence. But 1966 saw another election - and the nomination of the King's son as King Elect. Whilst this wasn't specifically outlawed and several of the previous King Elects and Kings had familial connections, this was the first time a son would have been designated to succeed his father, were it successful.
In 1975, King Gonzalo died and King Elect ........... was elevated to the throne.
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of America
1789 - 1799: George I (House of Washington) [1]
1799 - 1857: George II (House of Parke Custis) [2]
1857 - 1867: Frederick (House of von Bayern) [3]
1867 - 1869: Hezekiah (House of Hosmer) [4]
1869 - 1887: Elihu (House of Livermore) [5]
1887 - 1924: Robert (House of Lee) [6]
1924 - 1925: Valentin (House of Gresse) [7]
1925 - 1935: Jerome (House of Bonaparte) [8]
1935 - 1975: Gonzalo (House of Bourbon-Sampedro) [9]
[1] George I of the United Kingdoms of America, informally known as George Washington was the obvious, and to many the only, candidate to rule the new nation of America in the wake of the American Revolution. Instead of taking power, George Washington initially returned to Mount Vernon and his private life and the weak Republican government established after the war nearly collapsed, forcing the Founding Fathers to gather in Philadelphia to create a new constitution for their new nation.
During the intense heat of the summer month, a majority of the attendees of the convention came to the conclusion that the purely Republican model of the American government was proving unworkable and drafting an acceptable compromise Republican government became impossible when Benjamin Franklin suddenly died.
So with great reluctance did George Washington himself agree with the growing majority of the Constitutional Convention that only a new King, albeit one constrained by a constitution, could effectively rule, without becoming a tyrant of course.
Despite the protests of Thomas Jefferson and his supporters, the convention voted and agreed to a new Constitutional Monarchy for the new United Kingdoms of America. Each of the former colonies were to be considered kingdoms in their own right, but united under a single monarch. The monarch was to be constrained by the United Kingdom Congress, divided between the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a Supreme Court. The monarch would still have executive powers, but they were balanced out between the other two branches of the government. The Monarch could also create titles of nobility, but the new nobles would not be eligible to be elected to either the Senate or the House (unless the Constitution was amended).
Most importantly of all, the American Monarchy was NOT hereditary, it would be an elective crown. The Electors of the Crown were to be chosen by random lot from members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a select few nobles, overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The monarch would have to be at least 30 years old, either a citizen of the United Kingdom or be able to accept citizenship upon being elected and accepting the American Crown, and to have resided within the United Kingdoms for at least 10 years (but this could be waived by unanimous decision by the electors). Theoretically, this meant that a foreigner could be elected to the American Throne, but this was seen as unlikely or rare at the time by the Founders.
The First Election for the American Crown took place in Philadelphia in 1789 after the Constitution was ratified by the new Kingdoms and among the electors the choice for the first King of America was obvious.
With reluctance George Washington accepted the crown and swore his Oath of Coronation and donned a simple crown of Laurel leaves, becoming America's first King on April 30, 1789.
George I of the United Kingdoms of America, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797.
George I began his reign having to decide where he would rule the new nation from, for the moment the cities of Philadelphia and New York were hosting the new branches of the American government. However, he had agreed to build a new capital city in between the Northern and Southern United Kingdoms to help bind the nation together. Unfortunately, the initial site chosen along the Potamic River was deemed too swampy for a city to be built and not be at high risk for floods and sinkholes, other sites would be scouted but none would be chosen in George I's reign.
The new King created the first Privy Council, a collection of advisers who would in time include the Offices of the Monarch of the United Kingdoms, such as the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, etc... Among the first members of this new Privy Council was John Adams, George I's preferred heir to the throne, John Adams served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs for two years before abruptly dying of a stroke in 1791.
While the King has a strong distaste for political parties, the first two political parties did emerge in Congress, the Crown Loyalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson. While the Crown Loyalists saw themselves as pushing forward the agenda of the new King, in truth the party would be shaped more by Hamilton's strong centralized vision for the UKA, while Thomas Jefferson himself would seek to dissolve the Monarchy, many within his party simply desired a decentralized government where the individual Kingdoms held sway and the monarch was largely ceremonial. Ironically in his own party, Jefferson was a minority figure and despite initial speculation that he would be George I's successor, Thomas Jefferson publicly declared that he would never accept any crown.
While the French Monarchy fell to Revolution and Europe descended into a series of brutal wars, George I declared that the UKA would be a neutral party but did try to bring the warring European states to the negotiation table to little avail. In addition, a brief rebellion against the crown occurred in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion, but it was put down by the King who rode into battle himself, establishing the monarch's role as Commander of the Crown's Armed Forces.
While George I was able to negotiate with the British to leave several forts in the UKA's expanding territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the new revolutionary government of France was hostile toward the UKA both for it's ties to Britain, and its abandonment of Republicanism in favor of a monarchy, however limited.
The threat of war forced King George to build the UKA's first navy, earning him the title 'Father of the American Navy', but with public pressure mounting to answer the French Republic's growing list of insults and attacks on American shipping, the UKA declared war on France in 1798. The war would go on beyond the lifetime of George I, whose health was beginning to fail with his age.
While the Kingdom's military seized important ports in the French territory of Louisiana (which stretched across the North American continent), news that America's Navy had reached the revolutionaries in Haiti with supplies and fresh volunteers reached Philadelphia where King George I was residing as he was dying of pneumonia. The King's last words were "Good work." before he passed away on December 14, 1799, at age 67.
While the funeral for America's first King was getting underway under the cloud of war, the Electors were selected for the Second Election for America's next monarch and they chose George Washington Parke Custis to be America's second monarch.
[2] George Washington Parke Custis was born in 1781 to John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert. George’s father had died a few months after he was born of Camp Fever shortly after General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in November of 1781. With no father to raise him George and his sister, “Nelly,” were taken in by their grandmother, Martha Washington and her husband George Washington and were raised at the Mount Vernon Estate while his two older siblings, Elizabeth and Martha, were raised by their biological mother. Martha Washington had been married to a man by the name of Daniel Parke Custis before marrying George Washington so George and his sister were not the biological grandchildren of the General but were treated as such by him.
In 1789 George along with his sister moved into the temporary Royal Palace in New York after George Washington was crowned king and were members of the first Royal Family. While there George was treated as royalty like the rest of the family and while not used to this type of treatment he eventually became used to it as time went on. George was only 18 when his step-grandfather died but was considered one of the more likely candidates for the title of king since he was treated as a son by the late king and had grown up in the Royal Household and was as such elected king by majority.
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Daguerreotype of King George II in his later years by Mathew Brady
George led the country through the Napoleonic Wars where he not only managed to keep it neutral but also acquire the Louisiana Territory making way for settlement in the region. He also led the country through the war of 1812 by leading the country on a 3-year campaign to take British North America annexing the territory in 1815. During the war, he gained the attention of one Major General Andrew Jackson after his heroic victory at the Battle of New Orleans and after the First Seminole War which saw the annexation of Florida, he was given the title of Commanding General of The United Kingdoms Army. George also saw to making an alliance with the French Empire with him marrying Napoléon I’s step-daughter Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte. After the defeat of Russia at the end of the Napoléonic Wars, Russian Alaska would be gifted to the UKA due to its distance from France and proximity to the UKA after the War of 1812.
George would have to deal with several internal issues involving the Slave Debate having to make several compromises such as the Three-Fifths Comprise. Though George was Anti-Slavery he couldn’t abolish slavery without uproar from the southern regions of the country which were dependent on slavery and thus hoped that eventually, it would die out in the South. The issue of slavery would come to a head in 1854 after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which would start a mini-civil war in the Kansas Territory over the vote to see if it would be a Free Providence or a Slave Providence. Not helping his stress due to the issue of slavery becoming more and more violent would be the death of his wife at the age of 54 in 1837 which would force him into a depression that would remain for the rest of his life.
George would die in 1857 at the age of 76.
Frederick of America on a state visit to Prussia in 1865
(3) Frederick of America, born Otto Frederick Ludwig von Bayern of Prussia, second son of the King of Prussia, former King of Greece (1832 to 1843), invited to live his life in exile in America by King George II, eventually becoming an important advisor on European affairs and officially being naturalised, having to abdicate all claims for himself and his line to Bavaria. After the death of George II, Frederick was placed as an outsider amongst those candidates for the throne but Frederick won out, having met all criteria, being over 30, a naturalized citizen and having support of a majority of electors through his diplomatic skills. In 1857, he became King and took Frederick as his regnal name rather than Otho as he had been styled in Greece. Frederick had married Amalia of Oldenburg but she had passed in childbirth leaving Frederick with no heirs, so in 1840, he had remarried to Luise of Lippe who had born him three children, but only after his removal from the Greek throne in 1843.
As Frederick had been forced to abdicate his Prussian and Greek claim prior to his election as King it was determined his Royal House would be von Bayern rather than Wittelsbach.
Frederick only ruled for a decade, his main contribution to the Kingdom being the revision of the electoral process, which would take place prior to the death or abdication of a monarch, ensuring a continuity of government - this figure would be officially known as the King Elect of America, but would be referred to on a daily basis by the non-hereditary title of Duke of Plymouth (referring to Plymouth Rock). This meant that by 1864, his heir was selected and was left to act as Regent during his state visit to Prussia in 1865. Two years later, Frederick would die and his elected heir would succeed him as King Hezekiah
[4] Hezekiah of America, born Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer on December 10, 1814, the posthumous fifth child of Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, 2nd Baron Middletown. He was a grandson of minor Founding Father Titus Hosmer, 1st Baron Middletown who signed the Constitution on behalf of Connecticut. He was not expected to inherit the title Baron Middletown, much less become King of America.
Lord Hezekiah Hosmer would study law in Ohio before beginning a minor political career in the state of Ohio, but unexpectedly gained traction as a dark horse candidate for governor of Ohio, since like many states, Ohio had no prohibition on nobility participating in politics, unlike in the Federal Congress. Hezekiah ran as a Crown Loyalist and won office twice, and he would champion the cause of opening the houses of Congress to the nobility through a constitutional amendment, though it would not come to pass in his lifetime.
However during his time as governor, he would witness the breakdown of America's political parties over the issue of slavery, both the Crown Loyalists and the Republican parties would fracture based on region. The northern free states would support the Northern Crown Loyalists (NCL) and the Liberal Republican Party (LRP), while the southern slave states would support the Autocratic Party (Autocrats) and the Jeffersonian Republican Party (Jeffersonians).
Lord Hezekiah would join with the NCL, though he was seen as a moderate on the issue of slavery, simply wishing to restrict it to the southern states and not letting it expand northward, but would tolerate it expanding in the southern territories.
When the first election for the King-Elect of America began, Lord Hezekiah was not seen as having a remote chance of claiming the crown, however when the delegates deadlocked due to division over slavery, those in the North and South that feared a breakup of the Kingdom agreed on seeking a compromise candidate that both regions could accept. So, they discovered a moderate northern nobleman politician in the form of Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, the governor of Ohio who's final term was coming to an end.
Lord Hezekiah was stunned to be offered the post of King-Elect, but he accepted it as his duty and became the first King-Elect of America, leaving behind his beloved Ohio and bringing his third wife Mary Daniels and small family with him to Philadelphia.
The new King-Elect discovered that King Frederick had become disinterested in most political affairs, believing that the American Monarch should be above 'everyday politics' and be seen as an 'ideal'. King-Elect Hezekiah disagreed with this strongly, seeing the nation fracturing badly because of the growing discontent over slavery and the Deep South's increasing Republican radicalism.
When the Mexican Republic under Santa Anna saw the secessions of Texas, California, and the Mormon State of Deseret, King-Elect Hezekiah supported those who wanted to incorporate the regions into the UKA, however, revolution in Mexico would see the birth of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Agustín II de Iturbide, who wanted to, if not force the Texas Republic, Deseret State, and Republic of California back into the Empire, at least adjust the borders.
The threat of a continent-wide war loomed as King Frederick I died and King Hezekiah I took the throne on May 1, 1867, with a nation seething with anger over the issue of slavery, desiring expansion all the way to the Pacific Ocean to connect with the Alaskan Territory (that was experience a Gold Rush), and a military that was dominated by Southern officers, but the soldiers were mostly from the North.
King Hezekiah began to support a series of reforms within the American military to reinforce discipline, but also to mix up units with men from all regions to try and foster brotherhood. The King also began to make plans for a war with the new nations west of the Louisiana border for land, but the fractured political parties were already arguing about if slavery would be expanded in the lands that were to be taken.
Hezekiah I decided that a way to soothe tensions between the North and the South was to fulfill a long-neglected promise to the Southern States by building a new capital city for the nation. At the time the Kings of America had been residing in the King's Palace in Philadelphia and Congress and the Supreme Court were based in the city of New York. A site was chosen along the banks of the Ohio River where the borders of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois meet, and construction would begin in Hezekiah's reign but would take many years to complete.
The King suffered a personal tragedy when his wife Queen Mary died of typhoid fever in the second year of his reign.
King Hezekiah's reign was cut brutally short when he was assassinated by actor and Southern slavery sympathizer Edwin Booth while attending a concert in Baltimore. Edwin Booth was part of a group of assassins who also tried to murder the King-Elect but failed, their plan was to force the election of a new slavery-sympathetic King to ensure the domination of the Southern States over the nation.
King Hezekiah was succeeded by his King-Elect ____ even as the nation was now on a knife's edge.
(5) Elihu Washburne, born 1816, is said to encapsulate the American story. Born into poverty, he was forced to leave home at 14 in 1830, during the reign of George II. He made his name in the Royal Army during the Kansan War of the 1850's. This somersaulted him into the Court of King Frederick who would subsequently create Elihu as Duke of Livermore, clearly marking him as his desired heir. However, the 1864 Royal Election saw the elevation of Lord Hezekiah Hesmer to the office as King when Elihu was deemed too Anti-Slavery by the southern Kingdoms. However, Hezekiah's subsequent endorsement of Elihu as his prospective successor gained traction gained ground. This decision saw plans by the Boothists to assassinate Hezekiah, Elihu and other major figures. Whilst Hezekiah was killed, the unmarried Elihu survived and immediately took office as King.
In 1870, aged 54, he would marry Mathilde Parke Custis (b. 1850), a granddaughter of George II, over thirty years younger than him, and produced three children - one of whom succeeded him as Duke/Duchess of Livermore (a curious fact about American nobility was that, like many Scottish titles, they could be inherited by a female line).
1871 saw the resumption of the Southern Problem, after the swift and brutal response to the regicide of 1869. The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Jefferson saw Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia officially secede from the Federal Kingdoms and elect Alexander Stephens, Earl of Taliafero, as Chancellor. The ensuing period would be termed a cold War by future historians - the secession of the Kingdoms had been done entirely within the legislative process of America, so Congress and King Elihu had no recourse to open any military conflict with them, which frustrated them no end and which led to minor border skirmishes over minor territorial incursions - a notable event was the execution of a donkey that a town in Jefferson cited as a spy for America because it had strayed across the border, eaten from and then defecated over a farmers prized cabbage patch. By 1880, Jefferson established an Embassy in America and appointed the septagenarian Christopher Hemminger as their first Ambassador.
Elihu and America worked to sway Jefferson from their continued pro-slavery position, having passed their own emancipation laws almost immediately after the secession of Jefferson. America welcomed all those who fled from slavery which caused some agitation for Jefferson.
Since the establishment of the King Elect process, Elihu was the first to see the election of several figures to this role. Either from death due to age or illness, or abdication of office, there were several Dukes of Plymouth appointed - the most notable (other than his eventual successor) was John Breckenridge who defected from America after his election without abdicating his claim to America, thus for a period, a senior member of the Jeffersonian military was King Elect of America. He was replaced in a Special Session of Congress in which a replacement was elected. This was a personal embarrassment to Elihu who personally ensured that defection of a King or King Elect would be deemed treason and that it was an act that would be punishable by death.
Elihu would die in 1887 to be succeeded by Robert A. Lee.
[6] The eldest grandson of famed Virginian aristocrat and General Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee, by his eldest son George and Sophia Mackensen, a scion of Prussian immigrants of land-owning origin, Robert August Lee was from a young age grow into a life of privilege and ceremony, although he was also present for one of the greatest changes ever done in American society - the end of slavery. The early death of his father left him and his three siblings fatherless, and they fell under the joint custody of their grandfather and mother. Due to the wishes of his mother, Robert August was educated in a German-style gymnaseum before eventually transitioning early to Harvard, where the intelligent young man factored in two courses - law (chosen by his grandfather) and engineering (chosen by his mother). Robert August Lee not only succeeded in getting diplomas for both but also used his stay in Harvard to get to known much of the new crop that dominated American society. Thus, he became kind of a small celebrity, famous for his strange and mixed views.
A picture of young Robert A. Lee following his graduation from West Point and his elevation to Lieutenant-General of the UKA.
Following his results in Harvard, Robert A. Lee once more went into his studies at the beck and call of his mother and in his attempt to emulate his grandfather and great-grandfather, George Washington. Entering West Point Academy at the age of 24, much older than the majority of other cadets, Robert A. Lee would storm the next four years at West Point, finishing with an overall score of 1997 out a possible 2000, and is to this day the highest ever rated gradute to ever come out of West Point, with his grandfather being the fourth highest ever. Joining the US Army as a Captain, Robert A. Lee participated in the many brief "frontier" wars with Jefferson, and also in military adventures in Central America, the Pacific and served as an American military advisor in Colombia. Robert A. Lee was famous for his unfitting views for the America of the time - he is considered the creator and thinker of what would eventually coalesce into the Progressive party during his reign. The letter he sent to the New York Times when asked what he envisioned the future of America to be was, holds a phrase that marked the ascension of the Progressives "From Sea to Shining Sea, the manifestation of our great American dynasty cannot come through disunity. The shackles of class, race and ethnicity, and religious denomination cannot interfere in the building of the American Fate. In this Empire of Freedom, every man must stand and die for each other!"
His anti-corporate, pro-labor, imperialistic and nationalistic views, alongside his strong character should have been a brake on his carrer, but instead, Robert A. Lee was positioned by many senators as the man who could finally bridge the South-North divide, and lead America in the recovery of the chaotic Jefferson, to the South. Standing in the way of Robert was his youth, King Elihu's eldest and perhaps the greatest scandal of his career, or, as Robert A. Lee would call it, his lady love. Charlotte Parker was born to Francis Parker, the second son of a Mississippi planter who, upon abolition, moved to Appalachian Kentucky, investing his family's remaining finances in coal mining. A successful businessman who became famous in the region, Parker would however "move against society" by returning to Mississippi to marry Eleanor Powell Parker, a young woman born to slaves on his father's plantation. The new Lady Parker (as Francis was eventually made a Baron) was, perhaps, the first black noblewoman in the whole of the UKA. Charlotte and Robert would meet in Tenesse in 1885, during a visit by Robert of extended family there. As what the tradition with Southern Nobility, Robert contacted Baron Parker to engage in courtship with his daughter, and it was the news of this courtship that almost destroyed Robert's political career. While abolitionism had won over in America, racism and segregation had, if not legal, became somewhat of the norm, and many still viewed inter-racial marriages with a bad light. It was only after significant bribery by Robert's supporters and especially by his soon-to-be father-in-law that saw Robert elected... alongside the possibility of a slave rising in Jefferson, which would indeed happen.
"Portrait of Duchess Charlotte Lee" - A romanticist portrait taken of Queen Charlotte just after her marriage and before her husband's coronation.
The entrance of Lady Charlotte into the Lee family, was, in a way, a mirror of what would eventually happen with the entrance of America's first black queen. Robert's uncle William, had, for some long years now, ran the Duchy of Stratford and the Lee's lesser titles - such as Earl of Lexington or Baron Arlington, and the lands associated with them, while Robert followed his military and political career. Thus, in the vast repertoire that belonged to the Lee family, it was William who had "become" the patriarch. Once a plantar, William had been very much hostile to Charlotte at their first meeting, lamenting how his nephew would mix with the blood of slaves, but the Lee family were turned by Charlotte. Queen Charlotte, whom, in modern times, is associated more to her slave ancestors than to her slaver ones, was, in fact, the preferred daughter of her father, a prominent industrialist and someone who himself belonged to the planter class, and thus she was raised with similar morals to the rest, was used to the same styles, behaviours and even ideas, being much more conservative than her husband, for example, and was all around describe as a charming character who, given enough time, could make anyone like her. And so it was true. Despite Robert's marriage being extremely unpopular in the majority of America at the time, by the end of their lives Robert and Charlotte's "illegal marriage" was mostly if not completely forgotten, and their marriage essentially served to destroy much of the preconcept around interracial marriages. As described by their daughter, Mary Mildred Lee, in 1932, "I think Papa and Mama were very much in love for all their days". The couple would have eight children, all of whom were born during Robert's reign.
With the death of Elihu, Robert August became Robert the I, three issues were principal - the finishing of the new Capital, the ongoing civil war in Jefferson and the continuation of American growth. A firm Nationalist, Robert tackled the two first ones. While much of the city of what would eventually became Washington, District of Columbia was already done - Robert impacted his own changes in the city. Robert was part of an ever-expanding American - even demographically, and thus, he dreamed of a city "that could host millions and millions", should have plenty of greenery and should have plenty of recreational spaces for the population. With these additions in place, Robert officially cut the tape on the new capital and moved into "Liberty House", or more appropriately, palace, that is still to this day the home of American Kings.
The Slaver Republic of Jefferson in the south had fallen into civil war after the downfall of American cotton in the world market lead to a severe depression in the Republic. Many started to look back and wanted to re-join America, some simply wanted to keep things they were, while some wanted to renew Jefferson in the shape of America, but, in an independent fashion. All of these factors would explode into the Jefferson civil war, which Robert would waste no time in intervening on after Jeffersonian state soldiers crossed into America and raided various farm along the border of Louisiana, desperate for food and supplies. The American invasion of Jefferson ended with Jefferson quickly re-annex by America and by the start of the age of "Reconstruction" - as defined by Georgian senator Bill Mainsly - "Reconstruct Society, Reconstruct the Economy, Reconstruct the land, Reconstruct our Union, Reconstruct our Destiny". Reconstruction is loosely attributed from having lasted from 1889 to 1901, one of the greatest ages of American growth and investment ever. Civil rights were ratified, in an effort to prepare America for an "Imperial Future" and to unify society. The industrial dominance of the North and North-East was to spread to all corners of America, especially to the South and those Kingdoms whom had belonged to Jefferson, who were massively behind economically. The Mid-West and the West were in a race to be settled, and indeed many would become Kingdoms of their own during Robert's reign, as massive fluxes of people moved westwards and towards the interior of the country during these times. The Armed Forces were invested in massively, with the navy becoming world-spanning while the army became one of the fiercest in the world. School curicullum's were ratified, improved and modernized, schooling became obrigatory until the age of sixteen, agriculture was modernized and railways became common in every single corner of the country. A national, public health system was put in place and American workers and their families were backed with government-provided social security.
Besides the Reconstruction era, Robert is also remembered for his nationalistic, imperialist character. During his reign, America expanded vastly in size. The Anglo-Spanish war of 1894-1895 saw Cuba, Puerto Rico and many pacific islands become American territories, while the Philippines were made an antonomous vassal-colony under local princes, Hawwai was made an autonomous Kingdom of the Union, Alaska was purchased from Russia, Baja California and Sonora conquered from Mexico in the world war that shook the rest of the world - but America in 1911-1914. America became the model society, and the vast natural growth of many European states - France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Danubia (The Federation of states that became Danubia evolved from the autocratic Austrian Empire after coming out victorious on the side of Great Britain, Germany and America) saw millions of Europeans immigrate to the new world. The last census taken during his reign, 1920, put the American population at almost 140000000 people.
Robert would die from cancer in 1924, leaving behind his wife and children. He was succeded by King-Elect Valentin of Evesham.
Valentin as the Duke of Plymouth, sometime in the early 1920s
[7] On the 19th of April, 1882, Valentin Johann Adalbert was born to Herman, Duke of Evesham and Laurel, and Alderose, Baroness Crestwood. From an early age, the young noble boy aspired to join the army since the juvenile heavily grew up with aspiring tales of heroes of wars such as the one of American Independence told to him by his mother. However, upon completing his adolescence, Valentin decided to pursue a career in the navy as his sweetheart, Lady Emma Vernon, insisted that he would be more skilled at sea. This, turned out to be true, as Valentin was much more attuned to the naval craft at Hainesport. After his time at the academy had finished, Valentin rose through the ranks of the navy for the following decade and a half. His defining and most famous moment as a naval commander was when Valentin attacked several Socialist-Revolutionary strongholds in the Far East during the Russian Civil War. His actions during the civil war resulted in him being awarded both by the Russian Tsar and the American King. And, when he returned back to the United Kingdoms, he was welcomed with a certain level of fame, which caught the attention of several Washingtonian courtiers, who urged him to seek the position of the Duke of Plymouth after the death of the former office-holder. To his astonishment, Valentin won the position due to his rising popularity, which, unfortunately, Valentin would not be able to capitalize on much when he became the monarch of the United Kingdoms. Being the victim of an assassination carried out by a rumored anarchist and fervent anti-monarchist, Bryan Broyles, occurring merely a few months after his ascension. He would be succeeded by King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte.
[8] King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte was born on November 30, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland. the only son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 2nd Viscount Whetstone Point, the son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 1st Viscount Whetstone Point, the illegitimate son of Jerome Bonaparte, the brother of Emperor Napoleon I and briefly the King of Westphalia. Like his father who had served both in the American Royal Army and the French Foreign Legion, young Lord Jerome Bonaparte desired a military career from an early age, at age 18 he enrolled at West Point and graduated 15th in the class of 1900.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point after graduation from West Point.
The young Viscount (his father having passed away a few years prior) eagerly volunteered to join the American Volunteer Forces that were being sent to Russia to assist the White Faction in dealing with the massive socialist uprising that had erupted in the aftermath of the failed Russo-Japanese War. the Russian Civil War (1905-1909) would see the Whites ultimately prevail against the Reds, but at great cost and the aftermath would see former Tsar Nicholas II's brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich installed as Tsar Michael II of Russia, albeit as a powerless figurehead of a ruined nation that saw many of its Eastern European territories and the Caucasus nations successfully breakaway. During the war the young Viscount served bravely, quickly climbing up the ranks to Lieutenant after his heroism in the Battle of Ashkhabad and later in the Battle for Moscow.
After the war the young and handsome war hero was courted by several ladies, however the young Bonaparte Prince had his eyes on quite the lady. During the celebrations in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War the young Viscount met a Montenegrin Princess named Princess Vjera, the youngest daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro. While normally a mere Viscount would never be eligible to marry a royal Princess, Nicholas I of Montenegro had despaired of either of his youngest daughters ever marrying and felt that a Bonaparte match would be good for the Montenegrin Royal House, even though the French Empire no longer dominated Europe like it did in the 19th century, the Bonaparte's still had prestige.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point and Princess Vjera of Montenegro married six months later and would ultimately have four children.
Upon returning to America the Viscount learned that the 18th Amendment of the American Constitution had passed two months before war's end, this amendment would remove the last barriers to the nobility in serving in the American government, they could now run for Federal offices in the Senate, but the House of Representatives would remain reserved for the 'regular citizens'. Seeing an opportunity (and with prompting from his distant father in law), the Viscount ran for and won the race for Senator of Maryland in 1911 as a member of the Third Crown Loyalist Party, opposing both the Progressive Party and the Conservative Party.
The young Viscount championed improvements to the nation's infrastructure, and also supported the 'Mexican faction', the faction of American politicians opposed to the aggressive expansion of the nation beyond the Rio Grande river. The Viscount believed that the nation had expanded enough on the North American continent by bringing the Republics of Texas, California, and the Deseret State in earlier decades (and were still dealing with low-level insurgents until the 1930's). Instead the Viscount suggested the purchase of Britain's colonial holdings in the Caribbean and Central America, though this would not come to pass during his time as a Senator.
Jerome Napoleon was among the randomly chosen electors who voted for the ascension of King-Elect Valentin and was horrified when the newly crowned King was murdered barely a year into his reign. While not chosen as an elector for the 1925 Election for the King (the King-Elect had not yet been chosen), Jerome was aware that his name was being floated as a possible candidate, but at age 47 he suspected that he was still too young to be chosen.
It was to his astonishment that three days later the Electors had chosen him to be the next King of America. King Jerome I of America, the first to ascend to the throne directly since King Frederick, would take the throne a year prior to the outbreak of the Second World War (1926-1932), the nations of Europe would finally come to blows over who would be the dominate power not just in Europe, but the world. The alliances blocks that had been built up for decades quickly collapsed, turning the conflict into a brutal free-for-all, a war made worse when a Communist Revolution broke out in Great Britain, successfully overthrowing the British Monarchy, killing many senior members and driving others into exile and causing the British Empire to shatter.
King Jerome, who had steered America into neutrality from the distant war, decided to take full advantage of the Communist uprising, he negotiated with the Dominion of Canada to elect a minor member of the House of Windsor (Prince Arthur of Connaught) as the first King of Canada, but needing American support to keep his new crown, Canada had become an American puppet state. Meanwhile the United Kingdoms of America quickly annexed the former British territories in the Americas, including 'British Honduras' (Belize), and the Falkland Islands.
While the Communists successfully took over Great Britain, Ireland was supported by France and managed to gain independence as the Irish Princedom under a minor member of House Bonaparte. Toward the end of the Great War it was King Jerome who was chosen as an arbitrator, the American King might have been a member of House Bonaparte, but he had kept his distance from his French relatives (who still looked down on him for being a 'bastard' descendant) so the German and Danubia Empires were willing to trust him. The King was able to hammer out a settlement that would see the Great Powers exchange minor territories in Europe, while the main horse-trading was over Britain's former colonies all over the world, many of which were rejecting Communist takeovers by Communist Britain in favor of attempts at independence. King Jerome I also helped the German-Danubia Alliance set up several puppet-kingdoms in Eastern Europe, while also helping his French relatives gain the crown jewel of the former British Empire, the Indian subcontinent, while America took Britain's Asian holdings, including Port Arthur, Hong Kong, and purchased Macau from Portugal.
Coping with the stress of a world at war saw King Jerome smoke heavily, which is widely believed to have wrecked his health and he developed a then rare disease known as lung cancer in 1933, but even while slowly dying the King oversaw the third and final election for King-Elect of America, his first two possible successors had both died of old age.
On December 5th, 1934 the King slipped into a coma and never woke up, a brief unofficial regency under his wife would follow due to hiding his condition before King Jerome died on February 7th, 1935 at age 56.
King Jerome's successor was _____.
During the intense heat of the summer month, a majority of the attendees of the convention came to the conclusion that the purely Republican model of the American government was proving unworkable and drafting an acceptable compromise Republican government became impossible when Benjamin Franklin suddenly died.
So with great reluctance did George Washington himself agree with the growing majority of the Constitutional Convention that only a new King, albeit one constrained by a constitution, could effectively rule, without becoming a tyrant of course.
Despite the protests of Thomas Jefferson and his supporters, the convention voted and agreed to a new Constitutional Monarchy for the new United Kingdoms of America. Each of the former colonies were to be considered kingdoms in their own right, but united under a single monarch. The monarch was to be constrained by the United Kingdom Congress, divided between the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a Supreme Court. The monarch would still have executive powers, but they were balanced out between the other two branches of the government. The Monarch could also create titles of nobility, but the new nobles would not be eligible to be elected to either the Senate or the House (unless the Constitution was amended).
Most importantly of all, the American Monarchy was NOT hereditary, it would be an elective crown. The Electors of the Crown were to be chosen by random lot from members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a select few nobles, overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The monarch would have to be at least 30 years old, either a citizen of the United Kingdom or be able to accept citizenship upon being elected and accepting the American Crown, and to have resided within the United Kingdoms for at least 10 years (but this could be waived by unanimous decision by the electors). Theoretically, this meant that a foreigner could be elected to the American Throne, but this was seen as unlikely or rare at the time by the Founders.
The First Election for the American Crown took place in Philadelphia in 1789 after the Constitution was ratified by the new Kingdoms and among the electors the choice for the first King of America was obvious.
With reluctance George Washington accepted the crown and swore his Oath of Coronation and donned a simple crown of Laurel leaves, becoming America's first King on April 30, 1789.
George I of the United Kingdoms of America, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797.
George I began his reign having to decide where he would rule the new nation from, for the moment the cities of Philadelphia and New York were hosting the new branches of the American government. However, he had agreed to build a new capital city in between the Northern and Southern United Kingdoms to help bind the nation together. Unfortunately, the initial site chosen along the Potamic River was deemed too swampy for a city to be built and not be at high risk for floods and sinkholes, other sites would be scouted but none would be chosen in George I's reign.
The new King created the first Privy Council, a collection of advisers who would in time include the Offices of the Monarch of the United Kingdoms, such as the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, etc... Among the first members of this new Privy Council was John Adams, George I's preferred heir to the throne, John Adams served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs for two years before abruptly dying of a stroke in 1791.
While the King has a strong distaste for political parties, the first two political parties did emerge in Congress, the Crown Loyalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson. While the Crown Loyalists saw themselves as pushing forward the agenda of the new King, in truth the party would be shaped more by Hamilton's strong centralized vision for the UKA, while Thomas Jefferson himself would seek to dissolve the Monarchy, many within his party simply desired a decentralized government where the individual Kingdoms held sway and the monarch was largely ceremonial. Ironically in his own party, Jefferson was a minority figure and despite initial speculation that he would be George I's successor, Thomas Jefferson publicly declared that he would never accept any crown.
While the French Monarchy fell to Revolution and Europe descended into a series of brutal wars, George I declared that the UKA would be a neutral party but did try to bring the warring European states to the negotiation table to little avail. In addition, a brief rebellion against the crown occurred in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion, but it was put down by the King who rode into battle himself, establishing the monarch's role as Commander of the Crown's Armed Forces.
While George I was able to negotiate with the British to leave several forts in the UKA's expanding territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the new revolutionary government of France was hostile toward the UKA both for it's ties to Britain, and its abandonment of Republicanism in favor of a monarchy, however limited.
The threat of war forced King George to build the UKA's first navy, earning him the title 'Father of the American Navy', but with public pressure mounting to answer the French Republic's growing list of insults and attacks on American shipping, the UKA declared war on France in 1798. The war would go on beyond the lifetime of George I, whose health was beginning to fail with his age.
While the Kingdom's military seized important ports in the French territory of Louisiana (which stretched across the North American continent), news that America's Navy had reached the revolutionaries in Haiti with supplies and fresh volunteers reached Philadelphia where King George I was residing as he was dying of pneumonia. The King's last words were "Good work." before he passed away on December 14, 1799, at age 67.
While the funeral for America's first King was getting underway under the cloud of war, the Electors were selected for the Second Election for America's next monarch and they chose George Washington Parke Custis to be America's second monarch.
[2] George Washington Parke Custis was born in 1781 to John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert. George’s father had died a few months after he was born of Camp Fever shortly after General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in November of 1781. With no father to raise him George and his sister, “Nelly,” were taken in by their grandmother, Martha Washington and her husband George Washington and were raised at the Mount Vernon Estate while his two older siblings, Elizabeth and Martha, were raised by their biological mother. Martha Washington had been married to a man by the name of Daniel Parke Custis before marrying George Washington so George and his sister were not the biological grandchildren of the General but were treated as such by him.
In 1789 George along with his sister moved into the temporary Royal Palace in New York after George Washington was crowned king and were members of the first Royal Family. While there George was treated as royalty like the rest of the family and while not used to this type of treatment he eventually became used to it as time went on. George was only 18 when his step-grandfather died but was considered one of the more likely candidates for the title of king since he was treated as a son by the late king and had grown up in the Royal Household and was as such elected king by majority.
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Daguerreotype of King George II in his later years by Mathew Brady
George led the country through the Napoleonic Wars where he not only managed to keep it neutral but also acquire the Louisiana Territory making way for settlement in the region. He also led the country through the war of 1812 by leading the country on a 3-year campaign to take British North America annexing the territory in 1815. During the war, he gained the attention of one Major General Andrew Jackson after his heroic victory at the Battle of New Orleans and after the First Seminole War which saw the annexation of Florida, he was given the title of Commanding General of The United Kingdoms Army. George also saw to making an alliance with the French Empire with him marrying Napoléon I’s step-daughter Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte. After the defeat of Russia at the end of the Napoléonic Wars, Russian Alaska would be gifted to the UKA due to its distance from France and proximity to the UKA after the War of 1812.
George would have to deal with several internal issues involving the Slave Debate having to make several compromises such as the Three-Fifths Comprise. Though George was Anti-Slavery he couldn’t abolish slavery without uproar from the southern regions of the country which were dependent on slavery and thus hoped that eventually, it would die out in the South. The issue of slavery would come to a head in 1854 after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which would start a mini-civil war in the Kansas Territory over the vote to see if it would be a Free Providence or a Slave Providence. Not helping his stress due to the issue of slavery becoming more and more violent would be the death of his wife at the age of 54 in 1837 which would force him into a depression that would remain for the rest of his life.
George would die in 1857 at the age of 76.
Frederick of America on a state visit to Prussia in 1865
(3) Frederick of America, born Otto Frederick Ludwig von Bayern of Prussia, second son of the King of Prussia, former King of Greece (1832 to 1843), invited to live his life in exile in America by King George II, eventually becoming an important advisor on European affairs and officially being naturalised, having to abdicate all claims for himself and his line to Bavaria. After the death of George II, Frederick was placed as an outsider amongst those candidates for the throne but Frederick won out, having met all criteria, being over 30, a naturalized citizen and having support of a majority of electors through his diplomatic skills. In 1857, he became King and took Frederick as his regnal name rather than Otho as he had been styled in Greece. Frederick had married Amalia of Oldenburg but she had passed in childbirth leaving Frederick with no heirs, so in 1840, he had remarried to Luise of Lippe who had born him three children, but only after his removal from the Greek throne in 1843.
As Frederick had been forced to abdicate his Prussian and Greek claim prior to his election as King it was determined his Royal House would be von Bayern rather than Wittelsbach.
Frederick only ruled for a decade, his main contribution to the Kingdom being the revision of the electoral process, which would take place prior to the death or abdication of a monarch, ensuring a continuity of government - this figure would be officially known as the King Elect of America, but would be referred to on a daily basis by the non-hereditary title of Duke of Plymouth (referring to Plymouth Rock). This meant that by 1864, his heir was selected and was left to act as Regent during his state visit to Prussia in 1865. Two years later, Frederick would die and his elected heir would succeed him as King Hezekiah
[4] Hezekiah of America, born Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer on December 10, 1814, the posthumous fifth child of Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, 2nd Baron Middletown. He was a grandson of minor Founding Father Titus Hosmer, 1st Baron Middletown who signed the Constitution on behalf of Connecticut. He was not expected to inherit the title Baron Middletown, much less become King of America.
Lord Hezekiah Hosmer would study law in Ohio before beginning a minor political career in the state of Ohio, but unexpectedly gained traction as a dark horse candidate for governor of Ohio, since like many states, Ohio had no prohibition on nobility participating in politics, unlike in the Federal Congress. Hezekiah ran as a Crown Loyalist and won office twice, and he would champion the cause of opening the houses of Congress to the nobility through a constitutional amendment, though it would not come to pass in his lifetime.
However during his time as governor, he would witness the breakdown of America's political parties over the issue of slavery, both the Crown Loyalists and the Republican parties would fracture based on region. The northern free states would support the Northern Crown Loyalists (NCL) and the Liberal Republican Party (LRP), while the southern slave states would support the Autocratic Party (Autocrats) and the Jeffersonian Republican Party (Jeffersonians).
Lord Hezekiah would join with the NCL, though he was seen as a moderate on the issue of slavery, simply wishing to restrict it to the southern states and not letting it expand northward, but would tolerate it expanding in the southern territories.
When the first election for the King-Elect of America began, Lord Hezekiah was not seen as having a remote chance of claiming the crown, however when the delegates deadlocked due to division over slavery, those in the North and South that feared a breakup of the Kingdom agreed on seeking a compromise candidate that both regions could accept. So, they discovered a moderate northern nobleman politician in the form of Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, the governor of Ohio who's final term was coming to an end.
Lord Hezekiah was stunned to be offered the post of King-Elect, but he accepted it as his duty and became the first King-Elect of America, leaving behind his beloved Ohio and bringing his third wife Mary Daniels and small family with him to Philadelphia.
The new King-Elect discovered that King Frederick had become disinterested in most political affairs, believing that the American Monarch should be above 'everyday politics' and be seen as an 'ideal'. King-Elect Hezekiah disagreed with this strongly, seeing the nation fracturing badly because of the growing discontent over slavery and the Deep South's increasing Republican radicalism.
When the Mexican Republic under Santa Anna saw the secessions of Texas, California, and the Mormon State of Deseret, King-Elect Hezekiah supported those who wanted to incorporate the regions into the UKA, however, revolution in Mexico would see the birth of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Agustín II de Iturbide, who wanted to, if not force the Texas Republic, Deseret State, and Republic of California back into the Empire, at least adjust the borders.
The threat of a continent-wide war loomed as King Frederick I died and King Hezekiah I took the throne on May 1, 1867, with a nation seething with anger over the issue of slavery, desiring expansion all the way to the Pacific Ocean to connect with the Alaskan Territory (that was experience a Gold Rush), and a military that was dominated by Southern officers, but the soldiers were mostly from the North.
King Hezekiah began to support a series of reforms within the American military to reinforce discipline, but also to mix up units with men from all regions to try and foster brotherhood. The King also began to make plans for a war with the new nations west of the Louisiana border for land, but the fractured political parties were already arguing about if slavery would be expanded in the lands that were to be taken.
Hezekiah I decided that a way to soothe tensions between the North and the South was to fulfill a long-neglected promise to the Southern States by building a new capital city for the nation. At the time the Kings of America had been residing in the King's Palace in Philadelphia and Congress and the Supreme Court were based in the city of New York. A site was chosen along the banks of the Ohio River where the borders of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois meet, and construction would begin in Hezekiah's reign but would take many years to complete.
The King suffered a personal tragedy when his wife Queen Mary died of typhoid fever in the second year of his reign.
King Hezekiah's reign was cut brutally short when he was assassinated by actor and Southern slavery sympathizer Edwin Booth while attending a concert in Baltimore. Edwin Booth was part of a group of assassins who also tried to murder the King-Elect but failed, their plan was to force the election of a new slavery-sympathetic King to ensure the domination of the Southern States over the nation.
King Hezekiah was succeeded by his King-Elect ____ even as the nation was now on a knife's edge.
(5) Elihu Washburne, born 1816, is said to encapsulate the American story. Born into poverty, he was forced to leave home at 14 in 1830, during the reign of George II. He made his name in the Royal Army during the Kansan War of the 1850's. This somersaulted him into the Court of King Frederick who would subsequently create Elihu as Duke of Livermore, clearly marking him as his desired heir. However, the 1864 Royal Election saw the elevation of Lord Hezekiah Hesmer to the office as King when Elihu was deemed too Anti-Slavery by the southern Kingdoms. However, Hezekiah's subsequent endorsement of Elihu as his prospective successor gained traction gained ground. This decision saw plans by the Boothists to assassinate Hezekiah, Elihu and other major figures. Whilst Hezekiah was killed, the unmarried Elihu survived and immediately took office as King.
In 1870, aged 54, he would marry Mathilde Parke Custis (b. 1850), a granddaughter of George II, over thirty years younger than him, and produced three children - one of whom succeeded him as Duke/Duchess of Livermore (a curious fact about American nobility was that, like many Scottish titles, they could be inherited by a female line).
1871 saw the resumption of the Southern Problem, after the swift and brutal response to the regicide of 1869. The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Jefferson saw Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia officially secede from the Federal Kingdoms and elect Alexander Stephens, Earl of Taliafero, as Chancellor. The ensuing period would be termed a cold War by future historians - the secession of the Kingdoms had been done entirely within the legislative process of America, so Congress and King Elihu had no recourse to open any military conflict with them, which frustrated them no end and which led to minor border skirmishes over minor territorial incursions - a notable event was the execution of a donkey that a town in Jefferson cited as a spy for America because it had strayed across the border, eaten from and then defecated over a farmers prized cabbage patch. By 1880, Jefferson established an Embassy in America and appointed the septagenarian Christopher Hemminger as their first Ambassador.
Elihu and America worked to sway Jefferson from their continued pro-slavery position, having passed their own emancipation laws almost immediately after the secession of Jefferson. America welcomed all those who fled from slavery which caused some agitation for Jefferson.
Since the establishment of the King Elect process, Elihu was the first to see the election of several figures to this role. Either from death due to age or illness, or abdication of office, there were several Dukes of Plymouth appointed - the most notable (other than his eventual successor) was John Breckenridge who defected from America after his election without abdicating his claim to America, thus for a period, a senior member of the Jeffersonian military was King Elect of America. He was replaced in a Special Session of Congress in which a replacement was elected. This was a personal embarrassment to Elihu who personally ensured that defection of a King or King Elect would be deemed treason and that it was an act that would be punishable by death.
Elihu would die in 1887 to be succeeded by Robert A. Lee.
[6] The eldest grandson of famed Virginian aristocrat and General Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee, by his eldest son George and Sophia Mackensen, a scion of Prussian immigrants of land-owning origin, Robert August Lee was from a young age grow into a life of privilege and ceremony, although he was also present for one of the greatest changes ever done in American society - the end of slavery. The early death of his father left him and his three siblings fatherless, and they fell under the joint custody of their grandfather and mother. Due to the wishes of his mother, Robert August was educated in a German-style gymnaseum before eventually transitioning early to Harvard, where the intelligent young man factored in two courses - law (chosen by his grandfather) and engineering (chosen by his mother). Robert August Lee not only succeeded in getting diplomas for both but also used his stay in Harvard to get to known much of the new crop that dominated American society. Thus, he became kind of a small celebrity, famous for his strange and mixed views.
A picture of young Robert A. Lee following his graduation from West Point and his elevation to Lieutenant-General of the UKA.
Following his results in Harvard, Robert A. Lee once more went into his studies at the beck and call of his mother and in his attempt to emulate his grandfather and great-grandfather, George Washington. Entering West Point Academy at the age of 24, much older than the majority of other cadets, Robert A. Lee would storm the next four years at West Point, finishing with an overall score of 1997 out a possible 2000, and is to this day the highest ever rated gradute to ever come out of West Point, with his grandfather being the fourth highest ever. Joining the US Army as a Captain, Robert A. Lee participated in the many brief "frontier" wars with Jefferson, and also in military adventures in Central America, the Pacific and served as an American military advisor in Colombia. Robert A. Lee was famous for his unfitting views for the America of the time - he is considered the creator and thinker of what would eventually coalesce into the Progressive party during his reign. The letter he sent to the New York Times when asked what he envisioned the future of America to be was, holds a phrase that marked the ascension of the Progressives "From Sea to Shining Sea, the manifestation of our great American dynasty cannot come through disunity. The shackles of class, race and ethnicity, and religious denomination cannot interfere in the building of the American Fate. In this Empire of Freedom, every man must stand and die for each other!"
His anti-corporate, pro-labor, imperialistic and nationalistic views, alongside his strong character should have been a brake on his carrer, but instead, Robert A. Lee was positioned by many senators as the man who could finally bridge the South-North divide, and lead America in the recovery of the chaotic Jefferson, to the South. Standing in the way of Robert was his youth, King Elihu's eldest and perhaps the greatest scandal of his career, or, as Robert A. Lee would call it, his lady love. Charlotte Parker was born to Francis Parker, the second son of a Mississippi planter who, upon abolition, moved to Appalachian Kentucky, investing his family's remaining finances in coal mining. A successful businessman who became famous in the region, Parker would however "move against society" by returning to Mississippi to marry Eleanor Powell Parker, a young woman born to slaves on his father's plantation. The new Lady Parker (as Francis was eventually made a Baron) was, perhaps, the first black noblewoman in the whole of the UKA. Charlotte and Robert would meet in Tenesse in 1885, during a visit by Robert of extended family there. As what the tradition with Southern Nobility, Robert contacted Baron Parker to engage in courtship with his daughter, and it was the news of this courtship that almost destroyed Robert's political career. While abolitionism had won over in America, racism and segregation had, if not legal, became somewhat of the norm, and many still viewed inter-racial marriages with a bad light. It was only after significant bribery by Robert's supporters and especially by his soon-to-be father-in-law that saw Robert elected... alongside the possibility of a slave rising in Jefferson, which would indeed happen.
"Portrait of Duchess Charlotte Lee" - A romanticist portrait taken of Queen Charlotte just after her marriage and before her husband's coronation.
The entrance of Lady Charlotte into the Lee family, was, in a way, a mirror of what would eventually happen with the entrance of America's first black queen. Robert's uncle William, had, for some long years now, ran the Duchy of Stratford and the Lee's lesser titles - such as Earl of Lexington or Baron Arlington, and the lands associated with them, while Robert followed his military and political career. Thus, in the vast repertoire that belonged to the Lee family, it was William who had "become" the patriarch. Once a plantar, William had been very much hostile to Charlotte at their first meeting, lamenting how his nephew would mix with the blood of slaves, but the Lee family were turned by Charlotte. Queen Charlotte, whom, in modern times, is associated more to her slave ancestors than to her slaver ones, was, in fact, the preferred daughter of her father, a prominent industrialist and someone who himself belonged to the planter class, and thus she was raised with similar morals to the rest, was used to the same styles, behaviours and even ideas, being much more conservative than her husband, for example, and was all around describe as a charming character who, given enough time, could make anyone like her. And so it was true. Despite Robert's marriage being extremely unpopular in the majority of America at the time, by the end of their lives Robert and Charlotte's "illegal marriage" was mostly if not completely forgotten, and their marriage essentially served to destroy much of the preconcept around interracial marriages. As described by their daughter, Mary Mildred Lee, in 1932, "I think Papa and Mama were very much in love for all their days". The couple would have eight children, all of whom were born during Robert's reign.
With the death of Elihu, Robert August became Robert the I, three issues were principal - the finishing of the new Capital, the ongoing civil war in Jefferson and the continuation of American growth. A firm Nationalist, Robert tackled the two first ones. While much of the city of what would eventually became Washington, District of Columbia was already done - Robert impacted his own changes in the city. Robert was part of an ever-expanding American - even demographically, and thus, he dreamed of a city "that could host millions and millions", should have plenty of greenery and should have plenty of recreational spaces for the population. With these additions in place, Robert officially cut the tape on the new capital and moved into "Liberty House", or more appropriately, palace, that is still to this day the home of American Kings.
The Slaver Republic of Jefferson in the south had fallen into civil war after the downfall of American cotton in the world market lead to a severe depression in the Republic. Many started to look back and wanted to re-join America, some simply wanted to keep things they were, while some wanted to renew Jefferson in the shape of America, but, in an independent fashion. All of these factors would explode into the Jefferson civil war, which Robert would waste no time in intervening on after Jeffersonian state soldiers crossed into America and raided various farm along the border of Louisiana, desperate for food and supplies. The American invasion of Jefferson ended with Jefferson quickly re-annex by America and by the start of the age of "Reconstruction" - as defined by Georgian senator Bill Mainsly - "Reconstruct Society, Reconstruct the Economy, Reconstruct the land, Reconstruct our Union, Reconstruct our Destiny". Reconstruction is loosely attributed from having lasted from 1889 to 1901, one of the greatest ages of American growth and investment ever. Civil rights were ratified, in an effort to prepare America for an "Imperial Future" and to unify society. The industrial dominance of the North and North-East was to spread to all corners of America, especially to the South and those Kingdoms whom had belonged to Jefferson, who were massively behind economically. The Mid-West and the West were in a race to be settled, and indeed many would become Kingdoms of their own during Robert's reign, as massive fluxes of people moved westwards and towards the interior of the country during these times. The Armed Forces were invested in massively, with the navy becoming world-spanning while the army became one of the fiercest in the world. School curicullum's were ratified, improved and modernized, schooling became obrigatory until the age of sixteen, agriculture was modernized and railways became common in every single corner of the country. A national, public health system was put in place and American workers and their families were backed with government-provided social security.
Besides the Reconstruction era, Robert is also remembered for his nationalistic, imperialist character. During his reign, America expanded vastly in size. The Anglo-Spanish war of 1894-1895 saw Cuba, Puerto Rico and many pacific islands become American territories, while the Philippines were made an antonomous vassal-colony under local princes, Hawwai was made an autonomous Kingdom of the Union, Alaska was purchased from Russia, Baja California and Sonora conquered from Mexico in the world war that shook the rest of the world - but America in 1911-1914. America became the model society, and the vast natural growth of many European states - France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Danubia (The Federation of states that became Danubia evolved from the autocratic Austrian Empire after coming out victorious on the side of Great Britain, Germany and America) saw millions of Europeans immigrate to the new world. The last census taken during his reign, 1920, put the American population at almost 140000000 people.
Robert would die from cancer in 1924, leaving behind his wife and children. He was succeded by King-Elect Valentin of Evesham.
Valentin as the Duke of Plymouth, sometime in the early 1920s
[7] On the 19th of April, 1882, Valentin Johann Adalbert was born to Herman, Duke of Evesham and Laurel, and Alderose, Baroness Crestwood. From an early age, the young noble boy aspired to join the army since the juvenile heavily grew up with aspiring tales of heroes of wars such as the one of American Independence told to him by his mother. However, upon completing his adolescence, Valentin decided to pursue a career in the navy as his sweetheart, Lady Emma Vernon, insisted that he would be more skilled at sea. This, turned out to be true, as Valentin was much more attuned to the naval craft at Hainesport. After his time at the academy had finished, Valentin rose through the ranks of the navy for the following decade and a half. His defining and most famous moment as a naval commander was when Valentin attacked several Socialist-Revolutionary strongholds in the Far East during the Russian Civil War. His actions during the civil war resulted in him being awarded both by the Russian Tsar and the American King. And, when he returned back to the United Kingdoms, he was welcomed with a certain level of fame, which caught the attention of several Washingtonian courtiers, who urged him to seek the position of the Duke of Plymouth after the death of the former office-holder. To his astonishment, Valentin won the position due to his rising popularity, which, unfortunately, Valentin would not be able to capitalize on much when he became the monarch of the United Kingdoms. Being the victim of an assassination carried out by a rumored anarchist and fervent anti-monarchist, Bryan Broyles, occurring merely a few months after his ascension. He would be succeeded by King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte.
[8] King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte was born on November 30, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland. the only son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 2nd Viscount Whetstone Point, the son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 1st Viscount Whetstone Point, the illegitimate son of Jerome Bonaparte, the brother of Emperor Napoleon I and briefly the King of Westphalia. Like his father who had served both in the American Royal Army and the French Foreign Legion, young Lord Jerome Bonaparte desired a military career from an early age, at age 18 he enrolled at West Point and graduated 15th in the class of 1900.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point after graduation from West Point.
The young Viscount (his father having passed away a few years prior) eagerly volunteered to join the American Volunteer Forces that were being sent to Russia to assist the White Faction in dealing with the massive socialist uprising that had erupted in the aftermath of the failed Russo-Japanese War. the Russian Civil War (1905-1909) would see the Whites ultimately prevail against the Reds, but at great cost and the aftermath would see former Tsar Nicholas II's brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich installed as Tsar Michael II of Russia, albeit as a powerless figurehead of a ruined nation that saw many of its Eastern European territories and the Caucasus nations successfully breakaway. During the war the young Viscount served bravely, quickly climbing up the ranks to Lieutenant after his heroism in the Battle of Ashkhabad and later in the Battle for Moscow.
After the war the young and handsome war hero was courted by several ladies, however the young Bonaparte Prince had his eyes on quite the lady. During the celebrations in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War the young Viscount met a Montenegrin Princess named Princess Vjera, the youngest daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro. While normally a mere Viscount would never be eligible to marry a royal Princess, Nicholas I of Montenegro had despaired of either of his youngest daughters ever marrying and felt that a Bonaparte match would be good for the Montenegrin Royal House, even though the French Empire no longer dominated Europe like it did in the 19th century, the Bonaparte's still had prestige.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point and Princess Vjera of Montenegro married six months later and would ultimately have four children.
Upon returning to America the Viscount learned that the 18th Amendment of the American Constitution had passed two months before war's end, this amendment would remove the last barriers to the nobility in serving in the American government, they could now run for Federal offices in the Senate, but the House of Representatives would remain reserved for the 'regular citizens'. Seeing an opportunity (and with prompting from his distant father in law), the Viscount ran for and won the race for Senator of Maryland in 1911 as a member of the Third Crown Loyalist Party, opposing both the Progressive Party and the Conservative Party.
The young Viscount championed improvements to the nation's infrastructure, and also supported the 'Mexican faction', the faction of American politicians opposed to the aggressive expansion of the nation beyond the Rio Grande river. The Viscount believed that the nation had expanded enough on the North American continent by bringing the Republics of Texas, California, and the Deseret State in earlier decades (and were still dealing with low-level insurgents until the 1930's). Instead the Viscount suggested the purchase of Britain's colonial holdings in the Caribbean and Central America, though this would not come to pass during his time as a Senator.
Jerome Napoleon was among the randomly chosen electors who voted for the ascension of King-Elect Valentin and was horrified when the newly crowned King was murdered barely a year into his reign. While not chosen as an elector for the 1925 Election for the King (the King-Elect had not yet been chosen), Jerome was aware that his name was being floated as a possible candidate, but at age 47 he suspected that he was still too young to be chosen.
It was to his astonishment that three days later the Electors had chosen him to be the next King of America. King Jerome I of America, the first to ascend to the throne directly since King Frederick, would take the throne a year prior to the outbreak of the Second World War (1926-1932), the nations of Europe would finally come to blows over who would be the dominate power not just in Europe, but the world. The alliances blocks that had been built up for decades quickly collapsed, turning the conflict into a brutal free-for-all, a war made worse when a Communist Revolution broke out in Great Britain, successfully overthrowing the British Monarchy, killing many senior members and driving others into exile and causing the British Empire to shatter.
King Jerome, who had steered America into neutrality from the distant war, decided to take full advantage of the Communist uprising, he negotiated with the Dominion of Canada to elect a minor member of the House of Windsor (Prince Arthur of Connaught) as the first King of Canada, but needing American support to keep his new crown, Canada had become an American puppet state. Meanwhile the United Kingdoms of America quickly annexed the former British territories in the Americas, including 'British Honduras' (Belize), and the Falkland Islands.
While the Communists successfully took over Great Britain, Ireland was supported by France and managed to gain independence as the Irish Princedom under a minor member of House Bonaparte. Toward the end of the Great War it was King Jerome who was chosen as an arbitrator, the American King might have been a member of House Bonaparte, but he had kept his distance from his French relatives (who still looked down on him for being a 'bastard' descendant) so the German and Danubia Empires were willing to trust him. The King was able to hammer out a settlement that would see the Great Powers exchange minor territories in Europe, while the main horse-trading was over Britain's former colonies all over the world, many of which were rejecting Communist takeovers by Communist Britain in favor of attempts at independence. King Jerome I also helped the German-Danubia Alliance set up several puppet-kingdoms in Eastern Europe, while also helping his French relatives gain the crown jewel of the former British Empire, the Indian subcontinent, while America took Britain's Asian holdings, including Port Arthur, Hong Kong, and purchased Macau from Portugal.
Coping with the stress of a world at war saw King Jerome smoke heavily, which is widely believed to have wrecked his health and he developed a then rare disease known as lung cancer in 1933, but even while slowly dying the King oversaw the third and final election for King-Elect of America, his first two possible successors had both died of old age.
On December 5th, 1934 the King slipped into a coma and never woke up, a brief unofficial regency under his wife would follow due to hiding his condition before King Jerome died on February 7th, 1935 at age 56.
King Jerome's successor was _____.
[9] "America, where any b*****d son can claim the highest office in the land and nobody will bat an eyelid ..." "Greeks, Frenchmen and Spaniards, Oh My!" - Gonzalo, illegitimate but acknowledged son of the Spanish King, granted the courtesy title of Count of Sampedro by his half-brother, left Europe in his late teens, and settled in the United Kingdoms. His royal connections, however minor and illegitimate made him a social butterfly among the elite of New York during the twenties, and he was swiftly married to socialite Lady Louisa Vanderbilt, daughter of the Earl of Staten Island, one of the richest men in the Kingdom's. The Earl was rich, but had no wish to put himself into the sights of the Electoral Committee, and when King Elect Charles (Curtis) died in 1934, the Earl placed his young son in law in the line for the throne. He narrowly met the criteria with regards to citizenship, but as his foreign title did not place him in line for the Spanish crown - there were many other legitimate heirs ahead of him - he was permitted to retain it (as King Elihu had retained his Dukedom of Livermore throughout his reign and it had been inherited by his son) and it would be his preferred title even whilst he was entitled to the style of Duke of Plymouth. A short period later, though, King Jerome died and Gonzalo became King - and would see a reign that would almost equal that of King George II.
The Vanderbilt fortune had propped up his candidacy and Gonzalo found himself unprepared for the responsibilities outside of the ceremonial and devolved much of the day to day duties formerly undertaken by the King to the King Elect and the Upper House of government. This catalysed a transformation of American politics - the King was Head of State, but the King Elect was essentially the Head of Government, a defacto Prime Minister in the British sense. And in this restructure of the role of King, Gonzalo and Louisa thrived, whilst the Earl focused on using his funds to manipulate those who sat in the Upper House, using his sons veto to put a strike through any candidate for King Elect that went against his interests.
The period 1940 to 1950 is often mockingly termed The Vanderbilt Regency. In 1950, the Earl of Staten Island died, and his heir proved ineffective in exerting any influence in government. The election for King Elect of 1952 was therefore free of the Vanderbilt influence. But 1966 saw another election - and the nomination of the King's son as King Elect. Whilst this wasn't specifically outlawed and several of the previous King Elects and Kings had familial connections, this was the first time a son would have been designated to succeed his father, were it successful.
In 1975, King Gonzalo died and King Elect ........... was elevated to the throne.
I really like the fact that none of the houses were the same in this list. It gave the list some uniqueness.
POD: The American attempt at forming a Republic failed, instead the Constitutional Convention agreed to form an American Monarchy. BUT the American Crown is elective and remains so for the entire list.
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of America
1789 - 1799: George I (House of Washington) [1]
1799 - 1857: George II (House of Parke Custis) [2]
1857 - 1867: Frederick (House of von Bayern) [3]
1867 - 1869: Hezekiah (House of Hosmer) [4]
1869 - 1887: Elihu (House of Livermore) [5]
1887 - 1924: Robert (House of Lee) [6]
1924 - 1925: Valentin (House of Gresse) [7]
1925 - 1935: Jerome (House of Bonaparte) [8]
1935 - 1975: Gonzalo (House of Bourbon-Sampedro) [9]
1975 - present: Chuck I (House of Norris) [10]
[10 ] - Born in 1940 as the first son of the Duke of Iowa, Chuck of House Norris was a shy child. He was shy, not athletic and academically average. As painful as it was, his own father contemplated making his brothers his heir instead of himself due to this. Believing that it would be better if he chose his own path, he enlisted in the Air Force in 1958 as a pilot. On a mission to Asia in 1959, he came into contact with a Chinese Kung-Fu expert who taught him Kung-Fu after the two hit off and it is here that his nickname Chuck came into being. A nickname that he would eventually adopt as his official name.
In 1962 he took an honorable discharge from the Air Force to pursue a career in Martial Arts, but this ambition was put on hold after his father died that year. He ascended to the position of Duke of Iowa, but nevertheless, he continued his career in Martial Arts, eventually creating a small scandal when he married a female wrestler of very low origins in 1965. His career in Martial Arts skyrocketed him to the forefront of the public and by the year he married, he was known as the Sturdy Duke, for he was unbeaten in any martial competition in the United States. Eventually by 1969 his name was submitted to the Election Committee for the position of King-Elect. His friendship with King Gonzalo who was a fan of his fighting style ensured his patronage as well. In 1972 he was elected as King-Elect and when King Gonzalo died, Chuck became King of America.
The 47 year reign of King Chuck has been very prosperous for the nation comparatively, and Chuck continues to be very popular among the people.
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of America
1789 - 1799: George I (House of Washington) [1]
1799 - 1857: George II (House of Parke Custis) [2]
1857 - 1867: Frederick (House of von Bayern) [3]
1867 - 1869: Hezekiah (House of Hosmer) [4]
1869 - 1887: Elihu (House of Livermore) [5]
1887 - 1924: Robert (House of Lee) [6]
1924 - 1925: Valentin (House of Gresse) [7]
1925 - 1935: Jerome (House of Bonaparte) [8]
1935 - 1975: Gonzalo (House of Bourbon-Sampedro) [9]
1975 - present: Chuck I (House of Norris) [10]
[1] George I of the United Kingdoms of America, informally known as George Washington was the obvious, and to many the only, candidate to rule the new nation of America in the wake of the American Revolution. Instead of taking power, George Washington initially returned to Mount Vernon and his private life and the weak Republican government established after the war nearly collapsed, forcing the Founding Fathers to gather in Philadelphia to create a new constitution for their new nation.
During the intense heat of the summer month, a majority of the attendees of the convention came to the conclusion that the purely Republican model of the American government was proving unworkable and drafting an acceptable compromise Republican government became impossible when Benjamin Franklin suddenly died.
So with great reluctance did George Washington himself agree with the growing majority of the Constitutional Convention that only a new King, albeit one constrained by a constitution, could effectively rule, without becoming a tyrant of course.
Despite the protests of Thomas Jefferson and his supporters, the convention voted and agreed to a new Constitutional Monarchy for the new United Kingdoms of America. Each of the former colonies were to be considered kingdoms in their own right, but united under a single monarch. The monarch was to be constrained by the United Kingdom Congress, divided between the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a Supreme Court. The monarch would still have executive powers, but they were balanced out between the other two branches of the government. The Monarch could also create titles of nobility, but the new nobles would not be eligible to be elected to either the Senate or the House (unless the Constitution was amended).
Most importantly of all, the American Monarchy was NOT hereditary, it would be an elective crown. The Electors of the Crown were to be chosen by random lot from members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a select few nobles, overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The monarch would have to be at least 30 years old, either a citizen of the United Kingdom or be able to accept citizenship upon being elected and accepting the American Crown, and to have resided within the United Kingdoms for at least 10 years (but this could be waived by unanimous decision by the electors). Theoretically, this meant that a foreigner could be elected to the American Throne, but this was seen as unlikely or rare at the time by the Founders.
The First Election for the American Crown took place in Philadelphia in 1789 after the Constitution was ratified by the new Kingdoms and among the electors the choice for the first King of America was obvious.
With reluctance George Washington accepted the crown and swore his Oath of Coronation and donned a simple crown of Laurel leaves, becoming America's first King on April 30, 1789.
George I of the United Kingdoms of America, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797.
George I began his reign having to decide where he would rule the new nation from, for the moment the cities of Philadelphia and New York were hosting the new branches of the American government. However, he had agreed to build a new capital city in between the Northern and Southern United Kingdoms to help bind the nation together. Unfortunately, the initial site chosen along the Potamic River was deemed too swampy for a city to be built and not be at high risk for floods and sinkholes, other sites would be scouted but none would be chosen in George I's reign.
The new King created the first Privy Council, a collection of advisers who would in time include the Offices of the Monarch of the United Kingdoms, such as the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, etc... Among the first members of this new Privy Council was John Adams, George I's preferred heir to the throne, John Adams served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs for two years before abruptly dying of a stroke in 1791.
While the King has a strong distaste for political parties, the first two political parties did emerge in Congress, the Crown Loyalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson. While the Crown Loyalists saw themselves as pushing forward the agenda of the new King, in truth the party would be shaped more by Hamilton's strong centralized vision for the UKA, while Thomas Jefferson himself would seek to dissolve the Monarchy, many within his party simply desired a decentralized government where the individual Kingdoms held sway and the monarch was largely ceremonial. Ironically in his own party, Jefferson was a minority figure and despite initial speculation that he would be George I's successor, Thomas Jefferson publicly declared that he would never accept any crown.
While the French Monarchy fell to Revolution and Europe descended into a series of brutal wars, George I declared that the UKA would be a neutral party but did try to bring the warring European states to the negotiation table to little avail. In addition, a brief rebellion against the crown occurred in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion, but it was put down by the King who rode into battle himself, establishing the monarch's role as Commander of the Crown's Armed Forces.
While George I was able to negotiate with the British to leave several forts in the UKA's expanding territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the new revolutionary government of France was hostile toward the UKA both for it's ties to Britain, and its abandonment of Republicanism in favor of a monarchy, however limited.
The threat of war forced King George to build the UKA's first navy, earning him the title 'Father of the American Navy', but with public pressure mounting to answer the French Republic's growing list of insults and attacks on American shipping, the UKA declared war on France in 1798. The war would go on beyond the lifetime of George I, whose health was beginning to fail with his age.
While the Kingdom's military seized important ports in the French territory of Louisiana (which stretched across the North American continent), news that America's Navy had reached the revolutionaries in Haiti with supplies and fresh volunteers reached Philadelphia where King George I was residing as he was dying of pneumonia. The King's last words were "Good work." before he passed away on December 14, 1799, at age 67.
While the funeral for America's first King was getting underway under the cloud of war, the Electors were selected for the Second Election for America's next monarch and they chose George Washington Parke Custis to be America's second monarch.
[2] George Washington Parke Custis was born in 1781 to John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert. George’s father had died a few months after he was born of Camp Fever shortly after General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in November of 1781. With no father to raise him George and his sister, “Nelly,” were taken in by their grandmother, Martha Washington and her husband George Washington and were raised at the Mount Vernon Estate while his two older siblings, Elizabeth and Martha, were raised by their biological mother. Martha Washington had been married to a man by the name of Daniel Parke Custis before marrying George Washington so George and his sister were not the biological grandchildren of the General but were treated as such by him.
In 1789 George along with his sister moved into the temporary Royal Palace in New York after George Washington was crowned king and were members of the first Royal Family. While there George was treated as royalty like the rest of the family and while not used to this type of treatment he eventually became used to it as time went on. George was only 18 when his step-grandfather died but was considered one of the more likely candidates for the title of king since he was treated as a son by the late king and had grown up in the Royal Household and was as such elected king by majority.
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Daguerreotype of King George II in his later years by Mathew Brady
George led the country through the Napoleonic Wars where he not only managed to keep it neutral but also acquire the Louisiana Territory making way for settlement in the region. He also led the country through the war of 1812 by leading the country on a 3-year campaign to take British North America annexing the territory in 1815. During the war, he gained the attention of one Major General Andrew Jackson after his heroic victory at the Battle of New Orleans and after the First Seminole War which saw the annexation of Florida, he was given the title of Commanding General of The United Kingdoms Army. George also saw to making an alliance with the French Empire with him marrying Napoléon I’s step-daughter Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte. After the defeat of Russia at the end of the Napoléonic Wars, Russian Alaska would be gifted to the UKA due to its distance from France and proximity to the UKA after the War of 1812.
George would have to deal with several internal issues involving the Slave Debate having to make several compromises such as the Three-Fifths Comprise. Though George was Anti-Slavery he couldn’t abolish slavery without uproar from the southern regions of the country which were dependent on slavery and thus hoped that eventually, it would die out in the South. The issue of slavery would come to a head in 1854 after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which would start a mini-civil war in the Kansas Territory over the vote to see if it would be a Free Providence or a Slave Providence. Not helping his stress due to the issue of slavery becoming more and more violent would be the death of his wife at the age of 54 in 1837 which would force him into a depression that would remain for the rest of his life.
George would die in 1857 at the age of 76.
Frederick of America on a state visit to Prussia in 1865
(3) Frederick of America, born Otto Frederick Ludwig von Bayern of Prussia, second son of the King of Prussia, former King of Greece (1832 to 1843), invited to live his life in exile in America by King George II, eventually becoming an important advisor on European affairs and officially being naturalised, having to abdicate all claims for himself and his line to Bavaria. After the death of George II, Frederick was placed as an outsider amongst those candidates for the throne but Frederick won out, having met all criteria, being over 30, a naturalized citizen and having support of a majority of electors through his diplomatic skills. In 1857, he became King and took Frederick as his regnal name rather than Otho as he had been styled in Greece. Frederick had married Amalia of Oldenburg but she had passed in childbirth leaving Frederick with no heirs, so in 1840, he had remarried to Luise of Lippe who had born him three children, but only after his removal from the Greek throne in 1843.
As Frederick had been forced to abdicate his Prussian and Greek claim prior to his election as King it was determined his Royal House would be von Bayern rather than Wittelsbach.
Frederick only ruled for a decade, his main contribution to the Kingdom being the revision of the electoral process, which would take place prior to the death or abdication of a monarch, ensuring a continuity of government - this figure would be officially known as the King Elect of America, but would be referred to on a daily basis by the non-hereditary title of Duke of Plymouth (referring to Plymouth Rock). This meant that by 1864, his heir was selected and was left to act as Regent during his state visit to Prussia in 1865. Two years later, Frederick would die and his elected heir would succeed him as King Hezekiah
[4] Hezekiah of America, born Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer on December 10, 1814, the posthumous fifth child of Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, 2nd Baron Middletown. He was a grandson of minor Founding Father Titus Hosmer, 1st Baron Middletown who signed the Constitution on behalf of Connecticut. He was not expected to inherit the title Baron Middletown, much less become King of America.
Lord Hezekiah Hosmer would study law in Ohio before beginning a minor political career in the state of Ohio, but unexpectedly gained traction as a dark horse candidate for governor of Ohio, since like many states, Ohio had no prohibition on nobility participating in politics, unlike in the Federal Congress. Hezekiah ran as a Crown Loyalist and won office twice, and he would champion the cause of opening the houses of Congress to the nobility through a constitutional amendment, though it would not come to pass in his lifetime.
However during his time as governor, he would witness the breakdown of America's political parties over the issue of slavery, both the Crown Loyalists and the Republican parties would fracture based on region. The northern free states would support the Northern Crown Loyalists (NCL) and the Liberal Republican Party (LRP), while the southern slave states would support the Autocratic Party (Autocrats) and the Jeffersonian Republican Party (Jeffersonians).
Lord Hezekiah would join with the NCL, though he was seen as a moderate on the issue of slavery, simply wishing to restrict it to the southern states and not letting it expand northward, but would tolerate it expanding in the southern territories.
When the first election for the King-Elect of America began, Lord Hezekiah was not seen as having a remote chance of claiming the crown, however when the delegates deadlocked due to division over slavery, those in the North and South that feared a breakup of the Kingdom agreed on seeking a compromise candidate that both regions could accept. So, they discovered a moderate northern nobleman politician in the form of Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, the governor of Ohio who's final term was coming to an end.
Lord Hezekiah was stunned to be offered the post of King-Elect, but he accepted it as his duty and became the first King-Elect of America, leaving behind his beloved Ohio and bringing his third wife Mary Daniels and small family with him to Philadelphia.
The new King-Elect discovered that King Frederick had become disinterested in most political affairs, believing that the American Monarch should be above 'everyday politics' and be seen as an 'ideal'. King-Elect Hezekiah disagreed with this strongly, seeing the nation fracturing badly because of the growing discontent over slavery and the Deep South's increasing Republican radicalism.
When the Mexican Republic under Santa Anna saw the secessions of Texas, California, and the Mormon State of Deseret, King-Elect Hezekiah supported those who wanted to incorporate the regions into the UKA, however, revolution in Mexico would see the birth of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Agustín II de Iturbide, who wanted to, if not force the Texas Republic, Deseret State, and Republic of California back into the Empire, at least adjust the borders.
The threat of a continent-wide war loomed as King Frederick I died and King Hezekiah I took the throne on May 1, 1867, with a nation seething with anger over the issue of slavery, desiring expansion all the way to the Pacific Ocean to connect with the Alaskan Territory (that was experience a Gold Rush), and a military that was dominated by Southern officers, but the soldiers were mostly from the North.
King Hezekiah began to support a series of reforms within the American military to reinforce discipline, but also to mix up units with men from all regions to try and foster brotherhood. The King also began to make plans for a war with the new nations west of the Louisiana border for land, but the fractured political parties were already arguing about if slavery would be expanded in the lands that were to be taken.
Hezekiah I decided that a way to soothe tensions between the North and the South was to fulfill a long-neglected promise to the Southern States by building a new capital city for the nation. At the time the Kings of America had been residing in the King's Palace in Philadelphia and Congress and the Supreme Court were based in the city of New York. A site was chosen along the banks of the Ohio River where the borders of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois meet, and construction would begin in Hezekiah's reign but would take many years to complete.
The King suffered a personal tragedy when his wife Queen Mary died of typhoid fever in the second year of his reign.
King Hezekiah's reign was cut brutally short when he was assassinated by actor and Southern slavery sympathizer Edwin Booth while attending a concert in Baltimore. Edwin Booth was part of a group of assassins who also tried to murder the King-Elect but failed, their plan was to force the election of a new slavery-sympathetic King to ensure the domination of the Southern States over the nation.
King Hezekiah was succeeded by his King-Elect ____ even as the nation was now on a knife's edge.
(5) Elihu Washburne, born 1816, is said to encapsulate the American story. Born into poverty, he was forced to leave home at 14 in 1830, during the reign of George II. He made his name in the Royal Army during the Kansan War of the 1850's. This somersaulted him into the Court of King Frederick who would subsequently create Elihu as Duke of Livermore, clearly marking him as his desired heir. However, the 1864 Royal Election saw the elevation of Lord Hezekiah Hesmer to the office as King when Elihu was deemed too Anti-Slavery by the southern Kingdoms. However, Hezekiah's subsequent endorsement of Elihu as his prospective successor gained traction gained ground. This decision saw plans by the Boothists to assassinate Hezekiah, Elihu and other major figures. Whilst Hezekiah was killed, the unmarried Elihu survived and immediately took office as King.
In 1870, aged 54, he would marry Mathilde Parke Custis (b. 1850), a granddaughter of George II, over thirty years younger than him, and produced three children - one of whom succeeded him as Duke/Duchess of Livermore (a curious fact about American nobility was that, like many Scottish titles, they could be inherited by a female line).
1871 saw the resumption of the Southern Problem, after the swift and brutal response to the regicide of 1869. The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Jefferson saw Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia officially secede from the Federal Kingdoms and elect Alexander Stephens, Earl of Taliafero, as Chancellor. The ensuing period would be termed a cold War by future historians - the secession of the Kingdoms had been done entirely within the legislative process of America, so Congress and King Elihu had no recourse to open any military conflict with them, which frustrated them no end and which led to minor border skirmishes over minor territorial incursions - a notable event was the execution of a donkey that a town in Jefferson cited as a spy for America because it had strayed across the border, eaten from and then defecated over a farmers prized cabbage patch. By 1880, Jefferson established an Embassy in America and appointed the septagenarian Christopher Hemminger as their first Ambassador.
Elihu and America worked to sway Jefferson from their continued pro-slavery position, having passed their own emancipation laws almost immediately after the secession of Jefferson. America welcomed all those who fled from slavery which caused some agitation for Jefferson.
Since the establishment of the King Elect process, Elihu was the first to see the election of several figures to this role. Either from death due to age or illness, or abdication of office, there were several Dukes of Plymouth appointed - the most notable (other than his eventual successor) was John Breckenridge who defected from America after his election without abdicating his claim to America, thus for a period, a senior member of the Jeffersonian military was King Elect of America. He was replaced in a Special Session of Congress in which a replacement was elected. This was a personal embarrassment to Elihu who personally ensured that defection of a King or King Elect would be deemed treason and that it was an act that would be punishable by death.
Elihu would die in 1887 to be succeeded by Robert A. Lee.
[6] The eldest grandson of famed Virginian aristocrat and General Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee, by his eldest son George and Sophia Mackensen, a scion of Prussian immigrants of land-owning origin, Robert August Lee was from a young age grow into a life of privilege and ceremony, although he was also present for one of the greatest changes ever done in American society - the end of slavery. The early death of his father left him and his three siblings fatherless, and they fell under the joint custody of their grandfather and mother. Due to the wishes of his mother, Robert August was educated in a German-style gymnaseum before eventually transitioning early to Harvard, where the intelligent young man factored in two courses - law (chosen by his grandfather) and engineering (chosen by his mother). Robert August Lee not only succeeded in getting diplomas for both but also used his stay in Harvard to get to known much of the new crop that dominated American society. Thus, he became kind of a small celebrity, famous for his strange and mixed views.
A picture of young Robert A. Lee following his graduation from West Point and his elevation to Lieutenant-General of the UKA.
Following his results in Harvard, Robert A. Lee once more went into his studies at the beck and call of his mother and in his attempt to emulate his grandfather and great-grandfather, George Washington. Entering West Point Academy at the age of 24, much older than the majority of other cadets, Robert A. Lee would storm the next four years at West Point, finishing with an overall score of 1997 out a possible 2000, and is to this day the highest ever rated gradute to ever come out of West Point, with his grandfather being the fourth highest ever. Joining the US Army as a Captain, Robert A. Lee participated in the many brief "frontier" wars with Jefferson, and also in military adventures in Central America, the Pacific and served as an American military advisor in Colombia. Robert A. Lee was famous for his unfitting views for the America of the time - he is considered the creator and thinker of what would eventually coalesce into the Progressive party during his reign. The letter he sent to the New York Times when asked what he envisioned the future of America to be was, holds a phrase that marked the ascension of the Progressives "From Sea to Shining Sea, the manifestation of our great American dynasty cannot come through disunity. The shackles of class, race and ethnicity, and religious denomination cannot interfere in the building of the American Fate. In this Empire of Freedom, every man must stand and die for each other!"
His anti-corporate, pro-labor, imperialistic and nationalistic views, alongside his strong character should have been a brake on his carrer, but instead, Robert A. Lee was positioned by many senators as the man who could finally bridge the South-North divide, and lead America in the recovery of the chaotic Jefferson, to the South. Standing in the way of Robert was his youth, King Elihu's eldest and perhaps the greatest scandal of his career, or, as Robert A. Lee would call it, his lady love. Charlotte Parker was born to Francis Parker, the second son of a Mississippi planter who, upon abolition, moved to Appalachian Kentucky, investing his family's remaining finances in coal mining. A successful businessman who became famous in the region, Parker would however "move against society" by returning to Mississippi to marry Eleanor Powell Parker, a young woman born to slaves on his father's plantation. The new Lady Parker (as Francis was eventually made a Baron) was, perhaps, the first black noblewoman in the whole of the UKA. Charlotte and Robert would meet in Tenesse in 1885, during a visit by Robert of extended family there. As what the tradition with Southern Nobility, Robert contacted Baron Parker to engage in courtship with his daughter, and it was the news of this courtship that almost destroyed Robert's political career. While abolitionism had won over in America, racism and segregation had, if not legal, became somewhat of the norm, and many still viewed inter-racial marriages with a bad light. It was only after significant bribery by Robert's supporters and especially by his soon-to-be father-in-law that saw Robert elected... alongside the possibility of a slave rising in Jefferson, which would indeed happen.
"Portrait of Duchess Charlotte Lee" - A romanticist portrait taken of Queen Charlotte just after her marriage and before her husband's coronation.
The entrance of Lady Charlotte into the Lee family, was, in a way, a mirror of what would eventually happen with the entrance of America's first black queen. Robert's uncle William, had, for some long years now, ran the Duchy of Stratford and the Lee's lesser titles - such as Earl of Lexington or Baron Arlington, and the lands associated with them, while Robert followed his military and political career. Thus, in the vast repertoire that belonged to the Lee family, it was William who had "become" the patriarch. Once a plantar, William had been very much hostile to Charlotte at their first meeting, lamenting how his nephew would mix with the blood of slaves, but the Lee family were turned by Charlotte. Queen Charlotte, whom, in modern times, is associated more to her slave ancestors than to her slaver ones, was, in fact, the preferred daughter of her father, a prominent industrialist and someone who himself belonged to the planter class, and thus she was raised with similar morals to the rest, was used to the same styles, behaviours and even ideas, being much more conservative than her husband, for example, and was all around describe as a charming character who, given enough time, could make anyone like her. And so it was true. Despite Robert's marriage being extremely unpopular in the majority of America at the time, by the end of their lives Robert and Charlotte's "illegal marriage" was mostly if not completely forgotten, and their marriage essentially served to destroy much of the preconcept around interracial marriages. As described by their daughter, Mary Mildred Lee, in 1932, "I think Papa and Mama were very much in love for all their days". The couple would have eight children, all of whom were born during Robert's reign.
With the death of Elihu, Robert August became Robert the I, three issues were principal - the finishing of the new Capital, the ongoing civil war in Jefferson and the continuation of American growth. A firm Nationalist, Robert tackled the two first ones. While much of the city of what would eventually became Washington, District of Columbia was already done - Robert impacted his own changes in the city. Robert was part of an ever-expanding American - even demographically, and thus, he dreamed of a city "that could host millions and millions", should have plenty of greenery and should have plenty of recreational spaces for the population. With these additions in place, Robert officially cut the tape on the new capital and moved into "Liberty House", or more appropriately, palace, that is still to this day the home of American Kings.
The Slaver Republic of Jefferson in the south had fallen into civil war after the downfall of American cotton in the world market lead to a severe depression in the Republic. Many started to look back and wanted to re-join America, some simply wanted to keep things they were, while some wanted to renew Jefferson in the shape of America, but, in an independent fashion. All of these factors would explode into the Jefferson civil war, which Robert would waste no time in intervening on after Jeffersonian state soldiers crossed into America and raided various farm along the border of Louisiana, desperate for food and supplies. The American invasion of Jefferson ended with Jefferson quickly re-annex by America and by the start of the age of "Reconstruction" - as defined by Georgian senator Bill Mainsly - "Reconstruct Society, Reconstruct the Economy, Reconstruct the land, Reconstruct our Union, Reconstruct our Destiny". Reconstruction is loosely attributed from having lasted from 1889 to 1901, one of the greatest ages of American growth and investment ever. Civil rights were ratified, in an effort to prepare America for an "Imperial Future" and to unify society. The industrial dominance of the North and North-East was to spread to all corners of America, especially to the South and those Kingdoms whom had belonged to Jefferson, who were massively behind economically. The Mid-West and the West were in a race to be settled, and indeed many would become Kingdoms of their own during Robert's reign, as massive fluxes of people moved westwards and towards the interior of the country during these times. The Armed Forces were invested in massively, with the navy becoming world-spanning while the army became one of the fiercest in the world. School curicullum's were ratified, improved and modernized, schooling became obrigatory until the age of sixteen, agriculture was modernized and railways became common in every single corner of the country. A national, public health system was put in place and American workers and their families were backed with government-provided social security.
Besides the Reconstruction era, Robert is also remembered for his nationalistic, imperialist character. During his reign, America expanded vastly in size. The Anglo-Spanish war of 1894-1895 saw Cuba, Puerto Rico and many pacific islands become American territories, while the Philippines were made an antonomous vassal-colony under local princes, Hawwai was made an autonomous Kingdom of the Union, Alaska was purchased from Russia, Baja California and Sonora conquered from Mexico in the world war that shook the rest of the world - but America in 1911-1914. America became the model society, and the vast natural growth of many European states - France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Danubia (The Federation of states that became Danubia evolved from the autocratic Austrian Empire after coming out victorious on the side of Great Britain, Germany and America) saw millions of Europeans immigrate to the new world. The last census taken during his reign, 1920, put the American population at almost 140000000 people.
Robert would die from cancer in 1924, leaving behind his wife and children. He was succeded by King-Elect Valentin of Evesham.
Valentin as the Duke of Plymouth, sometime in the early 1920s
[7] On the 19th of April, 1882, Valentin Johann Adalbert was born to Herman, Duke of Evesham and Laurel, and Alderose, Baroness Crestwood. From an early age, the young noble boy aspired to join the army since the juvenile heavily grew up with aspiring tales of heroes of wars such as the one of American Independence told to him by his mother. However, upon completing his adolescence, Valentin decided to pursue a career in the navy as his sweetheart, Lady Emma Vernon, insisted that he would be more skilled at sea. This, turned out to be true, as Valentin was much more attuned to the naval craft at Hainesport. After his time at the academy had finished, Valentin rose through the ranks of the navy for the following decade and a half. His defining and most famous moment as a naval commander was when Valentin attacked several Socialist-Revolutionary strongholds in the Far East during the Russian Civil War. His actions during the civil war resulted in him being awarded both by the Russian Tsar and the American King. And, when he returned back to the United Kingdoms, he was welcomed with a certain level of fame, which caught the attention of several Washingtonian courtiers, who urged him to seek the position of the Duke of Plymouth after the death of the former office-holder. To his astonishment, Valentin won the position due to his rising popularity, which, unfortunately, Valentin would not be able to capitalize on much when he became the monarch of the United Kingdoms. Being the victim of an assassination carried out by a rumored anarchist and fervent anti-monarchist, Bryan Broyles, occurring merely a few months after his ascension. He would be succeeded by King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte.
[8] King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte was born on November 30, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland. the only son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 2nd Viscount Whetstone Point, the son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 1st Viscount Whetstone Point, the illegitimate son of Jerome Bonaparte, the brother of Emperor Napoleon I and briefly the King of Westphalia. Like his father who had served both in the American Royal Army and the French Foreign Legion, young Lord Jerome Bonaparte desired a military career from an early age, at age 18 he enrolled at West Point and graduated 15th in the class of 1900.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point after graduation from West Point.
The young Viscount (his father having passed away a few years prior) eagerly volunteered to join the American Volunteer Forces that were being sent to Russia to assist the White Faction in dealing with the massive socialist uprising that had erupted in the aftermath of the failed Russo-Japanese War. the Russian Civil War (1905-1909) would see the Whites ultimately prevail against the Reds, but at great cost and the aftermath would see former Tsar Nicholas II's brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich installed as Tsar Michael II of Russia, albeit as a powerless figurehead of a ruined nation that saw many of its Eastern European territories and the Caucasus nations successfully breakaway. During the war the young Viscount served bravely, quickly climbing up the ranks to Lieutenant after his heroism in the Battle of Ashkhabad and later in the Battle for Moscow.
After the war the young and handsome war hero was courted by several ladies, however the young Bonaparte Prince had his eyes on quite the lady. During the celebrations in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War the young Viscount met a Montenegrin Princess named Princess Vjera, the youngest daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro. While normally a mere Viscount would never be eligible to marry a royal Princess, Nicholas I of Montenegro had despaired of either of his youngest daughters ever marrying and felt that a Bonaparte match would be good for the Montenegrin Royal House, even though the French Empire no longer dominated Europe like it did in the 19th century, the Bonaparte's still had prestige.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point and Princess Vjera of Montenegro married six months later and would ultimately have four children.
Upon returning to America the Viscount learned that the 18th Amendment of the American Constitution had passed two months before war's end, this amendment would remove the last barriers to the nobility in serving in the American government, they could now run for Federal offices in the Senate, but the House of Representatives would remain reserved for the 'regular citizens'. Seeing an opportunity (and with prompting from his distant father in law), the Viscount ran for and won the race for Senator of Maryland in 1911 as a member of the Third Crown Loyalist Party, opposing both the Progressive Party and the Conservative Party.
The young Viscount championed improvements to the nation's infrastructure, and also supported the 'Mexican faction', the faction of American politicians opposed to the aggressive expansion of the nation beyond the Rio Grande river. The Viscount believed that the nation had expanded enough on the North American continent by bringing the Republics of Texas, California, and the Deseret State in earlier decades (and were still dealing with low-level insurgents until the 1930's). Instead the Viscount suggested the purchase of Britain's colonial holdings in the Caribbean and Central America, though this would not come to pass during his time as a Senator.
Jerome Napoleon was among the randomly chosen electors who voted for the ascension of King-Elect Valentin and was horrified when the newly crowned King was murdered barely a year into his reign. While not chosen as an elector for the 1925 Election for the King (the King-Elect had not yet been chosen), Jerome was aware that his name was being floated as a possible candidate, but at age 47 he suspected that he was still too young to be chosen.
It was to his astonishment that three days later the Electors had chosen him to be the next King of America. King Jerome I of America, the first to ascend to the throne directly since King Frederick, would take the throne a year prior to the outbreak of the Second World War (1926-1932), the nations of Europe would finally come to blows over who would be the dominate power not just in Europe, but the world. The alliances blocks that had been built up for decades quickly collapsed, turning the conflict into a brutal free-for-all, a war made worse when a Communist Revolution broke out in Great Britain, successfully overthrowing the British Monarchy, killing many senior members and driving others into exile and causing the British Empire to shatter.
King Jerome, who had steered America into neutrality from the distant war, decided to take full advantage of the Communist uprising, he negotiated with the Dominion of Canada to elect a minor member of the House of Windsor (Prince Arthur of Connaught) as the first King of Canada, but needing American support to keep his new crown, Canada had become an American puppet state. Meanwhile the United Kingdoms of America quickly annexed the former British territories in the Americas, including 'British Honduras' (Belize), and the Falkland Islands.
While the Communists successfully took over Great Britain, Ireland was supported by France and managed to gain independence as the Irish Princedom under a minor member of House Bonaparte. Toward the end of the Great War it was King Jerome who was chosen as an arbitrator, the American King might have been a member of House Bonaparte, but he had kept his distance from his French relatives (who still looked down on him for being a 'bastard' descendant) so the German and Danubia Empires were willing to trust him. The King was able to hammer out a settlement that would see the Great Powers exchange minor territories in Europe, while the main horse-trading was over Britain's former colonies all over the world, many of which were rejecting Communist takeovers by Communist Britain in favor of attempts at independence. King Jerome I also helped the German-Danubia Alliance set up several puppet-kingdoms in Eastern Europe, while also helping his French relatives gain the crown jewel of the former British Empire, the Indian subcontinent, while America took Britain's Asian holdings, including Port Arthur, Hong Kong, and purchased Macau from Portugal.
Coping with the stress of a world at war saw King Jerome smoke heavily, which is widely believed to have wrecked his health and he developed a then rare disease known as lung cancer in 1933, but even while slowly dying the King oversaw the third and final election for King-Elect of America, his first two possible successors had both died of old age.
On December 5th, 1934 the King slipped into a coma and never woke up, a brief unofficial regency under his wife would follow due to hiding his condition before King Jerome died on February 7th, 1935 at age 56.
King Jerome's successor was _____.
[9] "America, where any b*****d son can claim the highest office in the land and nobody will bat an eyelid ..." "Greeks, Frenchmen and Spaniards, Oh My!" - Gonzalo, illegitimate but acknowledged son of the Spanish King, granted the courtesy title of Count of Sampedro by his half-brother, left Europe in his late teens, and settled in the United Kingdoms. His royal connections, however minor and illegitimate made him a social butterfly among the elite of New York during the twenties, and he was swiftly married to socialite Lady Louisa Vanderbilt, daughter of the Earl of Staten Island, one of the richest men in the Kingdom's. The Earl was rich, but had no wish to put himself into the sights of the Electoral Committee, and when King Elect Charles (Curtis) died in 1934, the Earl placed his young son in law in the line for the throne. He narrowly met the criteria with regards to citizenship, but as his foreign title did not place him in line for the Spanish crown - there were many other legitimate heirs ahead of him - he was permitted to retain it (as King Elihu had retained his Dukedom of Livermore throughout his reign and it had been inherited by his son) and it would be his preferred title even whilst he was entitled to the style of Duke of Plymouth. A short period later, though, King Jerome died and Gonzalo became King - and would see a reign that would almost equal that of King George II.
The Vanderbilt fortune had propped up his candidacy and Gonzalo found himself unprepared for the responsibilities outside of the ceremonial and devolved much of the day to day duties formerly undertaken by the King to the King Elect and the Upper House of government. This catalysed a transformation of American politics - the King was Head of State, but the King Elect was essentially the Head of Government, a defacto Prime Minister in the British sense. And in this restructure of the role of King, Gonzalo and Louisa thrived, whilst the Earl focused on using his funds to manipulate those who sat in the Upper House, using his sons veto to put a strike through any candidate for King Elect that went against his interests.
The period 1940 to 1950 is often mockingly termed The Vanderbilt Regency. In 1950, the Earl of Staten Island died, and his heir proved ineffective in exerting any influence in government. The election for King Elect of 1952 was therefore free of the Vanderbilt influence. But 1966 saw another election - and the nomination of the King's son as King Elect. Whilst this wasn't specifically outlawed and several of the previous King Elects and Kings had familial connections, this was the first time a son would have been designated to succeed his father, were it successful.
In 1975, King Gonzalo died and King Elect ........... was elevated to the throne.
During the intense heat of the summer month, a majority of the attendees of the convention came to the conclusion that the purely Republican model of the American government was proving unworkable and drafting an acceptable compromise Republican government became impossible when Benjamin Franklin suddenly died.
So with great reluctance did George Washington himself agree with the growing majority of the Constitutional Convention that only a new King, albeit one constrained by a constitution, could effectively rule, without becoming a tyrant of course.
Despite the protests of Thomas Jefferson and his supporters, the convention voted and agreed to a new Constitutional Monarchy for the new United Kingdoms of America. Each of the former colonies were to be considered kingdoms in their own right, but united under a single monarch. The monarch was to be constrained by the United Kingdom Congress, divided between the House of Representatives and the Senate, and a Supreme Court. The monarch would still have executive powers, but they were balanced out between the other two branches of the government. The Monarch could also create titles of nobility, but the new nobles would not be eligible to be elected to either the Senate or the House (unless the Constitution was amended).
Most importantly of all, the American Monarchy was NOT hereditary, it would be an elective crown. The Electors of the Crown were to be chosen by random lot from members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and a select few nobles, overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The monarch would have to be at least 30 years old, either a citizen of the United Kingdom or be able to accept citizenship upon being elected and accepting the American Crown, and to have resided within the United Kingdoms for at least 10 years (but this could be waived by unanimous decision by the electors). Theoretically, this meant that a foreigner could be elected to the American Throne, but this was seen as unlikely or rare at the time by the Founders.
The First Election for the American Crown took place in Philadelphia in 1789 after the Constitution was ratified by the new Kingdoms and among the electors the choice for the first King of America was obvious.
With reluctance George Washington accepted the crown and swore his Oath of Coronation and donned a simple crown of Laurel leaves, becoming America's first King on April 30, 1789.
George I of the United Kingdoms of America, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797.
George I began his reign having to decide where he would rule the new nation from, for the moment the cities of Philadelphia and New York were hosting the new branches of the American government. However, he had agreed to build a new capital city in between the Northern and Southern United Kingdoms to help bind the nation together. Unfortunately, the initial site chosen along the Potamic River was deemed too swampy for a city to be built and not be at high risk for floods and sinkholes, other sites would be scouted but none would be chosen in George I's reign.
The new King created the first Privy Council, a collection of advisers who would in time include the Offices of the Monarch of the United Kingdoms, such as the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, etc... Among the first members of this new Privy Council was John Adams, George I's preferred heir to the throne, John Adams served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs for two years before abruptly dying of a stroke in 1791.
While the King has a strong distaste for political parties, the first two political parties did emerge in Congress, the Crown Loyalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson. While the Crown Loyalists saw themselves as pushing forward the agenda of the new King, in truth the party would be shaped more by Hamilton's strong centralized vision for the UKA, while Thomas Jefferson himself would seek to dissolve the Monarchy, many within his party simply desired a decentralized government where the individual Kingdoms held sway and the monarch was largely ceremonial. Ironically in his own party, Jefferson was a minority figure and despite initial speculation that he would be George I's successor, Thomas Jefferson publicly declared that he would never accept any crown.
While the French Monarchy fell to Revolution and Europe descended into a series of brutal wars, George I declared that the UKA would be a neutral party but did try to bring the warring European states to the negotiation table to little avail. In addition, a brief rebellion against the crown occurred in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion, but it was put down by the King who rode into battle himself, establishing the monarch's role as Commander of the Crown's Armed Forces.
While George I was able to negotiate with the British to leave several forts in the UKA's expanding territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the new revolutionary government of France was hostile toward the UKA both for it's ties to Britain, and its abandonment of Republicanism in favor of a monarchy, however limited.
The threat of war forced King George to build the UKA's first navy, earning him the title 'Father of the American Navy', but with public pressure mounting to answer the French Republic's growing list of insults and attacks on American shipping, the UKA declared war on France in 1798. The war would go on beyond the lifetime of George I, whose health was beginning to fail with his age.
While the Kingdom's military seized important ports in the French territory of Louisiana (which stretched across the North American continent), news that America's Navy had reached the revolutionaries in Haiti with supplies and fresh volunteers reached Philadelphia where King George I was residing as he was dying of pneumonia. The King's last words were "Good work." before he passed away on December 14, 1799, at age 67.
While the funeral for America's first King was getting underway under the cloud of war, the Electors were selected for the Second Election for America's next monarch and they chose George Washington Parke Custis to be America's second monarch.
[2] George Washington Parke Custis was born in 1781 to John Parke Custis and Eleanor Calvert. George’s father had died a few months after he was born of Camp Fever shortly after General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in November of 1781. With no father to raise him George and his sister, “Nelly,” were taken in by their grandmother, Martha Washington and her husband George Washington and were raised at the Mount Vernon Estate while his two older siblings, Elizabeth and Martha, were raised by their biological mother. Martha Washington had been married to a man by the name of Daniel Parke Custis before marrying George Washington so George and his sister were not the biological grandchildren of the General but were treated as such by him.
In 1789 George along with his sister moved into the temporary Royal Palace in New York after George Washington was crowned king and were members of the first Royal Family. While there George was treated as royalty like the rest of the family and while not used to this type of treatment he eventually became used to it as time went on. George was only 18 when his step-grandfather died but was considered one of the more likely candidates for the title of king since he was treated as a son by the late king and had grown up in the Royal Household and was as such elected king by majority.
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Daguerreotype of King George II in his later years by Mathew Brady
George led the country through the Napoleonic Wars where he not only managed to keep it neutral but also acquire the Louisiana Territory making way for settlement in the region. He also led the country through the war of 1812 by leading the country on a 3-year campaign to take British North America annexing the territory in 1815. During the war, he gained the attention of one Major General Andrew Jackson after his heroic victory at the Battle of New Orleans and after the First Seminole War which saw the annexation of Florida, he was given the title of Commanding General of The United Kingdoms Army. George also saw to making an alliance with the French Empire with him marrying Napoléon I’s step-daughter Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte. After the defeat of Russia at the end of the Napoléonic Wars, Russian Alaska would be gifted to the UKA due to its distance from France and proximity to the UKA after the War of 1812.
George would have to deal with several internal issues involving the Slave Debate having to make several compromises such as the Three-Fifths Comprise. Though George was Anti-Slavery he couldn’t abolish slavery without uproar from the southern regions of the country which were dependent on slavery and thus hoped that eventually, it would die out in the South. The issue of slavery would come to a head in 1854 after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which would start a mini-civil war in the Kansas Territory over the vote to see if it would be a Free Providence or a Slave Providence. Not helping his stress due to the issue of slavery becoming more and more violent would be the death of his wife at the age of 54 in 1837 which would force him into a depression that would remain for the rest of his life.
George would die in 1857 at the age of 76.
Frederick of America on a state visit to Prussia in 1865
(3) Frederick of America, born Otto Frederick Ludwig von Bayern of Prussia, second son of the King of Prussia, former King of Greece (1832 to 1843), invited to live his life in exile in America by King George II, eventually becoming an important advisor on European affairs and officially being naturalised, having to abdicate all claims for himself and his line to Bavaria. After the death of George II, Frederick was placed as an outsider amongst those candidates for the throne but Frederick won out, having met all criteria, being over 30, a naturalized citizen and having support of a majority of electors through his diplomatic skills. In 1857, he became King and took Frederick as his regnal name rather than Otho as he had been styled in Greece. Frederick had married Amalia of Oldenburg but she had passed in childbirth leaving Frederick with no heirs, so in 1840, he had remarried to Luise of Lippe who had born him three children, but only after his removal from the Greek throne in 1843.
As Frederick had been forced to abdicate his Prussian and Greek claim prior to his election as King it was determined his Royal House would be von Bayern rather than Wittelsbach.
Frederick only ruled for a decade, his main contribution to the Kingdom being the revision of the electoral process, which would take place prior to the death or abdication of a monarch, ensuring a continuity of government - this figure would be officially known as the King Elect of America, but would be referred to on a daily basis by the non-hereditary title of Duke of Plymouth (referring to Plymouth Rock). This meant that by 1864, his heir was selected and was left to act as Regent during his state visit to Prussia in 1865. Two years later, Frederick would die and his elected heir would succeed him as King Hezekiah
[4] Hezekiah of America, born Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer on December 10, 1814, the posthumous fifth child of Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, 2nd Baron Middletown. He was a grandson of minor Founding Father Titus Hosmer, 1st Baron Middletown who signed the Constitution on behalf of Connecticut. He was not expected to inherit the title Baron Middletown, much less become King of America.
Lord Hezekiah Hosmer would study law in Ohio before beginning a minor political career in the state of Ohio, but unexpectedly gained traction as a dark horse candidate for governor of Ohio, since like many states, Ohio had no prohibition on nobility participating in politics, unlike in the Federal Congress. Hezekiah ran as a Crown Loyalist and won office twice, and he would champion the cause of opening the houses of Congress to the nobility through a constitutional amendment, though it would not come to pass in his lifetime.
However during his time as governor, he would witness the breakdown of America's political parties over the issue of slavery, both the Crown Loyalists and the Republican parties would fracture based on region. The northern free states would support the Northern Crown Loyalists (NCL) and the Liberal Republican Party (LRP), while the southern slave states would support the Autocratic Party (Autocrats) and the Jeffersonian Republican Party (Jeffersonians).
Lord Hezekiah would join with the NCL, though he was seen as a moderate on the issue of slavery, simply wishing to restrict it to the southern states and not letting it expand northward, but would tolerate it expanding in the southern territories.
When the first election for the King-Elect of America began, Lord Hezekiah was not seen as having a remote chance of claiming the crown, however when the delegates deadlocked due to division over slavery, those in the North and South that feared a breakup of the Kingdom agreed on seeking a compromise candidate that both regions could accept. So, they discovered a moderate northern nobleman politician in the form of Lord Hezekiah Louis Hosmer, the governor of Ohio who's final term was coming to an end.
Lord Hezekiah was stunned to be offered the post of King-Elect, but he accepted it as his duty and became the first King-Elect of America, leaving behind his beloved Ohio and bringing his third wife Mary Daniels and small family with him to Philadelphia.
The new King-Elect discovered that King Frederick had become disinterested in most political affairs, believing that the American Monarch should be above 'everyday politics' and be seen as an 'ideal'. King-Elect Hezekiah disagreed with this strongly, seeing the nation fracturing badly because of the growing discontent over slavery and the Deep South's increasing Republican radicalism.
When the Mexican Republic under Santa Anna saw the secessions of Texas, California, and the Mormon State of Deseret, King-Elect Hezekiah supported those who wanted to incorporate the regions into the UKA, however, revolution in Mexico would see the birth of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Agustín II de Iturbide, who wanted to, if not force the Texas Republic, Deseret State, and Republic of California back into the Empire, at least adjust the borders.
The threat of a continent-wide war loomed as King Frederick I died and King Hezekiah I took the throne on May 1, 1867, with a nation seething with anger over the issue of slavery, desiring expansion all the way to the Pacific Ocean to connect with the Alaskan Territory (that was experience a Gold Rush), and a military that was dominated by Southern officers, but the soldiers were mostly from the North.
King Hezekiah began to support a series of reforms within the American military to reinforce discipline, but also to mix up units with men from all regions to try and foster brotherhood. The King also began to make plans for a war with the new nations west of the Louisiana border for land, but the fractured political parties were already arguing about if slavery would be expanded in the lands that were to be taken.
Hezekiah I decided that a way to soothe tensions between the North and the South was to fulfill a long-neglected promise to the Southern States by building a new capital city for the nation. At the time the Kings of America had been residing in the King's Palace in Philadelphia and Congress and the Supreme Court were based in the city of New York. A site was chosen along the banks of the Ohio River where the borders of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois meet, and construction would begin in Hezekiah's reign but would take many years to complete.
The King suffered a personal tragedy when his wife Queen Mary died of typhoid fever in the second year of his reign.
King Hezekiah's reign was cut brutally short when he was assassinated by actor and Southern slavery sympathizer Edwin Booth while attending a concert in Baltimore. Edwin Booth was part of a group of assassins who also tried to murder the King-Elect but failed, their plan was to force the election of a new slavery-sympathetic King to ensure the domination of the Southern States over the nation.
King Hezekiah was succeeded by his King-Elect ____ even as the nation was now on a knife's edge.
(5) Elihu Washburne, born 1816, is said to encapsulate the American story. Born into poverty, he was forced to leave home at 14 in 1830, during the reign of George II. He made his name in the Royal Army during the Kansan War of the 1850's. This somersaulted him into the Court of King Frederick who would subsequently create Elihu as Duke of Livermore, clearly marking him as his desired heir. However, the 1864 Royal Election saw the elevation of Lord Hezekiah Hesmer to the office as King when Elihu was deemed too Anti-Slavery by the southern Kingdoms. However, Hezekiah's subsequent endorsement of Elihu as his prospective successor gained traction gained ground. This decision saw plans by the Boothists to assassinate Hezekiah, Elihu and other major figures. Whilst Hezekiah was killed, the unmarried Elihu survived and immediately took office as King.
In 1870, aged 54, he would marry Mathilde Parke Custis (b. 1850), a granddaughter of George II, over thirty years younger than him, and produced three children - one of whom succeeded him as Duke/Duchess of Livermore (a curious fact about American nobility was that, like many Scottish titles, they could be inherited by a female line).
1871 saw the resumption of the Southern Problem, after the swift and brutal response to the regicide of 1869. The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Jefferson saw Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia officially secede from the Federal Kingdoms and elect Alexander Stephens, Earl of Taliafero, as Chancellor. The ensuing period would be termed a cold War by future historians - the secession of the Kingdoms had been done entirely within the legislative process of America, so Congress and King Elihu had no recourse to open any military conflict with them, which frustrated them no end and which led to minor border skirmishes over minor territorial incursions - a notable event was the execution of a donkey that a town in Jefferson cited as a spy for America because it had strayed across the border, eaten from and then defecated over a farmers prized cabbage patch. By 1880, Jefferson established an Embassy in America and appointed the septagenarian Christopher Hemminger as their first Ambassador.
Elihu and America worked to sway Jefferson from their continued pro-slavery position, having passed their own emancipation laws almost immediately after the secession of Jefferson. America welcomed all those who fled from slavery which caused some agitation for Jefferson.
Since the establishment of the King Elect process, Elihu was the first to see the election of several figures to this role. Either from death due to age or illness, or abdication of office, there were several Dukes of Plymouth appointed - the most notable (other than his eventual successor) was John Breckenridge who defected from America after his election without abdicating his claim to America, thus for a period, a senior member of the Jeffersonian military was King Elect of America. He was replaced in a Special Session of Congress in which a replacement was elected. This was a personal embarrassment to Elihu who personally ensured that defection of a King or King Elect would be deemed treason and that it was an act that would be punishable by death.
Elihu would die in 1887 to be succeeded by Robert A. Lee.
[6] The eldest grandson of famed Virginian aristocrat and General Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee, by his eldest son George and Sophia Mackensen, a scion of Prussian immigrants of land-owning origin, Robert August Lee was from a young age grow into a life of privilege and ceremony, although he was also present for one of the greatest changes ever done in American society - the end of slavery. The early death of his father left him and his three siblings fatherless, and they fell under the joint custody of their grandfather and mother. Due to the wishes of his mother, Robert August was educated in a German-style gymnaseum before eventually transitioning early to Harvard, where the intelligent young man factored in two courses - law (chosen by his grandfather) and engineering (chosen by his mother). Robert August Lee not only succeeded in getting diplomas for both but also used his stay in Harvard to get to known much of the new crop that dominated American society. Thus, he became kind of a small celebrity, famous for his strange and mixed views.
A picture of young Robert A. Lee following his graduation from West Point and his elevation to Lieutenant-General of the UKA.
Following his results in Harvard, Robert A. Lee once more went into his studies at the beck and call of his mother and in his attempt to emulate his grandfather and great-grandfather, George Washington. Entering West Point Academy at the age of 24, much older than the majority of other cadets, Robert A. Lee would storm the next four years at West Point, finishing with an overall score of 1997 out a possible 2000, and is to this day the highest ever rated gradute to ever come out of West Point, with his grandfather being the fourth highest ever. Joining the US Army as a Captain, Robert A. Lee participated in the many brief "frontier" wars with Jefferson, and also in military adventures in Central America, the Pacific and served as an American military advisor in Colombia. Robert A. Lee was famous for his unfitting views for the America of the time - he is considered the creator and thinker of what would eventually coalesce into the Progressive party during his reign. The letter he sent to the New York Times when asked what he envisioned the future of America to be was, holds a phrase that marked the ascension of the Progressives "From Sea to Shining Sea, the manifestation of our great American dynasty cannot come through disunity. The shackles of class, race and ethnicity, and religious denomination cannot interfere in the building of the American Fate. In this Empire of Freedom, every man must stand and die for each other!"
His anti-corporate, pro-labor, imperialistic and nationalistic views, alongside his strong character should have been a brake on his carrer, but instead, Robert A. Lee was positioned by many senators as the man who could finally bridge the South-North divide, and lead America in the recovery of the chaotic Jefferson, to the South. Standing in the way of Robert was his youth, King Elihu's eldest and perhaps the greatest scandal of his career, or, as Robert A. Lee would call it, his lady love. Charlotte Parker was born to Francis Parker, the second son of a Mississippi planter who, upon abolition, moved to Appalachian Kentucky, investing his family's remaining finances in coal mining. A successful businessman who became famous in the region, Parker would however "move against society" by returning to Mississippi to marry Eleanor Powell Parker, a young woman born to slaves on his father's plantation. The new Lady Parker (as Francis was eventually made a Baron) was, perhaps, the first black noblewoman in the whole of the UKA. Charlotte and Robert would meet in Tenesse in 1885, during a visit by Robert of extended family there. As what the tradition with Southern Nobility, Robert contacted Baron Parker to engage in courtship with his daughter, and it was the news of this courtship that almost destroyed Robert's political career. While abolitionism had won over in America, racism and segregation had, if not legal, became somewhat of the norm, and many still viewed inter-racial marriages with a bad light. It was only after significant bribery by Robert's supporters and especially by his soon-to-be father-in-law that saw Robert elected... alongside the possibility of a slave rising in Jefferson, which would indeed happen.
"Portrait of Duchess Charlotte Lee" - A romanticist portrait taken of Queen Charlotte just after her marriage and before her husband's coronation.
The entrance of Lady Charlotte into the Lee family, was, in a way, a mirror of what would eventually happen with the entrance of America's first black queen. Robert's uncle William, had, for some long years now, ran the Duchy of Stratford and the Lee's lesser titles - such as Earl of Lexington or Baron Arlington, and the lands associated with them, while Robert followed his military and political career. Thus, in the vast repertoire that belonged to the Lee family, it was William who had "become" the patriarch. Once a plantar, William had been very much hostile to Charlotte at their first meeting, lamenting how his nephew would mix with the blood of slaves, but the Lee family were turned by Charlotte. Queen Charlotte, whom, in modern times, is associated more to her slave ancestors than to her slaver ones, was, in fact, the preferred daughter of her father, a prominent industrialist and someone who himself belonged to the planter class, and thus she was raised with similar morals to the rest, was used to the same styles, behaviours and even ideas, being much more conservative than her husband, for example, and was all around describe as a charming character who, given enough time, could make anyone like her. And so it was true. Despite Robert's marriage being extremely unpopular in the majority of America at the time, by the end of their lives Robert and Charlotte's "illegal marriage" was mostly if not completely forgotten, and their marriage essentially served to destroy much of the preconcept around interracial marriages. As described by their daughter, Mary Mildred Lee, in 1932, "I think Papa and Mama were very much in love for all their days". The couple would have eight children, all of whom were born during Robert's reign.
With the death of Elihu, Robert August became Robert the I, three issues were principal - the finishing of the new Capital, the ongoing civil war in Jefferson and the continuation of American growth. A firm Nationalist, Robert tackled the two first ones. While much of the city of what would eventually became Washington, District of Columbia was already done - Robert impacted his own changes in the city. Robert was part of an ever-expanding American - even demographically, and thus, he dreamed of a city "that could host millions and millions", should have plenty of greenery and should have plenty of recreational spaces for the population. With these additions in place, Robert officially cut the tape on the new capital and moved into "Liberty House", or more appropriately, palace, that is still to this day the home of American Kings.
The Slaver Republic of Jefferson in the south had fallen into civil war after the downfall of American cotton in the world market lead to a severe depression in the Republic. Many started to look back and wanted to re-join America, some simply wanted to keep things they were, while some wanted to renew Jefferson in the shape of America, but, in an independent fashion. All of these factors would explode into the Jefferson civil war, which Robert would waste no time in intervening on after Jeffersonian state soldiers crossed into America and raided various farm along the border of Louisiana, desperate for food and supplies. The American invasion of Jefferson ended with Jefferson quickly re-annex by America and by the start of the age of "Reconstruction" - as defined by Georgian senator Bill Mainsly - "Reconstruct Society, Reconstruct the Economy, Reconstruct the land, Reconstruct our Union, Reconstruct our Destiny". Reconstruction is loosely attributed from having lasted from 1889 to 1901, one of the greatest ages of American growth and investment ever. Civil rights were ratified, in an effort to prepare America for an "Imperial Future" and to unify society. The industrial dominance of the North and North-East was to spread to all corners of America, especially to the South and those Kingdoms whom had belonged to Jefferson, who were massively behind economically. The Mid-West and the West were in a race to be settled, and indeed many would become Kingdoms of their own during Robert's reign, as massive fluxes of people moved westwards and towards the interior of the country during these times. The Armed Forces were invested in massively, with the navy becoming world-spanning while the army became one of the fiercest in the world. School curicullum's were ratified, improved and modernized, schooling became obrigatory until the age of sixteen, agriculture was modernized and railways became common in every single corner of the country. A national, public health system was put in place and American workers and their families were backed with government-provided social security.
Besides the Reconstruction era, Robert is also remembered for his nationalistic, imperialist character. During his reign, America expanded vastly in size. The Anglo-Spanish war of 1894-1895 saw Cuba, Puerto Rico and many pacific islands become American territories, while the Philippines were made an antonomous vassal-colony under local princes, Hawwai was made an autonomous Kingdom of the Union, Alaska was purchased from Russia, Baja California and Sonora conquered from Mexico in the world war that shook the rest of the world - but America in 1911-1914. America became the model society, and the vast natural growth of many European states - France, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Danubia (The Federation of states that became Danubia evolved from the autocratic Austrian Empire after coming out victorious on the side of Great Britain, Germany and America) saw millions of Europeans immigrate to the new world. The last census taken during his reign, 1920, put the American population at almost 140000000 people.
Robert would die from cancer in 1924, leaving behind his wife and children. He was succeded by King-Elect Valentin of Evesham.
Valentin as the Duke of Plymouth, sometime in the early 1920s
[7] On the 19th of April, 1882, Valentin Johann Adalbert was born to Herman, Duke of Evesham and Laurel, and Alderose, Baroness Crestwood. From an early age, the young noble boy aspired to join the army since the juvenile heavily grew up with aspiring tales of heroes of wars such as the one of American Independence told to him by his mother. However, upon completing his adolescence, Valentin decided to pursue a career in the navy as his sweetheart, Lady Emma Vernon, insisted that he would be more skilled at sea. This, turned out to be true, as Valentin was much more attuned to the naval craft at Hainesport. After his time at the academy had finished, Valentin rose through the ranks of the navy for the following decade and a half. His defining and most famous moment as a naval commander was when Valentin attacked several Socialist-Revolutionary strongholds in the Far East during the Russian Civil War. His actions during the civil war resulted in him being awarded both by the Russian Tsar and the American King. And, when he returned back to the United Kingdoms, he was welcomed with a certain level of fame, which caught the attention of several Washingtonian courtiers, who urged him to seek the position of the Duke of Plymouth after the death of the former office-holder. To his astonishment, Valentin won the position due to his rising popularity, which, unfortunately, Valentin would not be able to capitalize on much when he became the monarch of the United Kingdoms. Being the victim of an assassination carried out by a rumored anarchist and fervent anti-monarchist, Bryan Broyles, occurring merely a few months after his ascension. He would be succeeded by King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte.
[8] King Jerome Robert Napoleon Bonaparte was born on November 30, 1878, in Baltimore, Maryland. the only son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 2nd Viscount Whetstone Point, the son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, 1st Viscount Whetstone Point, the illegitimate son of Jerome Bonaparte, the brother of Emperor Napoleon I and briefly the King of Westphalia. Like his father who had served both in the American Royal Army and the French Foreign Legion, young Lord Jerome Bonaparte desired a military career from an early age, at age 18 he enrolled at West Point and graduated 15th in the class of 1900.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point after graduation from West Point.
The young Viscount (his father having passed away a few years prior) eagerly volunteered to join the American Volunteer Forces that were being sent to Russia to assist the White Faction in dealing with the massive socialist uprising that had erupted in the aftermath of the failed Russo-Japanese War. the Russian Civil War (1905-1909) would see the Whites ultimately prevail against the Reds, but at great cost and the aftermath would see former Tsar Nicholas II's brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich installed as Tsar Michael II of Russia, albeit as a powerless figurehead of a ruined nation that saw many of its Eastern European territories and the Caucasus nations successfully breakaway. During the war the young Viscount served bravely, quickly climbing up the ranks to Lieutenant after his heroism in the Battle of Ashkhabad and later in the Battle for Moscow.
After the war the young and handsome war hero was courted by several ladies, however the young Bonaparte Prince had his eyes on quite the lady. During the celebrations in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War the young Viscount met a Montenegrin Princess named Princess Vjera, the youngest daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro. While normally a mere Viscount would never be eligible to marry a royal Princess, Nicholas I of Montenegro had despaired of either of his youngest daughters ever marrying and felt that a Bonaparte match would be good for the Montenegrin Royal House, even though the French Empire no longer dominated Europe like it did in the 19th century, the Bonaparte's still had prestige.
Jerome Napoleon, 3rd Viscount Whetstone Point and Princess Vjera of Montenegro married six months later and would ultimately have four children.
Upon returning to America the Viscount learned that the 18th Amendment of the American Constitution had passed two months before war's end, this amendment would remove the last barriers to the nobility in serving in the American government, they could now run for Federal offices in the Senate, but the House of Representatives would remain reserved for the 'regular citizens'. Seeing an opportunity (and with prompting from his distant father in law), the Viscount ran for and won the race for Senator of Maryland in 1911 as a member of the Third Crown Loyalist Party, opposing both the Progressive Party and the Conservative Party.
The young Viscount championed improvements to the nation's infrastructure, and also supported the 'Mexican faction', the faction of American politicians opposed to the aggressive expansion of the nation beyond the Rio Grande river. The Viscount believed that the nation had expanded enough on the North American continent by bringing the Republics of Texas, California, and the Deseret State in earlier decades (and were still dealing with low-level insurgents until the 1930's). Instead the Viscount suggested the purchase of Britain's colonial holdings in the Caribbean and Central America, though this would not come to pass during his time as a Senator.
Jerome Napoleon was among the randomly chosen electors who voted for the ascension of King-Elect Valentin and was horrified when the newly crowned King was murdered barely a year into his reign. While not chosen as an elector for the 1925 Election for the King (the King-Elect had not yet been chosen), Jerome was aware that his name was being floated as a possible candidate, but at age 47 he suspected that he was still too young to be chosen.
It was to his astonishment that three days later the Electors had chosen him to be the next King of America. King Jerome I of America, the first to ascend to the throne directly since King Frederick, would take the throne a year prior to the outbreak of the Second World War (1926-1932), the nations of Europe would finally come to blows over who would be the dominate power not just in Europe, but the world. The alliances blocks that had been built up for decades quickly collapsed, turning the conflict into a brutal free-for-all, a war made worse when a Communist Revolution broke out in Great Britain, successfully overthrowing the British Monarchy, killing many senior members and driving others into exile and causing the British Empire to shatter.
King Jerome, who had steered America into neutrality from the distant war, decided to take full advantage of the Communist uprising, he negotiated with the Dominion of Canada to elect a minor member of the House of Windsor (Prince Arthur of Connaught) as the first King of Canada, but needing American support to keep his new crown, Canada had become an American puppet state. Meanwhile the United Kingdoms of America quickly annexed the former British territories in the Americas, including 'British Honduras' (Belize), and the Falkland Islands.
While the Communists successfully took over Great Britain, Ireland was supported by France and managed to gain independence as the Irish Princedom under a minor member of House Bonaparte. Toward the end of the Great War it was King Jerome who was chosen as an arbitrator, the American King might have been a member of House Bonaparte, but he had kept his distance from his French relatives (who still looked down on him for being a 'bastard' descendant) so the German and Danubia Empires were willing to trust him. The King was able to hammer out a settlement that would see the Great Powers exchange minor territories in Europe, while the main horse-trading was over Britain's former colonies all over the world, many of which were rejecting Communist takeovers by Communist Britain in favor of attempts at independence. King Jerome I also helped the German-Danubia Alliance set up several puppet-kingdoms in Eastern Europe, while also helping his French relatives gain the crown jewel of the former British Empire, the Indian subcontinent, while America took Britain's Asian holdings, including Port Arthur, Hong Kong, and purchased Macau from Portugal.
Coping with the stress of a world at war saw King Jerome smoke heavily, which is widely believed to have wrecked his health and he developed a then rare disease known as lung cancer in 1933, but even while slowly dying the King oversaw the third and final election for King-Elect of America, his first two possible successors had both died of old age.
On December 5th, 1934 the King slipped into a coma and never woke up, a brief unofficial regency under his wife would follow due to hiding his condition before King Jerome died on February 7th, 1935 at age 56.
King Jerome's successor was _____.
[9] "America, where any b*****d son can claim the highest office in the land and nobody will bat an eyelid ..." "Greeks, Frenchmen and Spaniards, Oh My!" - Gonzalo, illegitimate but acknowledged son of the Spanish King, granted the courtesy title of Count of Sampedro by his half-brother, left Europe in his late teens, and settled in the United Kingdoms. His royal connections, however minor and illegitimate made him a social butterfly among the elite of New York during the twenties, and he was swiftly married to socialite Lady Louisa Vanderbilt, daughter of the Earl of Staten Island, one of the richest men in the Kingdom's. The Earl was rich, but had no wish to put himself into the sights of the Electoral Committee, and when King Elect Charles (Curtis) died in 1934, the Earl placed his young son in law in the line for the throne. He narrowly met the criteria with regards to citizenship, but as his foreign title did not place him in line for the Spanish crown - there were many other legitimate heirs ahead of him - he was permitted to retain it (as King Elihu had retained his Dukedom of Livermore throughout his reign and it had been inherited by his son) and it would be his preferred title even whilst he was entitled to the style of Duke of Plymouth. A short period later, though, King Jerome died and Gonzalo became King - and would see a reign that would almost equal that of King George II.
The Vanderbilt fortune had propped up his candidacy and Gonzalo found himself unprepared for the responsibilities outside of the ceremonial and devolved much of the day to day duties formerly undertaken by the King to the King Elect and the Upper House of government. This catalysed a transformation of American politics - the King was Head of State, but the King Elect was essentially the Head of Government, a defacto Prime Minister in the British sense. And in this restructure of the role of King, Gonzalo and Louisa thrived, whilst the Earl focused on using his funds to manipulate those who sat in the Upper House, using his sons veto to put a strike through any candidate for King Elect that went against his interests.
The period 1940 to 1950 is often mockingly termed The Vanderbilt Regency. In 1950, the Earl of Staten Island died, and his heir proved ineffective in exerting any influence in government. The election for King Elect of 1952 was therefore free of the Vanderbilt influence. But 1966 saw another election - and the nomination of the King's son as King Elect. Whilst this wasn't specifically outlawed and several of the previous King Elects and Kings had familial connections, this was the first time a son would have been designated to succeed his father, were it successful.
In 1975, King Gonzalo died and King Elect ........... was elevated to the throne.
[10 ] - Born in 1940 as the first son of the Duke of Iowa, Chuck of House Norris was a shy child. He was shy, not athletic and academically average. As painful as it was, his own father contemplated making his brothers his heir instead of himself due to this. Believing that it would be better if he chose his own path, he enlisted in the Air Force in 1958 as a pilot. On a mission to Asia in 1959, he came into contact with a Chinese Kung-Fu expert who taught him Kung-Fu after the two hit off and it is here that his nickname Chuck came into being. A nickname that he would eventually adopt as his official name.
In 1962 he took an honorable discharge from the Air Force to pursue a career in Martial Arts, but this ambition was put on hold after his father died that year. He ascended to the position of Duke of Iowa, but nevertheless, he continued his career in Martial Arts, eventually creating a small scandal when he married a female wrestler of very low origins in 1965. His career in Martial Arts skyrocketed him to the forefront of the public and by the year he married, he was known as the Sturdy Duke, for he was unbeaten in any martial competition in the United States. Eventually by 1969 his name was submitted to the Election Committee for the position of King-Elect. His friendship with King Gonzalo who was a fan of his fighting style ensured his patronage as well. In 1972 he was elected as King-Elect and when King Gonzalo died, Chuck became King of America.
The 47 year reign of King Chuck has been very prosperous for the nation comparatively, and Chuck continues to be very popular among the people.
POD: St. Margaret of Scotland's Nomination to the Witenagemot succeeds in 1066 over Harold Godwinson
List of Kings and Queens of England
1040 - 1042: Harthacnut (House of Denmark)
1042 - 1066: Edward the Confessor (House of Wessex)
1066 - 1108: Margaret I 'The Pious' (House of Wessex) [1]
Margaret I of England, England's first female monarch
[1] - Born in 1045 as the daughter of Edward Aetheling, Margaret I had the support of dynastic legitimacy with her when her supporters enrolled her nomination to the Witenagemot in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor - who had been a dear uncle/great-uncle to Margaret I as well. The powerful Earl of Essex, Harold Godwinson made his claim on the English Throne on the basis of Edward the Confessor promising him the throne. It was believed that Harold would take the throne due to his immense power, but surprisingly all, the Witenagemot selected Margaret I on the basis of her dynastic heritage, surprising even Margaret I from her castle near Hampton. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer and entered London in January 1066 as Queen of the English, the first female monarch of England. But immediately crisis enveloped Europe as not only did Harold Godwinson lay claim to the throne, but so did King Harald of Norway and Duke William of Normandy. Margaret's first weeks and months of rule were immediately seized by war councils being called throughout England to prepare for war. Margaret's Witenagemot marched on Essex and executed Harold Godwinson quickly but in mid-1066 the Norwegian Fleet invaded from the north. Though Margaret I did not fight personally on the field and left the fighting to her commanders, like the Earl of York, she did lead the administrative efforts and visited the troops often. Harald's Invasion failed with the man dead in a ditch somewhere near Stirling Bridge. On 12 September 1066, the Earl of Hampton also defeated William of Normandy's invasion, ending the 1066 Crisis and cementing Margaret I's position as Queen of the English.
Immediately after the war, efforts were made by Margaret I to find a suitable husband. After years of diplomatic struggling and politicking, Margaret I married Malcolm III of the Scots in 1069, accepted by both the Witenagemot and the Council of Scotland - though the Council of Scotland made it clear that a child of the union would be King of both Kingdoms, the Kingdoms would remain separate as different legal entities. Margaret I and Malcolm III held no power in the other's realm other than the Monarch's spouse. The two would have six children with one another of which 5 would grow into adulthood. Margaret I was opposed to war, but in 1074, on the insistence of her husband, Anglo-Scottish forces entered the Kingdom of Strathclyde and annexed it (partitioning it between the two Kingdoms). That was the only offensive war Margaret I's England partook in throughout the entirety of Margaret I's life. Margaret I gained much praise for her piety. She attended charity works, and she granted generous donations to orphans and the poor of England, often touring England whenever she felt like it. She also toured Scotland on multiple occasions. She also reformed the Church to be more in line with Rome. She was also a moderating influence on her husband, and alongside England, Scotland prospered as well. A small hiccup came when Irish pirates attacked the English western coast in 1092, but they were driven back by the newly created English Navy. In 1108, after ruling England for 42 years in a reign known as Gloria Margaretae or Glory of Margaret, Margaret I died at the age of 63. She was canonized as St. Margaret after her death. She was succeeded by__________.
List of Kings and Queens of England
1040 - 1042: Harthacnut (House of Denmark)
1042 - 1066: Edward the Confessor (House of Wessex)
1066 - 1108: Margaret I 'The Pious' (House of Wessex) [1]
[1] - Born in 1045 as the daughter of Edward Aetheling, Margaret I had the support of dynastic legitimacy with her when her supporters enrolled her nomination to the Witenagemot in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor - who had been a dear uncle/great-uncle to Margaret I as well. The powerful Earl of Essex, Harold Godwinson made his claim on the English Throne on the basis of Edward the Confessor promising him the throne. It was believed that Harold would take the throne due to his immense power, but surprisingly all, the Witenagemot selected Margaret I on the basis of her dynastic heritage, surprising even Margaret I from her castle near Hampton. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer and entered London in January 1066 as Queen of the English, the first female monarch of England. But immediately crisis enveloped Europe as not only did Harold Godwinson lay claim to the throne, but so did King Harald of Norway and Duke William of Normandy. Margaret's first weeks and months of rule were immediately seized by war councils being called throughout England to prepare for war. Margaret's Witenagemot marched on Essex and executed Harold Godwinson quickly but in mid-1066 the Norwegian Fleet invaded from the north. Though Margaret I did not fight personally on the field and left the fighting to her commanders, like the Earl of York, she did lead the administrative efforts and visited the troops often. Harald's Invasion failed with the man dead in a ditch somewhere near Stirling Bridge. On 12 September 1066, the Earl of Hampton also defeated William of Normandy's invasion, ending the 1066 Crisis and cementing Margaret I's position as Queen of the English.
Immediately after the war, efforts were made by Margaret I to find a suitable husband. After years of diplomatic struggling and politicking, Margaret I married Malcolm III of the Scots in 1069, accepted by both the Witenagemot and the Council of Scotland - though the Council of Scotland made it clear that a child of the union would be King of both Kingdoms, the Kingdoms would remain separate as different legal entities. Margaret I and Malcolm III held no power in the other's realm other than the Monarch's spouse. The two would have six children with one another of which 5 would grow into adulthood. Margaret I was opposed to war, but in 1074, on the insistence of her husband, Anglo-Scottish forces entered the Kingdom of Strathclyde and annexed it (partitioning it between the two Kingdoms). That was the only offensive war Margaret I's England partook in throughout the entirety of Margaret I's life. Margaret I gained much praise for her piety. She attended charity works, and she granted generous donations to orphans and the poor of England, often touring England whenever she felt like it. She also toured Scotland on multiple occasions. She also reformed the Church to be more in line with Rome. She was also a moderating influence on her husband, and alongside England, Scotland prospered as well. A small hiccup came when Irish pirates attacked the English western coast in 1092, but they were driven back by the newly created English Navy. In 1108, after ruling England for 42 years in a reign known as Gloria Margaretae or Glory of Margaret, Margaret I died at the age of 63. She was canonized as St. Margaret after her death. She was succeeded by__________.
POD: St. Margaret of Scotland's Nomination to the Witenagemot succeeds in 1066 over Harold Godwinson
List of Kings and Queens of England
1040 - 1042: Harthacnut I (House of Denmark)
1042 - 1066: Edward I the Confessor (House of Wessex)
1066 - 1108: Margaret I 'The Pious' (House of Wessex) [1]
List of Kings and Queens of England & Scotland
1108-1120: Edgar I and II "the Valiant" (House of Dunkeld) [2]
View attachment 760630
Margaret I of England, England's first female monarch
[1] - Born in 1045 as the daughter of Edward Aetheling, Margaret I had the support of dynastic legitimacy with her when her supporters enrolled her nomination to the Witenagemot in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor - who had been a dear uncle/great-uncle to Margaret I as well. The powerful Earl of Essex, Harold Godwinson made his claim on the English Throne on the basis of Edward the Confessor promising him the throne. It was believed that Harold would take the throne due to his immense power, but surprisingly all, the Witenagemot selected Margaret I on the basis of her dynastic heritage, surprising even Margaret I from her castle near Hampton. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer and entered London in January 1066 as Queen of the English, the first female monarch of England. But immediately crisis enveloped Europe as not only did Harold Godwinson lay claim to the throne, but so did King Harald of Norway and Duke William of Normandy. Margaret's first weeks and months of rule were immediately seized by war councils being called throughout England to prepare for war. Margaret's Witenagemot marched on Essex and executed Harold Godwinson quickly but in mid-1066 the Norwegian Fleet invaded from the north. Though Margaret I did not fight personally on the field and left the fighting to her commanders, like the Earl of York, she did lead the administrative efforts and visited the troops often. Harald's Invasion failed with the man dead in a ditch somewhere near Stirling Bridge. On 12 September 1066, the Earl of Hampton also defeated William of Normandy's invasion, ending the 1066 Crisis and cementing Margaret I's position as Queen of the English.
Immediately after the war, efforts were made by Margaret I to find a suitable husband. After years of diplomatic struggling and politicking, Margaret I married Malcolm III of the Scots in 1069, accepted by both the Witenagemot and the Council of Scotland - though the Council of Scotland made it clear that a child of the union would be King of both Kingdoms, the Kingdoms would remain separate as different legal entities. Margaret I and Malcolm III held no power in the other's realm other than the Monarch's spouse. The two would have six children with one another of which 5 would grow into adulthood. Margaret I was opposed to war, but in 1074, on the insistence of her husband, Anglo-Scottish forces entered the Kingdom of Strathclyde and annexed it (partitioning it between the two Kingdoms). That was the only offensive war Margaret I's England partook in throughout the entirety of Margaret I's life. Margaret I gained much praise for her piety. She attended charity works, and she granted generous donations to orphans and the poor of England, often touring England whenever she felt like it. She also toured Scotland on multiple occasions. She also reformed the Church to be more in line with Rome. She was also a moderating influence on her husband, and alongside England, Scotland prospered as well. A small hiccup came when Irish pirates attacked the English western coast in 1092, but they were driven back by the newly created English Navy. In 1108, after ruling England for 42 years in a reign known as Gloria Margaretae or Glory of Margaret, Margaret I died at the age of 63. She was canonized as St. Margaret after her death. She was succeeded by her son, Edgar.
[2] Edgar was the first born son of his parents. He became King of Scotland in 1097, fighting off a rebellion started by his uncle Duncan, earning him the nickname of the Valiant. Ten years later his mother would die and he rose to the throne. In his personal life, he married Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, his childhood friend and a woman he was well known to dote on to the point of bringing her with him to Scotland after he defeated his uncle. Their marriage caused a bit of a scandal as everyone had expected him to marry a daughter of France. However, Edgar made it clear he would have no other woman aside from his Maud. The pair would soon inspire many tales of their epic romance, with some being more accurate than others. They would have seven children with four living to adulthood. Maud proved herself to be a capable queen, ruling England in her husband's name while he was on his Wales campaign.
Edgar and his brothers were eager to show their dominance over the rest of the British isles and in 1114, war was declared. Edgar lead his army to invade Wales, Subrogation the kingdom of Gwent, dividing it up among his favored councilors. He continued marching through South-East Wales, conquering as much land as he could, granting it to men he could trust, including his younger brothers.
Henry, Duke of Normandy made an alliance with the princes of Wales in hopes in exchange for their support of Henry pushing the claim he had from his father, William, Duke of Normandy on the English. In retaliation, Edgar sought an alliance with Louis VI of France, arranging a dynastic match, this also smoothed any ruffled feathers for Edgar's decision to snub a French wife for his beloved Maud. He even insisted on going to France himself so he could negotiate with his fellow king in person instead of sending an envoy. Unfortunately this would prove to be his undoing as his ship sink in the English Channel in what would be known as the White Ship tragedy. He would be remembered as a pious, ambitious, affable king, his_____would succeed him as monarch.
List of Kings and Queens of England
1040 - 1042: Harthacnut I (House of Denmark)
1042 - 1066: Edward I the Confessor (House of Wessex)
1066 - 1108: Margaret I 'The Pious' (House of Wessex) [1]
List of Kings and Queens of England & Scotland
1108-1120: Edgar I and II "the Valiant" (House of Dunkeld) [2]
View attachment 760630
Margaret I of England, England's first female monarch
[1] - Born in 1045 as the daughter of Edward Aetheling, Margaret I had the support of dynastic legitimacy with her when her supporters enrolled her nomination to the Witenagemot in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor - who had been a dear uncle/great-uncle to Margaret I as well. The powerful Earl of Essex, Harold Godwinson made his claim on the English Throne on the basis of Edward the Confessor promising him the throne. It was believed that Harold would take the throne due to his immense power, but surprisingly all, the Witenagemot selected Margaret I on the basis of her dynastic heritage, surprising even Margaret I from her castle near Hampton. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer and entered London in January 1066 as Queen of the English, the first female monarch of England. But immediately crisis enveloped Europe as not only did Harold Godwinson lay claim to the throne, but so did King Harald of Norway and Duke William of Normandy. Margaret's first weeks and months of rule were immediately seized by war councils being called throughout England to prepare for war. Margaret's Witenagemot marched on Essex and executed Harold Godwinson quickly but in mid-1066 the Norwegian Fleet invaded from the north. Though Margaret I did not fight personally on the field and left the fighting to her commanders, like the Earl of York, she did lead the administrative efforts and visited the troops often. Harald's Invasion failed with the man dead in a ditch somewhere near Stirling Bridge. On 12 September 1066, the Earl of Hampton also defeated William of Normandy's invasion, ending the 1066 Crisis and cementing Margaret I's position as Queen of the English.
Immediately after the war, efforts were made by Margaret I to find a suitable husband. After years of diplomatic struggling and politicking, Margaret I married Malcolm III of the Scots in 1069, accepted by both the Witenagemot and the Council of Scotland - though the Council of Scotland made it clear that a child of the union would be King of both Kingdoms, the Kingdoms would remain separate as different legal entities. Margaret I and Malcolm III held no power in the other's realm other than the Monarch's spouse. The two would have six children with one another of which 5 would grow into adulthood. Margaret I was opposed to war, but in 1074, on the insistence of her husband, Anglo-Scottish forces entered the Kingdom of Strathclyde and annexed it (partitioning it between the two Kingdoms). That was the only offensive war Margaret I's England partook in throughout the entirety of Margaret I's life. Margaret I gained much praise for her piety. She attended charity works, and she granted generous donations to orphans and the poor of England, often touring England whenever she felt like it. She also toured Scotland on multiple occasions. She also reformed the Church to be more in line with Rome. She was also a moderating influence on her husband, and alongside England, Scotland prospered as well. A small hiccup came when Irish pirates attacked the English western coast in 1092, but they were driven back by the newly created English Navy. In 1108, after ruling England for 42 years in a reign known as Gloria Margaretae or Glory of Margaret, Margaret I died at the age of 63. She was canonized as St. Margaret after her death. She was succeeded by her son, Edgar.
[2] Edgar was the first born son of his parents. He became King of Scotland in 1097, fighting off a rebellion started by his uncle Duncan, earning him the nickname of the Valiant. Ten years later his mother would die and he rose to the throne. In his personal life, he married Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, his childhood friend and a woman he was well known to dote on to the point of bringing her with him to Scotland after he defeated his uncle. Their marriage caused a bit of a scandal as everyone had expected him to marry a daughter of France. However, Edgar made it clear he would have no other woman aside from his Maud. The pair would soon inspire many tales of their epic romance, with some being more accurate than others. They would have seven children with four living to adulthood. Maud proved herself to be a capable queen, ruling England in her husband's name while he was on his Wales campaign.
Edgar and his brothers were eager to show their dominance over the rest of the British isles and in 1114, war was declared. Edgar lead his army to invade Wales, Subrogation the kingdom of Gwent, dividing it up among his favored councilors. He continued marching through South-East Wales, conquering as much land as he could, granting it to men he could trust, including his younger brothers.
Henry, Duke of Normandy made an alliance with the princes of Wales in hopes in exchange for their support of Henry pushing the claim he had from his father, William, Duke of Normandy on the English. In retaliation, Edgar sought an alliance with Louis VI of France, arranging a dynastic match, this also smoothed any ruffled feathers for Edgar's decision to snub a French wife for his beloved Maud. He even insisted on going to France himself so he could negotiate with his fellow king in person instead of sending an envoy. Unfortunately this would prove to be his undoing as his ship sink in the English Channel in what would be known as the White Ship tragedy. He would be remembered as a pious, ambitious, affable king, his_____would succeed him as monarch.
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Just a quick question but if the Witengamot was going off Dynastic Legitimacy then why would they choose Margaret and not her brother Edgar who was IRL was actually elected as King after the death of Harold?
Source? I don't recall reading anywhere that she was ever even considered at all for the position in her lifetime let alone brought up as a choice on the witangomet. Her wiki page at least mentions no such thing ever occurring at all
@सार्थक (Sārthākā) @Viking25 This may not be better, but why don't we just have Margaret's brother dying before Edward the Confessor?
Yeah that would be a good idea. Child mortality rates were pretty damn high back then after all but then again for all we know with Edgar dead Harold who was apparently Polygamous in real life may take the opportunity to marry her to secure his own claim on the throne instead.
I think we've talked about this before too, skipping forty seven years in a sentence just feels like trying to be the one who ends the TL.
It also disregards several things that were set up in prior instalments - that Gonzalo was trying to get his son picked as King Elect so I can ensure you that he would not have endorsed the above (and I left the outcome unclear so the next person could explain), that the King Elect role had transformed into an effective Prime Minister role so if he were picked as King , he would have also been defacto head of government until his elevation.
POD: St. Margaret of Scotland's Nomination to the Witenagemot succeeds in 1066 over Harold Godwinson
List of Kings and Queens of England
1040 - 1042: Harthacnut I (House of Denmark)
1042 - 1066: Edward I the Confessor (House of Wessex)
1066 - 1108: Margaret I 'The Pious' (House of Wessex) [1]
List of Kings and Queens of England & Scotland
1108-1120: Edgar I and II "The Valiant" (House of Dunkeld) [2]
1120-1157: David I “The Gallant” (House of Dunkeld) [3]
Margaret I of England, England's first female monarch
[1] - Born in 1045 as the daughter of Edward Aetheling, Margaret I had the support of dynastic legitimacy with her when her supporters enrolled her nomination to the Witenagemot in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor - who had been a dear uncle/great-uncle to Margaret I as well. The powerful Earl of Essex, Harold Godwinson made his claim on the English Throne on the basis of Edward the Confessor promising him the throne. It was believed that Harold would take the throne due to his immense power, but surprisingly all, the Witenagemot selected Margaret I on the basis of her dynastic heritage, surprising even Margaret I from her castle near Hampton. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer and entered London in January 1066 as Queen of the English, the first female monarch of England. But immediately crisis enveloped Europe as not only did Harold Godwinson lay claim to the throne, but so did King Harald of Norway and Duke William of Normandy. Margaret's first weeks and months of rule were immediately seized by war councils being called throughout England to prepare for war. Margaret's Witenagemot marched on Essex and executed Harold Godwinson quickly but in mid-1066 the Norwegian Fleet invaded from the north. Though Margaret I did not fight personally on the field and left the fighting to her commanders, like the Earl of York, she did lead the administrative efforts and visited the troops often. Harald's Invasion failed with the man dead in a ditch somewhere near Stirling Bridge. On 12 September 1066, the Earl of Hampton also defeated William of Normandy's invasion, ending the 1066 Crisis and cementing Margaret I's position as Queen of the English.
Immediately after the war, efforts were made by Margaret I to find a suitable husband. After years of diplomatic struggling and politicking, Margaret I married Malcolm III of the Scots in 1069, accepted by both the Witenagemot and the Council of Scotland - though the Council of Scotland made it clear that a child of the union would be King of both Kingdoms, the Kingdoms would remain separate as different legal entities. Margaret I and Malcolm III held no power in the other's realm other than the Monarch's spouse. The two would have six children with one another of which 5 would grow into adulthood. Margaret I was opposed to war, but in 1074, on the insistence of her husband, Anglo-Scottish forces entered the Kingdom of Strathclyde and annexed it (partitioning it between the two Kingdoms). That was the only offensive war Margaret I's England partook in throughout the entirety of Margaret I's life. Margaret I gained much praise for her piety. She attended charity works, and she granted generous donations to orphans and the poor of England, often touring England whenever she felt like it. She also toured Scotland on multiple occasions. She also reformed the Church to be more in line with Rome. She was also a moderating influence on her husband, and alongside England, Scotland prospered as well. A small hiccup came when Irish pirates attacked the English western coast in 1092, but they were driven back by the newly created English Navy. In 1108, after ruling England for 42 years in a reign known as Gloria Margaretae or Glory of Margaret, Margaret I died at the age of 63. She was canonized as St. Margaret after her death. She was succeeded by her son, Edgar.
[2] Edgar was the first born son of his parents. He became King of Scotland in 1097, fighting off a rebellion started by his uncle Duncan, earning him the nickname of the Valiant. Ten years later his mother would die and he rose to the throne. In his personal life, he married Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, his childhood friend and a woman he was well known to dote on to the point of bringing her with him to Scotland after he defeated his uncle. Their marriage caused a bit of a scandal as everyone had expected him to marry a daughter of France. However, Edgar made it clear he would have no other woman aside from his Maud. The pair would soon inspire many tales of their epic romance, with some being more accurate than others. They would have seven children with four living to adulthood. Maud proved herself to be a capable queen, ruling England in her husband's name while he was on his Wales campaign.
Edgar and his brothers were eager to show their dominance over the rest of the British isles and in 1114, war was declared. Edgar lead his army to invade Wales, Subrogation the kingdom of Gwent, dividing it up among his favored councilors. He continued marching through South-East Wales, conquering as much land as he could, granting it to men he could trust, including his younger brothers.
Henry, Duke of Normandy made an alliance with the princes of Wales in hopes in exchange for their support of Henry pushing the claim he had from his father, William, Duke of Normandy on the English. In retaliation, Edgar sought an alliance with Louis VI of France, arranging a dynastic match, this also smoothed any ruffled feathers for Edgar's decision to snub a French wife for his beloved Maud. He even insisted on going to France himself so he could negotiate with his fellow king in person instead of sending an envoy. Unfortunately this would prove to be his undoing as his ship sink in the English Channel in what would be known as the White Ship tragedy. He would be remembered as a pious, ambitious, affable king, his son, David would succeed him as monarch.
[3] David was the eldest surviving son of Edgar and Maud and ascended to the throne after his father’s tragic death in the White Ship tragedy. David had gained his title as “The Gallant” after fighting alongside his father during his conquest of South-East Wales and continued to march west after being put in charge of the army by his father who left to arrange a marriage for him with a member of the French Royal Family. This was the last time he saw his father alive. After a few months David received new that his father had died and was forced to end his campaign short so he could ride back to England and be crowned as king.
David’s first act as king would be to find a wife and would finish his father’s plan to marry a princess of France and would marry Elizabeth of Vermandois a cousin of King Louis VI. David would also finish what he started when his father left and that was the conquest of Wales. David had left his army in southwestern Wales and after his coronation would return to finish his campaign by heading north towards the Kingdom of Deheubarth and would conquer it two years later and then would move on further north. David would end up consolidate the remaining Welsh Kingdoms into the Kingdom of England by the midpoint of his reign as king.
King David I “The Gallant”
David would also make a change to the order of his titles. When his father became king of England he was already the king of Scotland and thus styled himself as King Edgar I of Scotland and King Edgar II of England. This made the title the Kingdom of Scotland and England however when David became king he wished himself to be styled as the king of England and Scotland and thus had the titles reversed. David would however not style himself as the King of England, Scotland, and Wales and would instead have Wales become part of the Kingdom of England.
David did not escape scandal during his reign as one appeared upon his return to England. While David had been fighting in Wales he found the company of a Welsh commoner and had unintentionally fathered a son as a result. This would not come to light until during his wedding to Elizabeth in which the grandfather of the child burst into the room and demanded that his grandson be raised in the Royal Court since it was found out that the mother had died in childbirth. Many were shocked by this revelation and some began to call him an adulterer however it was eventually dismissed since he had not been married to Elizabeth when the child was conceived. David did agree however to raise the child feeling that he was responsible for the death of its mother and came to a compromise that since the child was of Welsh heritage he decreed that once the child came of age he would become Duke of Wales and the title of heir would be Prince or Princess of Wessex in honor of his grandmother.
David would die in 1157 and ____ would succeed him.
List of Kings and Queens of England
1040 - 1042: Harthacnut I (House of Denmark)
1042 - 1066: Edward I the Confessor (House of Wessex)
1066 - 1108: Margaret I 'The Pious' (House of Wessex) [1]
List of Kings and Queens of England & Scotland
1108-1120: Edgar I and II "The Valiant" (House of Dunkeld) [2]
1120-1157: David I “The Gallant” (House of Dunkeld) [3]
Margaret I of England, England's first female monarch
[1] - Born in 1045 as the daughter of Edward Aetheling, Margaret I had the support of dynastic legitimacy with her when her supporters enrolled her nomination to the Witenagemot in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor - who had been a dear uncle/great-uncle to Margaret I as well. The powerful Earl of Essex, Harold Godwinson made his claim on the English Throne on the basis of Edward the Confessor promising him the throne. It was believed that Harold would take the throne due to his immense power, but surprisingly all, the Witenagemot selected Margaret I on the basis of her dynastic heritage, surprising even Margaret I from her castle near Hampton. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer and entered London in January 1066 as Queen of the English, the first female monarch of England. But immediately crisis enveloped Europe as not only did Harold Godwinson lay claim to the throne, but so did King Harald of Norway and Duke William of Normandy. Margaret's first weeks and months of rule were immediately seized by war councils being called throughout England to prepare for war. Margaret's Witenagemot marched on Essex and executed Harold Godwinson quickly but in mid-1066 the Norwegian Fleet invaded from the north. Though Margaret I did not fight personally on the field and left the fighting to her commanders, like the Earl of York, she did lead the administrative efforts and visited the troops often. Harald's Invasion failed with the man dead in a ditch somewhere near Stirling Bridge. On 12 September 1066, the Earl of Hampton also defeated William of Normandy's invasion, ending the 1066 Crisis and cementing Margaret I's position as Queen of the English.
Immediately after the war, efforts were made by Margaret I to find a suitable husband. After years of diplomatic struggling and politicking, Margaret I married Malcolm III of the Scots in 1069, accepted by both the Witenagemot and the Council of Scotland - though the Council of Scotland made it clear that a child of the union would be King of both Kingdoms, the Kingdoms would remain separate as different legal entities. Margaret I and Malcolm III held no power in the other's realm other than the Monarch's spouse. The two would have six children with one another of which 5 would grow into adulthood. Margaret I was opposed to war, but in 1074, on the insistence of her husband, Anglo-Scottish forces entered the Kingdom of Strathclyde and annexed it (partitioning it between the two Kingdoms). That was the only offensive war Margaret I's England partook in throughout the entirety of Margaret I's life. Margaret I gained much praise for her piety. She attended charity works, and she granted generous donations to orphans and the poor of England, often touring England whenever she felt like it. She also toured Scotland on multiple occasions. She also reformed the Church to be more in line with Rome. She was also a moderating influence on her husband, and alongside England, Scotland prospered as well. A small hiccup came when Irish pirates attacked the English western coast in 1092, but they were driven back by the newly created English Navy. In 1108, after ruling England for 42 years in a reign known as Gloria Margaretae or Glory of Margaret, Margaret I died at the age of 63. She was canonized as St. Margaret after her death. She was succeeded by her son, Edgar.
[2] Edgar was the first born son of his parents. He became King of Scotland in 1097, fighting off a rebellion started by his uncle Duncan, earning him the nickname of the Valiant. Ten years later his mother would die and he rose to the throne. In his personal life, he married Maud, Countess of Huntingdon, his childhood friend and a woman he was well known to dote on to the point of bringing her with him to Scotland after he defeated his uncle. Their marriage caused a bit of a scandal as everyone had expected him to marry a daughter of France. However, Edgar made it clear he would have no other woman aside from his Maud. The pair would soon inspire many tales of their epic romance, with some being more accurate than others. They would have seven children with four living to adulthood. Maud proved herself to be a capable queen, ruling England in her husband's name while he was on his Wales campaign.
Edgar and his brothers were eager to show their dominance over the rest of the British isles and in 1114, war was declared. Edgar lead his army to invade Wales, Subrogation the kingdom of Gwent, dividing it up among his favored councilors. He continued marching through South-East Wales, conquering as much land as he could, granting it to men he could trust, including his younger brothers.
Henry, Duke of Normandy made an alliance with the princes of Wales in hopes in exchange for their support of Henry pushing the claim he had from his father, William, Duke of Normandy on the English. In retaliation, Edgar sought an alliance with Louis VI of France, arranging a dynastic match, this also smoothed any ruffled feathers for Edgar's decision to snub a French wife for his beloved Maud. He even insisted on going to France himself so he could negotiate with his fellow king in person instead of sending an envoy. Unfortunately this would prove to be his undoing as his ship sink in the English Channel in what would be known as the White Ship tragedy. He would be remembered as a pious, ambitious, affable king, his son, David would succeed him as monarch.
[3] David was the eldest surviving son of Edgar and Maud and ascended to the throne after his father’s tragic death in the White Ship tragedy. David had gained his title as “The Gallant” after fighting alongside his father during his conquest of South-East Wales and continued to march west after being put in charge of the army by his father who left to arrange a marriage for him with a member of the French Royal Family. This was the last time he saw his father alive. After a few months David received new that his father had died and was forced to end his campaign short so he could ride back to England and be crowned as king.
David’s first act as king would be to find a wife and would finish his father’s plan to marry a princess of France and would marry Elizabeth of Vermandois a cousin of King Louis VI. David would also finish what he started when his father left and that was the conquest of Wales. David had left his army in southwestern Wales and after his coronation would return to finish his campaign by heading north towards the Kingdom of Deheubarth and would conquer it two years later and then would move on further north. David would end up consolidate the remaining Welsh Kingdoms into the Kingdom of England by the midpoint of his reign as king.
King David I “The Gallant”
David did not escape scandal during his reign as one appeared upon his return to England. While David had been fighting in Wales he found the company of a Welsh commoner and had unintentionally fathered a son as a result. This would not come to light until during his wedding to Elizabeth in which the grandfather of the child burst into the room and demanded that his grandson be raised in the Royal Court since it was found out that the mother had died in childbirth. Many were shocked by this revelation and some began to call him an adulterer however it was eventually dismissed since he had not been married to Elizabeth when the child was conceived. David did agree however to raise the child feeling that he was responsible for the death of its mother and came to a compromise that since the child was of Welsh heritage he decreed that once the child came of age he would become Duke of Wales and the title of heir would be Prince or Princess of Wessex in honor of his grandmother.
David would die in 1157 and ____ would succeed him.
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