Kings of England
1460 - 1470: Richard III (York) [1]
1470 - 1498: Edward IV (York) [2]
1498 - 1504: John II (York) [3]
King of England, Castile and Wales
1504 - 1547: John II/IV (York) [3]
1547 - 1572: Henry IV/II (York) [4]
1572-1578: Six Years Wars [5]
1572 - 1604: Ferdinand I/ V (York) [6]
The Diarchs: Kingdoms of England and Castile
1604 - 1618: Ferdinand II/VI (York) [7]
1604 - 1622: Henry V/III [7,8]
1618 - 1632: Jane (York) [8]
1622 - 1652 : Paul I (York) [8, ]
1632 - 1652: Joanna "the Desired" (Albret) [9]
King of England, Wales and Scotland
1652 - 1655: Paul I "the Lawmaker" (York) [10]
1655 - 1683: Paul II (York) [11]
1683 - 1703: Albert John (York) [12]
1703 - 1749: Cecily (York) [13]
1749 - 1749: Paul III (York-Trastámara) [14]
1749 - 1758: Charles (York-León) [15]
King of England, Wales, Scotland and Spain
1758 - 1764: Charles (York-León) [15]
King of United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, New Britain, Castile, Leon, Navarre, Aragon, La Plata, Nueva España, Perú and Nueva Granada
1765 - 1793: Alfonso XII "el más Sabio"/Alphonse I "the Wiser" (York-León)[16]
1793 - 1801: John III/ V (York-León) [17]
1801 - 1812: Garcia Jimenez II/I (York-León) [18]
1812 - 1833: Maria Antonia (York-León) [19]
Kings of the United British Dominion
1833 - 1866: Edward V (York-León) [20]
1866 - 1904: Julian (York-León) [21]
1904 - 1910: Juliana 'The Fair' I (York-León) [22]
1910 - 1944: Paul IV (York-León) [23]
1944 - 1982: Victor (York-León) [24]
1982 - 1986: Amadeo 'the Garden King' (York-León) [25]
1986 - present: Patricia (York-León) [26]
[1] Richard had spent the past several years attempting to push his claim to the crown, without success, so his sudden rise thanks to the success of his eldest son was something of a shock. He spent the majority of his reign securing his position (aided in the capture of Henry VI in early 1461). He also endured some friction with his eldest son, Edward, whose romantic escapades nearly caused a diplomatic incident as Richard sought a foreign bride for him. Despite Richard's best efforts, the House of Lancaster continued to harrass him and his supporters and he died in 1470, leaving the problems to his heir, his eldest son Edward.
[2] Edward IV would go down in history as the king who ushered in the Renaissance in England. Shortly prior to his ascension, he married Princess Isabella, the heiress presumptive of Castille and the younger half-sister of King Enrique IV in a marriage arranged by his father. However, prior to his marriage he had several illegitimate children with his mistress Elizabeth Woodville. When Edward ascended to the throne, he was very unpopular due to his relationship with Elizabeth but in a surprising turn of events, she died suddenly in 1471. Shortly thereafter, Edward's first legitimate child with the 20-year-old Isabella was born. When Enrique of Castille died in 1474, Isabella succeeded him on the throne, making Edward also the King of Castille ruling jointly with his wife and therefore creating a personal union between England and Castille. Edward also scored a major victory over the Lancaster pretender Henry Tudor in 1485 permanently ending the War of the Roses in a Yorkist victory. By this point, Edward had turned his reputation into that of a beloved king and much of the public had forgotten about his prior relationship with Elizabeth Woodville. Subsequently, Edward, along with his wife and his wife's distant relative Ferdinand II of Aragon (who had married Joanna of Portugal) began the Spanish Inquisition where the remaining Muslims and Jews in Spain were either forced out of Europe or to conversion. Also during Edward's reign in 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian, became the first European to sail to the Americas under financing from the King of Aragon. Edward died in 1498 aged 56 with the country in a much better shape than when he had first obtained the throne. He was succeeded by his eldest son with Isabella, John, who was also Prince of Asturias (heir to the throne of Castille which he would take when his mother died).
[3]John was born in 1486 and was installed as Prince of Wales and Asturias. King Edward IV plans for his marriage began before his third birthday.
At the age of eleven, John, was formally betrothed to Catherine of Aragon, a daughter of the King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife, Joanna of Portugal, in an effort to forge a stronger Anglo-Spanish alliance against France.
A year after his betrothed, John became King of England, after the death of his father, his mother, Isabella acted as regent along with William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal John Morton.
By the time he reached, the age of 18, his mother died as well and John became king John II and IV of England and Castile.
His reign saw a personal rivalry with both Francis I of France and the Habsburg monarch Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, who did not like his closeness with the papacy, he saw Wales becoming legally unioned with England and traveling between his two kingdoms, with Catherine becoming a large influence in Castile, with their first daughter Mary, marrying a leading Catholic nobleman, Phillip, Duke of Galacia.
In 1513, the English and Castile flag was planted in the New World, with the land clamied, by Juan Ponce de León, who had been granted a royal decree and called the new settlement, Johnstown (OTL Miami) in what will become the colony of La Florida.
He died aged 61, at Windsor castle with his children and grandchildren around him.
[4] Grandchild of John II, who had outlived his two eldest sons. Inheriting two kingdoms at the age of three, most of Henry's reign was defined by the policies of Thomas de Beauchamp, Duke of Norfolk who organized the regency council. Locked out of this council by the Duke and increasingly fearful that the monarch would be beholden to English interests, Castile broke from England and Wales and declared John IV's eldest daughter queen. Henry IV later died in a suspicious hunting accident.
[5] What started as a Civil war between Isabella, Henry IV's aunt, and Anne, Henry IV's wife and regent of their son, Ferdinand, became a full fled European wars between England/Wales, Portugal, Aragon and (nominally) Castille against France, HRE and Castilian nobility. Finally, the war ended in 1578 with the Treaty of Edinburgh which resulted in a Pyrrhic victory for English forces.
[6] Although victorious on the battlefield, the Six Years War put a severe strain on the war-waging capabilities of all combatants. In Portugal, for example, this strain manifested itself in the Peasant's Revolt, which succeeded in removing the King's senior officials. For England, the focus on the continent left the country unprepared for the Scottish Invasion of 1575, which nearly succeeded in toppling the government until Scottish forces were routed at the Battle of Cheshire Plain.
When forced to the negotiation table, Ferdinand was able to secure his position as sovereign of Castile, but Ferdiand's two eldest sons were to be made equal coregent upon the his death. While this treaty placed Castile in the same polity as England de jure, it also created an administrative and political nightmare for future rulers.
[7] As per Ferdinand I's will, his sons Ferdinand II and Henry III were to rule as equals, with the diarchs switching places between Castile and England every four years. Few laws were passed in both England and Castile during these years, since all laws require the assent of both diarchs. (Thus laws were only proclaimed once every year.) Ferdinand II died of disease in 1618.
[8] The chaos of the Diarchy continued with Ferdinand's heir, Jane revealing herself to be strong-willed and very much interested in ruling in her own right. Needless to say Henry III feuded with his niece to the point that the diarchy nearly collapsed but was preserved by Henry's timely death in 1620 (many suspected poison), he was replaced by his more timid son Paul, who was quickly turned into a figurehead by Jane who managed a more coherent reign until she died giving birth to her fourth child.
[9] With Joanna not yet at the age of majority and Paul more interested in maintaining his personal estate than ruling, the diarch ceded considerable control to the Parliament in England and Imperial Cortes in Castile. Upon Joanna's coronation, the diarchy had several significant limitations put upon it by the legislature.
Although strong willed like her mother, Joanna remained largely uninterested in day-to-day politics. Exploiting her personal beauty and highly coveted position, Joanna spent most of her time abroad, meeting with countless suitors and flirting with various marriage proposals. Unfortunately, rumors of affairs and impropriety undermined her popularity domestically and age took a considerable toll on her psyche. After a disastrous meeting with the King of Denmark, Joanna committed suicide. The event created a diplomatic incident for Castile and England.
[10] When Joanna died, her father, James of Aragon (House of Trastámara) and his nephew Paul had a real mess on the table, moreover when the first was crowned King Jaume IV of Aragon,and the last, after a fast campaign, King Paul I of Scotland. They sat and arranged the more logical solution: Paul retained Scottish and English thrones and James Aragonese and Castilian ones. With diarchy terminated, Paul updated all the legislative body and unified customs and trade law in all his kigdom(s). This was a boon to the trade, but, when he was about to see its advantages and just after putting the first stone of his new royal palace in London, he died of typhus, leaving the throne to his heir, his son Paul.
[11] Paul II was the first ruler of England who in a long time had spent his entire childhood in his own Kingdom, thus his ascension to the throne was acclaimed as the end of 'foreign rule'. Paul reigned during a time when England and it's lands of Ireland and Scotland were becoming notorious for it's piracy in the New World, bringing the kingdom much wealth, but also the ire of Portugal and Spain. However Paul II forged an alliance with France that would prove decisive against the Spanish-Portuguese Compact. It was also during his reign that the Protestant movement that had emerged in Germany a century earlier detonated the massive war in the HRE that came to be called the 'Germanic Wars of Religion'. Paul died in his sleep at the age of 79 in 1683, leaving the throne to his heir, Albert.
[12] Albert took the regal name Albert John to break tradition. He is accredited in bringing the Kingdom into a period of war that ran on/off during his reign. Many colonies in the New World fell under English rule and the Ministry of War was established to pursue these goals. Albert patronized the Navy and the Army greatly. Many of his opponents were exiled to the colonies as wrestled from the Spanish/Portuguese and he became paranoid towards the end of his reign. He interfered with the Germanic Wars of Religion and caused the Republic of Germany to come about. Albert began a tradition of recruiting German mercenaries to harry the Spanish/Portuguese and married a French princess. He died by an assassin's knife and passed the throne to his daughter, Cecily I.
[13] Cecily I was seventeen when her father was murdered. Traditionally, a regency or protectorship would have been established, but Cecily refused any such measure, taking on the power of the throne from day one. When her mother, Jeanne of France (called Joan in England), had the temerity to object, Cecily banished the woman from court for nearly five years. She spent her entire reign reminding anyone who needed reminding that she would tolerate no rival or sharing of power. She continued her father's policies in the New World, furthering England's control there at the expense of the Spanish and Portuguese. Tensions rose and culminated in the Anglo-Spanish War, a short-lived conflict that ended with the Treaty of Cornwall, which included the provision that Cecily would marry the third son of the King of Spain, Prince Alfonso. The marriage took place in 1710 and ended in 1718, with Alfonso's unexpected death. There were rumors that Cecily herself had him poisoned because he had already given her three children and she had no further use for him, but this has never been proven. Cecily died in 1749, leaving the throne to her son, Paul.
[14] Known as the "September King" for ruling less than a month before being executed by a cabal of Parliamentarians and wealthy merchants who suffered in the wars waged by his mother and grandfather. In an ironic twist of fate, many of Paul's supporters were forced to flee to the New World just as his grandfather had exiled many opponents to the colonies. The plotters installed a distant member of the House York to boost their legitimacy and claim their actions had been done to prevent Spain from reclaiming the throne.
[15] Charles was the great-great-grandson of Paul, by his youngest daughter, Isabella, who had married Duke John of León. With royal ties to the Peninsula, Charles tried three attempts to invade Spain, the first two were bloodless-failures, while the third and last, was successful, with him, killing King Philip of Spain and proclaiming himself to be the true and faithful ruler of the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula.
He abdicated on 9th May, 1764, with his son, Alfonso/Alphonse, being crowned, with King Charles, dying two days later, happily in the knowledge that he saw his son become king.
[16] His first regnal years were stressful as he had to harmonize and get a grip on his vast territories. After some perennial revolts here and there and the German Revolution, he summoned the Cortes and Parliament and made a new Constitution in 1773 where he instituted a separate Parliament for each of his territories with some legislative powers with restricted suffrage. He also was a patron of arts, being him an accomplished writer ( his masterwork is Cantigas de Santa María/Virgin Mary's Hymns both in Spanish and English). He married Beatrix of Bavaria, had 12 siblings and died peacefully at the age of 89, acceding the throne his heir, John.
[17] John was the eldest brother of Alfonso and known for his extreme frailty. Bedridden, John failed to attend to many of his ceremonial duties and was kept isolated from government by his other siblings. His reign coincided with growing agitation from the exiled York-Trastámaras.
[18] Garcia, John's closest male relative, inherited the unwieldy throne. He took the regal name of Garcia Jimenez II to establish legitimacy from the original name of the Jimenez Dynasty. His 11 year reign saw a great deal of struggle between the exiled York-Trastámaras 'pretenders'. He established a series of explorations beyond the New World in search for "better penal colonies". This led to the establishment of several domains in Asia and Africa. Garcia Jimenez focused too much on Continental affairs. Garcia allowed for the English Parliament to have a lot of power over his English realm and he is remembered as 'the Just'. In the colonies, he is known as 'the Cruel' because of an increased presence of the military in the New World. In his Spanish domains, he is known as 'the Cruel', for the list of his reactions to perceived enemies are too numerous to be listed. In 1812 Garcia Jimenez II was slain in battle against a peasent revolt.
[19] Maria Antonia was the only surviving legitimate child of Garcia Jimenez II and was at the time of her father's death married to Duke Maurizio of Savoy and living in Turin with her husband. She was forced to rush to Spain as quickly as possible to secure the Kingdom as it slid further into chaos. Most of the first years of her reign were spent stabilizing the Spanish kingdoms, it took five years before she could travel to the British isles and receive her formal coronation there. While legally her eldest son with Maurizio would have inherited the Spanish and British Kingdoms from his mother (along with Savoy), the French and German powers demanded that the inheritance be split up between Maria Antonia's three sons or else there would be war to break up the union. To avoid conflict Maria Antonia convinced her eldest son to swap Savoy for the Spanish dominions, her second son would be given the British crown, and the youngest would get Savoy. Maria Antonia then lived for two more decades before dying of breast cancer, leaving a divided inheritance between her three sons.
[20] Edward IV was the second son of Maria Antonia and the inheritor of the British domains. Though the vast union of his ancestors had been broken up between him and his two brothers, John and Albert, the three of them maintained close ties to one another, often standing together in the face of foreign aggression. The biggest problem Edward suffered in his early reign was the continued problems caused by the York-Trastámaras, who had gained significant recognition and resources in both France and Germany. To finally end the constant conflict (which had been going on for practically a century), Edward married a daughter of that house, known as Anne of York, to unite the two houses. Her brothers, John and Richard, were also given lands and titles within his domains. This later proved problematic, as John of York later attempted a coup against Edward, which was actually foiled when Anne herself revealed the plot to her husband. In his later years, Edward spent much of his time touring the colonies. He died in 1866, leaving the throne to his eldest child, Julian.
[21] Julian known as "the Great" would greatly expand Britain's colonial dominions. Much of India was conquered under his reign providing the British with much riches and much access to the important crop of tea. However King Julian's most impressive victory would come in 1894 where British troops sacked Istanbul and conquered the Ottoman Empire. Julian died in 1904 leaving a booming British colonial empire and was succeeded by his eldest child Juliana
[22] Juliana ruled for 4 years and gave up much of her power to the Parliament. She was crowned the 'Empress of India' to her great regret and was plunged into the Continental War when her cousin in Spain died of an anarchist's bullet. This caused her a great deal of trouble and stress. She was associated in an ill-fated romance while visiting her colonies in India. Juliana married a Scottish Duke. The Continental War increased and the British Empire was pulled into supporting Spain/Portugal against France/Germany. Juliana attempted to be just but could not. She died due to an outbreak of measles and the throne passed to her son Paul.
[23] Paul the Fourth was a very unpopular monarch. His reign was marked with fights with the parliament who undoubtedly had more power than ever before, as unlike his mother Paul was unwilling to give up his power to the parliament. India also regained it's independence under his reign under the charismatic leadership of Vikram Dhawan Patel, serving a huge blow to Britain who relied on it for much of its income. Paul's reign came to a end with his death in 1944 and he was succeeded by his brother, Victor.
[24] Victor was Paul's younger brother, who upon becoming King was expected to hand power over to Parliament. However a few days into Victor's reign both major parties were rocked by revelations of deep corruption by MP's, by the time the investigations were finished 'the Downing Street Scandal' saw over thirty MP's either imprisoned or forced to resign, the major parties discredited, and trust in Parliament nearly destroyed. As a result the King was able to reassert much of the royal authority and kept it through most of his reign. However in the 1970's Victor was diagnosed with liver cancer and began returning some powers to Parliament and the Prime Ministers in order to focus on his health. Victor lasted longer than expected but died in 1982 of the disease, passing the throne to, his cousin Amadeo
[25] Amadeo is regarded as the 'Garden King' for his emphasis on the British Domain being of a fair and just realm. He instituted democratic reforms that formally limited the power of the monarchy. He pushed for a Commonwealth rather than an Empire. Amadeo also advocated for a European Community and used garden metaphors (hence his epitaph) in high level diplomatic talks. The problem that Amadeo faced came in the Troubles regarding Northern Ireland/Ireland. He died in 1986 due to a combination of an ill-fated assassination attempt and a fall while on a visit to Rome.
[26] The current monarch, Patricia succeeded her father Amadeo. She keeps a low profile and stays out of politics leaving all of it to the parliament. There has been serious talk recently about abolishing the monarchy and instituting a presidential republic as the monarchy in it's current form does not really accomplish anything. However, the Queen is popular with many people and as a result, this has not really taken off.
1460 - 1470: Richard III (York) [1]
1470 - 1498: Edward IV (York) [2]
1498 - 1504: John II (York) [3]
King of England, Castile and Wales
1504 - 1547: John II/IV (York) [3]
1547 - 1572: Henry IV/II (York) [4]
1572-1578: Six Years Wars [5]
1572 - 1604: Ferdinand I/ V (York) [6]
The Diarchs: Kingdoms of England and Castile
1604 - 1618: Ferdinand II/VI (York) [7]
1604 - 1622: Henry V/III [7,8]
1618 - 1632: Jane (York) [8]
1622 - 1652 : Paul I (York) [8, ]
1632 - 1652: Joanna "the Desired" (Albret) [9]
King of England, Wales and Scotland
1652 - 1655: Paul I "the Lawmaker" (York) [10]
1655 - 1683: Paul II (York) [11]
1683 - 1703: Albert John (York) [12]
1703 - 1749: Cecily (York) [13]
1749 - 1749: Paul III (York-Trastámara) [14]
1749 - 1758: Charles (York-León) [15]
King of England, Wales, Scotland and Spain
1758 - 1764: Charles (York-León) [15]
King of United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, New Britain, Castile, Leon, Navarre, Aragon, La Plata, Nueva España, Perú and Nueva Granada
1765 - 1793: Alfonso XII "el más Sabio"/Alphonse I "the Wiser" (York-León)[16]
1793 - 1801: John III/ V (York-León) [17]
1801 - 1812: Garcia Jimenez II/I (York-León) [18]
1812 - 1833: Maria Antonia (York-León) [19]
Kings of the United British Dominion
1833 - 1866: Edward V (York-León) [20]
1866 - 1904: Julian (York-León) [21]
1904 - 1910: Juliana 'The Fair' I (York-León) [22]
1910 - 1944: Paul IV (York-León) [23]
1944 - 1982: Victor (York-León) [24]
1982 - 1986: Amadeo 'the Garden King' (York-León) [25]
1986 - present: Patricia (York-León) [26]
[1] Richard had spent the past several years attempting to push his claim to the crown, without success, so his sudden rise thanks to the success of his eldest son was something of a shock. He spent the majority of his reign securing his position (aided in the capture of Henry VI in early 1461). He also endured some friction with his eldest son, Edward, whose romantic escapades nearly caused a diplomatic incident as Richard sought a foreign bride for him. Despite Richard's best efforts, the House of Lancaster continued to harrass him and his supporters and he died in 1470, leaving the problems to his heir, his eldest son Edward.
[2] Edward IV would go down in history as the king who ushered in the Renaissance in England. Shortly prior to his ascension, he married Princess Isabella, the heiress presumptive of Castille and the younger half-sister of King Enrique IV in a marriage arranged by his father. However, prior to his marriage he had several illegitimate children with his mistress Elizabeth Woodville. When Edward ascended to the throne, he was very unpopular due to his relationship with Elizabeth but in a surprising turn of events, she died suddenly in 1471. Shortly thereafter, Edward's first legitimate child with the 20-year-old Isabella was born. When Enrique of Castille died in 1474, Isabella succeeded him on the throne, making Edward also the King of Castille ruling jointly with his wife and therefore creating a personal union between England and Castille. Edward also scored a major victory over the Lancaster pretender Henry Tudor in 1485 permanently ending the War of the Roses in a Yorkist victory. By this point, Edward had turned his reputation into that of a beloved king and much of the public had forgotten about his prior relationship with Elizabeth Woodville. Subsequently, Edward, along with his wife and his wife's distant relative Ferdinand II of Aragon (who had married Joanna of Portugal) began the Spanish Inquisition where the remaining Muslims and Jews in Spain were either forced out of Europe or to conversion. Also during Edward's reign in 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian, became the first European to sail to the Americas under financing from the King of Aragon. Edward died in 1498 aged 56 with the country in a much better shape than when he had first obtained the throne. He was succeeded by his eldest son with Isabella, John, who was also Prince of Asturias (heir to the throne of Castille which he would take when his mother died).
[3]John was born in 1486 and was installed as Prince of Wales and Asturias. King Edward IV plans for his marriage began before his third birthday.
At the age of eleven, John, was formally betrothed to Catherine of Aragon, a daughter of the King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife, Joanna of Portugal, in an effort to forge a stronger Anglo-Spanish alliance against France.
A year after his betrothed, John became King of England, after the death of his father, his mother, Isabella acted as regent along with William Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal John Morton.
By the time he reached, the age of 18, his mother died as well and John became king John II and IV of England and Castile.
His reign saw a personal rivalry with both Francis I of France and the Habsburg monarch Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, who did not like his closeness with the papacy, he saw Wales becoming legally unioned with England and traveling between his two kingdoms, with Catherine becoming a large influence in Castile, with their first daughter Mary, marrying a leading Catholic nobleman, Phillip, Duke of Galacia.
In 1513, the English and Castile flag was planted in the New World, with the land clamied, by Juan Ponce de León, who had been granted a royal decree and called the new settlement, Johnstown (OTL Miami) in what will become the colony of La Florida.
He died aged 61, at Windsor castle with his children and grandchildren around him.
[4] Grandchild of John II, who had outlived his two eldest sons. Inheriting two kingdoms at the age of three, most of Henry's reign was defined by the policies of Thomas de Beauchamp, Duke of Norfolk who organized the regency council. Locked out of this council by the Duke and increasingly fearful that the monarch would be beholden to English interests, Castile broke from England and Wales and declared John IV's eldest daughter queen. Henry IV later died in a suspicious hunting accident.
[5] What started as a Civil war between Isabella, Henry IV's aunt, and Anne, Henry IV's wife and regent of their son, Ferdinand, became a full fled European wars between England/Wales, Portugal, Aragon and (nominally) Castille against France, HRE and Castilian nobility. Finally, the war ended in 1578 with the Treaty of Edinburgh which resulted in a Pyrrhic victory for English forces.
[6] Although victorious on the battlefield, the Six Years War put a severe strain on the war-waging capabilities of all combatants. In Portugal, for example, this strain manifested itself in the Peasant's Revolt, which succeeded in removing the King's senior officials. For England, the focus on the continent left the country unprepared for the Scottish Invasion of 1575, which nearly succeeded in toppling the government until Scottish forces were routed at the Battle of Cheshire Plain.
When forced to the negotiation table, Ferdinand was able to secure his position as sovereign of Castile, but Ferdiand's two eldest sons were to be made equal coregent upon the his death. While this treaty placed Castile in the same polity as England de jure, it also created an administrative and political nightmare for future rulers.
[7] As per Ferdinand I's will, his sons Ferdinand II and Henry III were to rule as equals, with the diarchs switching places between Castile and England every four years. Few laws were passed in both England and Castile during these years, since all laws require the assent of both diarchs. (Thus laws were only proclaimed once every year.) Ferdinand II died of disease in 1618.
[8] The chaos of the Diarchy continued with Ferdinand's heir, Jane revealing herself to be strong-willed and very much interested in ruling in her own right. Needless to say Henry III feuded with his niece to the point that the diarchy nearly collapsed but was preserved by Henry's timely death in 1620 (many suspected poison), he was replaced by his more timid son Paul, who was quickly turned into a figurehead by Jane who managed a more coherent reign until she died giving birth to her fourth child.
[9] With Joanna not yet at the age of majority and Paul more interested in maintaining his personal estate than ruling, the diarch ceded considerable control to the Parliament in England and Imperial Cortes in Castile. Upon Joanna's coronation, the diarchy had several significant limitations put upon it by the legislature.
Although strong willed like her mother, Joanna remained largely uninterested in day-to-day politics. Exploiting her personal beauty and highly coveted position, Joanna spent most of her time abroad, meeting with countless suitors and flirting with various marriage proposals. Unfortunately, rumors of affairs and impropriety undermined her popularity domestically and age took a considerable toll on her psyche. After a disastrous meeting with the King of Denmark, Joanna committed suicide. The event created a diplomatic incident for Castile and England.
[10] When Joanna died, her father, James of Aragon (House of Trastámara) and his nephew Paul had a real mess on the table, moreover when the first was crowned King Jaume IV of Aragon,and the last, after a fast campaign, King Paul I of Scotland. They sat and arranged the more logical solution: Paul retained Scottish and English thrones and James Aragonese and Castilian ones. With diarchy terminated, Paul updated all the legislative body and unified customs and trade law in all his kigdom(s). This was a boon to the trade, but, when he was about to see its advantages and just after putting the first stone of his new royal palace in London, he died of typhus, leaving the throne to his heir, his son Paul.
[11] Paul II was the first ruler of England who in a long time had spent his entire childhood in his own Kingdom, thus his ascension to the throne was acclaimed as the end of 'foreign rule'. Paul reigned during a time when England and it's lands of Ireland and Scotland were becoming notorious for it's piracy in the New World, bringing the kingdom much wealth, but also the ire of Portugal and Spain. However Paul II forged an alliance with France that would prove decisive against the Spanish-Portuguese Compact. It was also during his reign that the Protestant movement that had emerged in Germany a century earlier detonated the massive war in the HRE that came to be called the 'Germanic Wars of Religion'. Paul died in his sleep at the age of 79 in 1683, leaving the throne to his heir, Albert.
[12] Albert took the regal name Albert John to break tradition. He is accredited in bringing the Kingdom into a period of war that ran on/off during his reign. Many colonies in the New World fell under English rule and the Ministry of War was established to pursue these goals. Albert patronized the Navy and the Army greatly. Many of his opponents were exiled to the colonies as wrestled from the Spanish/Portuguese and he became paranoid towards the end of his reign. He interfered with the Germanic Wars of Religion and caused the Republic of Germany to come about. Albert began a tradition of recruiting German mercenaries to harry the Spanish/Portuguese and married a French princess. He died by an assassin's knife and passed the throne to his daughter, Cecily I.
[13] Cecily I was seventeen when her father was murdered. Traditionally, a regency or protectorship would have been established, but Cecily refused any such measure, taking on the power of the throne from day one. When her mother, Jeanne of France (called Joan in England), had the temerity to object, Cecily banished the woman from court for nearly five years. She spent her entire reign reminding anyone who needed reminding that she would tolerate no rival or sharing of power. She continued her father's policies in the New World, furthering England's control there at the expense of the Spanish and Portuguese. Tensions rose and culminated in the Anglo-Spanish War, a short-lived conflict that ended with the Treaty of Cornwall, which included the provision that Cecily would marry the third son of the King of Spain, Prince Alfonso. The marriage took place in 1710 and ended in 1718, with Alfonso's unexpected death. There were rumors that Cecily herself had him poisoned because he had already given her three children and she had no further use for him, but this has never been proven. Cecily died in 1749, leaving the throne to her son, Paul.
[14] Known as the "September King" for ruling less than a month before being executed by a cabal of Parliamentarians and wealthy merchants who suffered in the wars waged by his mother and grandfather. In an ironic twist of fate, many of Paul's supporters were forced to flee to the New World just as his grandfather had exiled many opponents to the colonies. The plotters installed a distant member of the House York to boost their legitimacy and claim their actions had been done to prevent Spain from reclaiming the throne.
[15] Charles was the great-great-grandson of Paul, by his youngest daughter, Isabella, who had married Duke John of León. With royal ties to the Peninsula, Charles tried three attempts to invade Spain, the first two were bloodless-failures, while the third and last, was successful, with him, killing King Philip of Spain and proclaiming himself to be the true and faithful ruler of the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula.
He abdicated on 9th May, 1764, with his son, Alfonso/Alphonse, being crowned, with King Charles, dying two days later, happily in the knowledge that he saw his son become king.
[16] His first regnal years were stressful as he had to harmonize and get a grip on his vast territories. After some perennial revolts here and there and the German Revolution, he summoned the Cortes and Parliament and made a new Constitution in 1773 where he instituted a separate Parliament for each of his territories with some legislative powers with restricted suffrage. He also was a patron of arts, being him an accomplished writer ( his masterwork is Cantigas de Santa María/Virgin Mary's Hymns both in Spanish and English). He married Beatrix of Bavaria, had 12 siblings and died peacefully at the age of 89, acceding the throne his heir, John.
[17] John was the eldest brother of Alfonso and known for his extreme frailty. Bedridden, John failed to attend to many of his ceremonial duties and was kept isolated from government by his other siblings. His reign coincided with growing agitation from the exiled York-Trastámaras.
[18] Garcia, John's closest male relative, inherited the unwieldy throne. He took the regal name of Garcia Jimenez II to establish legitimacy from the original name of the Jimenez Dynasty. His 11 year reign saw a great deal of struggle between the exiled York-Trastámaras 'pretenders'. He established a series of explorations beyond the New World in search for "better penal colonies". This led to the establishment of several domains in Asia and Africa. Garcia Jimenez focused too much on Continental affairs. Garcia allowed for the English Parliament to have a lot of power over his English realm and he is remembered as 'the Just'. In the colonies, he is known as 'the Cruel' because of an increased presence of the military in the New World. In his Spanish domains, he is known as 'the Cruel', for the list of his reactions to perceived enemies are too numerous to be listed. In 1812 Garcia Jimenez II was slain in battle against a peasent revolt.
[19] Maria Antonia was the only surviving legitimate child of Garcia Jimenez II and was at the time of her father's death married to Duke Maurizio of Savoy and living in Turin with her husband. She was forced to rush to Spain as quickly as possible to secure the Kingdom as it slid further into chaos. Most of the first years of her reign were spent stabilizing the Spanish kingdoms, it took five years before she could travel to the British isles and receive her formal coronation there. While legally her eldest son with Maurizio would have inherited the Spanish and British Kingdoms from his mother (along with Savoy), the French and German powers demanded that the inheritance be split up between Maria Antonia's three sons or else there would be war to break up the union. To avoid conflict Maria Antonia convinced her eldest son to swap Savoy for the Spanish dominions, her second son would be given the British crown, and the youngest would get Savoy. Maria Antonia then lived for two more decades before dying of breast cancer, leaving a divided inheritance between her three sons.
[20] Edward IV was the second son of Maria Antonia and the inheritor of the British domains. Though the vast union of his ancestors had been broken up between him and his two brothers, John and Albert, the three of them maintained close ties to one another, often standing together in the face of foreign aggression. The biggest problem Edward suffered in his early reign was the continued problems caused by the York-Trastámaras, who had gained significant recognition and resources in both France and Germany. To finally end the constant conflict (which had been going on for practically a century), Edward married a daughter of that house, known as Anne of York, to unite the two houses. Her brothers, John and Richard, were also given lands and titles within his domains. This later proved problematic, as John of York later attempted a coup against Edward, which was actually foiled when Anne herself revealed the plot to her husband. In his later years, Edward spent much of his time touring the colonies. He died in 1866, leaving the throne to his eldest child, Julian.
[21] Julian known as "the Great" would greatly expand Britain's colonial dominions. Much of India was conquered under his reign providing the British with much riches and much access to the important crop of tea. However King Julian's most impressive victory would come in 1894 where British troops sacked Istanbul and conquered the Ottoman Empire. Julian died in 1904 leaving a booming British colonial empire and was succeeded by his eldest child Juliana
[22] Juliana ruled for 4 years and gave up much of her power to the Parliament. She was crowned the 'Empress of India' to her great regret and was plunged into the Continental War when her cousin in Spain died of an anarchist's bullet. This caused her a great deal of trouble and stress. She was associated in an ill-fated romance while visiting her colonies in India. Juliana married a Scottish Duke. The Continental War increased and the British Empire was pulled into supporting Spain/Portugal against France/Germany. Juliana attempted to be just but could not. She died due to an outbreak of measles and the throne passed to her son Paul.
[23] Paul the Fourth was a very unpopular monarch. His reign was marked with fights with the parliament who undoubtedly had more power than ever before, as unlike his mother Paul was unwilling to give up his power to the parliament. India also regained it's independence under his reign under the charismatic leadership of Vikram Dhawan Patel, serving a huge blow to Britain who relied on it for much of its income. Paul's reign came to a end with his death in 1944 and he was succeeded by his brother, Victor.
[24] Victor was Paul's younger brother, who upon becoming King was expected to hand power over to Parliament. However a few days into Victor's reign both major parties were rocked by revelations of deep corruption by MP's, by the time the investigations were finished 'the Downing Street Scandal' saw over thirty MP's either imprisoned or forced to resign, the major parties discredited, and trust in Parliament nearly destroyed. As a result the King was able to reassert much of the royal authority and kept it through most of his reign. However in the 1970's Victor was diagnosed with liver cancer and began returning some powers to Parliament and the Prime Ministers in order to focus on his health. Victor lasted longer than expected but died in 1982 of the disease, passing the throne to, his cousin Amadeo
[25] Amadeo is regarded as the 'Garden King' for his emphasis on the British Domain being of a fair and just realm. He instituted democratic reforms that formally limited the power of the monarchy. He pushed for a Commonwealth rather than an Empire. Amadeo also advocated for a European Community and used garden metaphors (hence his epitaph) in high level diplomatic talks. The problem that Amadeo faced came in the Troubles regarding Northern Ireland/Ireland. He died in 1986 due to a combination of an ill-fated assassination attempt and a fall while on a visit to Rome.
[26] The current monarch, Patricia succeeded her father Amadeo. She keeps a low profile and stays out of politics leaving all of it to the parliament. There has been serious talk recently about abolishing the monarchy and instituting a presidential republic as the monarchy in it's current form does not really accomplish anything. However, the Queen is popular with many people and as a result, this has not really taken off.
