Queen Charlette VI
07-04-2008, 04:44
History:
The Anglian Home Island was never settled before the first wave of English settlement arrived in the later years of the reign of Richard the Lionheart in England; shipwrecked Englishmen and women arrived at the coasts of the Eastern Peninsula and built a series of settlements such as Port Hope which became the first among equals in the ranks of the settlements. The settlements all knew of each other's existence and thus were connected in a network of emissaries who would enforce the rulings of each settlement's leaders. Nine years before the demise of King Richard back in England, in 1190 AD, Henry de Beauchamp (http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/England-History/RichardLionHeart.jpg) (an English landowner) was reluctantly coronated as the first King of Anglia by popular demand in the chapel at Port Hope which he named the capital of Anglia. Power would become centralized in the King's Court over the following years with more and more land seized on the Home Island to accomodate a growing population. King Henry married Margaret Beauvallet who had been the daughter of one of the original Sixty Nobles who recieved noble titles from their dread sovereign lord. Margaret (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/Alienor-d-aquitaine_et_jean_sans_terre.jpg), a sophisticated and compassionate woman, bore Henry six children in total: Henry II, Richard, Edward, Matilda, Margaret, Elizabeth and each of them would be famous in later years. Henry II (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Henry_II_of_England.jpg), as the firstborn, inherited his father's throne when he died of dropsy in 1219 while his two brothers became aristocrats. His sisters married into aristocratic families; giving birth to many children. The Barons Bernières can trace their paternal ancestry back to Elizabeth de Beauchamp who had married Richard Bernières, a landowner with much wealth and prestige. Henry II consolidated his family's hold on the Anglian throne; developing Anglia at a rapid rate. He developed the nation's first shires and built marvelous castles all over the explored parts of the realm. More and more people seemed to be landing in Anglian waters so he settled them on newly discovered parts of the Home Island in exchange for their loyalty; he was lucky to have some scholars, etc in the new arrivals' ranks as they would help keep Anglia up to par with Europe. Henry II funded the construction of the University of Newcastle with his own money and became its first honoree in 1234. He also took Matilda Bellecote as his wife early in his reign and had two sons, two daughters with her in total. The Bellecote family originally was a family of lawyers who had been notable in securing the rights of peasants. While many cherished Queen Consort Matilda, a few felt she only married the King because of her family's influence. Nonetheless, Matilda was well loved by the populace as she would often dine with the maids of her court much to her husband's surprise. Matilda was, in ways, a proto-feminist because she often heralded the rights of women in a patriarchal society. Henry II approached politics with a sense of realpolitik; using the support of refugees from England during the Barons' Revolt to implement considerable political reforms which gave birth to a Parliament modeled on the lines of Simon de Montfort in which all shires, etc elected two representatives (later all equalized into one representative per place) to send to the Parliament at Port Hope. The Port Hope Parliament was not the first Parliament but it did become the first to be widely composed of elected officials. It was presided over by Edmund Bourchier who had originally been one of Anglia's many knights. Bourchier approached Parliament with a sense of Machiavellian inspiration; seeking to increase Parliamentary power in the realm. He would soon fall into disputes with the Crown over who had more power but in the end it was basically a stalemate. Bourchier's successor was said to be far more sympathetic to the Crown and thus more debates were avoided. Henry II, in his last years of life, lived in relative solitude in the Anglian countryside with his wife before he died, in her arms, from heart failure in 1285. His successor was Henry III of Anglia who famously built the city of Newcastle as his nation's capital during the early years of his reign. Born in the region of Norwoodshire, Henry III was a ruthless man who sought to increase Anglian power and prestige during his reign. After marrying Elizabeth Beaumanoir to end the debates about his love life, Henry III moved to strengthen his power at the expense of others including the Parliament which dissented greatly during his reign. Parliamentarian soldiers marched on the Royal Palace on the June Riot but were turned back when Royalist archers threatened to shoot them down. The June Riot was led by Stephen Bainard, a Member of Parliament who wanted a separation of powers between Crown and Parliament in order to make political life more equal. Bainard's proposals were shot down by supporters of the Crown and even by some of his own colleagues in Parliament but he did get support from people who became known as "Bainard's Friends" in later years. The proposals did eventually become law but in a weakened state after bits of them were hacked away in discussions and treaties. Henry III signed the Treaty of Port Hope in 1296 which declared that all Anglians, regardless of gender and social status, had basic human rights including habeas corpus. The treaty was proposed by members of the Royal Court who felt that Anglians needed the assurance of personal liberty; the liberty they would have had in England and Queen Consort Elizabeth made sure that women were equal to men in the treaty; she too, like Matilda, had possible feminist leanings or was simply just concerned about the welfare of her fellow women. Henry III also sponsored the journeys of George Blancbaston who became an aristocrat after exploring the remainder of the Home Island on the behest of the government. Blancbaston's letters to the King still survive in the National History Museum; they were written throughout the duration of his journey and stated simply that there were no natives to worry about on the island which pleased Henry greatly. Blancbaston returned home in 1304 to crowds of jubilant people and to a King who awarded him with wealth, land, and prestige. Blancbaston also married one of Henry's daughters, Princess Felicia, whom he had been in love with prior to his journey. The Barons Blancbaston, therefore, claim descent from these two lovers.
Henry III began to be plagued with cataracts in the later years of his reign; eventually becoming blind after the death of his wife (legend says that his vision loss prevented him to adequately see his wife's coffin at the funeral) and thus, as a blind monarch, entrusted his powers to his son Prince John before retiring to a country manor where he spent his last years of life in the care of friends. Prince John was hastily sent to Newcastle from his fiancee's home in the country where he became King John I of Anglia on September 5th, 1310. John was a ruthless and emotionless man who often spent his time trying to raise his own power in the realm. His wife, Eleanor Bauldry, bewitched him with her beauty and charm enough to distract him, at times, from politics. The birth of his ten children also distracted him from politics; as he wanted to be in all their lives equally as was humanly possible. One of his pastimes was to be the tutor of his heir, Prince John, who had been born in the small village of Sandford which now celebrates the birth with an annual festival. As his son's personal tutor, he taught John politics, philosophy and warfare; leaving more "scholarly pursuits" to scholars who would also help to educate the prince. John I also arranged the marriage of his eldest child to Ursula Cheney whose father happened to be an earl. John II was smitten with Ursula and even went so far as to thank his father for arranging the marriage. Ursula's shy and reserved nature made her famous in the Royal Court as Ursula the Silent but eventually the nature of the future Queen Consort would be significantly reformed. John I was often called the Marriage Maker because he arranged the marriages of all his children based on their opinions, etc as much as his own. When all was said and done, John I finally returned to political life with a grand vision in his eyes. His grand vision was to expand Anglian power overseas which he did with the colonization of islands near the Indian Peninsula which became a singular colony with its capital at New Hastings. John, to maintain control, had to dispose of Han soldiers who were threatening to take control of his posessions. His defeat of the Han made him known to many as The Victorious. John passed away from an infection on his leg on July 14th, 1360 with his son taking control as John II of Anglia just days later. John II was famous for introducing delicacies such as the ever-famous meat rings to Anglian cuisine as well as his plan to concentrate his efforts in the Home Island rather than overseas. The Parliament grew significantly under John II's reign; being forced to abide by the one shire, one representative rule enforced by its leaders. The Parliament soon became a body of politicians elected by those who had the power to vote; and as to who had that power caused plenty of problems which were eventually solved by men like Constantine Campion, a lawyer in the King's Court who implemented semi-universal (male) suffrage which was unheard of back in their ancestral homeland of England. Campion, therefore, is often known as a patron of democracy although most of his plans did not gain support from his superiors in the end. John II trusted men like Campion to keep Parliament under control while he concentrated his efforts at expanding his own power and prestige and indeed the power and prestige of the Anglian economy. John de Beauchamp believed in the idea of supply and demand which was proposed at first by an Anglian merchant named Alexander Dalyngridge who is still cited today for being one of the fathers of modern economics. Dalyngridge believed that economies were built on "natural laws" such as supply and demand and he believed that abiding by those laws generated wealth for the people and the nation. John II famously divided his time into a schedule which allowed him not only to commit his energies to politics but also to time with his children and romantic activities with his wife. However, John II eventually suffered problems such as the death of his wife and infections which worsened his health. Eventually, John died of heart disease on August 1st, 1423 and was laid to rest with his forefathers in the Royal Crypt in Newcastle although Henry I requested to be buried in Port Hope which he was. Out of his many children rose Prince George who became George I of Anglia after his father's demise. George had been stationed with a company of knights in the town of St. Edmunds before his coronation and since he often lived with his friends in the military he began to show militarist tendencies during his reign. One of his goals in life was to significantly strengthen the Anglian military which he based on his belief that the Han could try to attack again. Often, anti-Han feelings often fueled his militaristic policies. George also gave official support to the Knights Templar who had arrived in Anglia as "spiritual refugees" in the reign of his father and other predecessors. He permitted the Knights Templar's Grand Master to have a seat on the House of Lords which has been passed down since then through the long line of Grand Masters. The Knights Templar in Anglia swore an oath of perpetual loyalty and obedience to King George and to Anglia in general out of respect for the nation which took them in. George offered prime lands to newly arriving English settlers from England and from France where Jeanne D'Arc was busy routing the English in her God-given mission to save France. By 1453, at the end of the Hundred Years War in Europe, Anglia's population was clearly in the millions. George's wife, Amphelicia D'Auvay was known to be a bit of a tomboy but for the most part appeared as the manly woman because she still pursued feminine actitivies even if she was a bit more masculine than other women. George loved his wife dearly and wrote that the marriage was one of the best things to happen to him. However, her death in a tragic hunting accident caused George to drift into depression which eventually caused his death in 1456. Since he had no children, his sister's son, Laurence Witcombe (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Henry_IV_of_England_-_Illustration_from_Cassell%27s_History_of_England_-_Century_Edition_-_published_circa_1902.jpg), inherited the throne as King Laurence I. The de Beauchamp Era was over.
Laurence I's reign was marked with occassional debates with Parliament, the strengthening of the economy and the consolidation of his family's newlyfound power as the reigning dynasty of the realm. The new King of Anglia emulated his mother's ancestors throughout his reign out of sheer admiration for their work but he also showed that he was willing to try new ideas. For example, he built the massive Pleasantview Palace (commonly referred to as Pleasantview) in the outskirts of Newcastle where he and his royal court would be based during his reign. It was a Medieval version of Versailles with many nobles coming to dine and gossip with the royal family and indeed such activities helped Laurence keep the nobility under his wing. Laurence did not know that Pleasantview would gain a notorious reputation in the reigns of future monarchs. He then worked on getting the common folk to support him which included his lowering of taxes and his support of the Land Act of 1460 which allowed for greater control of farmlands by peasants. Laurence was a populist who strove to be the hero of his people and thus he worked day and night to gain this image for himself. His wife was the lovely Doucebelle Bauldry who he had met long before he became the King of Anglia and with her he had four children led by his heir, Prince William. William was educated by the best of the best and resented the nobles for their plans to gain influence with the Crown by, in his words, "begging the King's children for favors" as he noticed how some nobles tried to be around the children of the King in attempts to gain influence.
Laurence's reign ended in 1474 after a hearty bout with cancer and the road, then on, to the throne was free of obstacles for Prince William who, with his wife Eleanor Bauquemare, became the King of Anglia on February 9th, 1474. His first act was to grant his wife's father the title of Baron Bauquemare which he relished for the rest of his life. As the King of Anglia, William I allowed further English settlement in the Home Island which allowed him to reap the benefits of European technology and ideas at the time. William also was seen as an avid card player who, as a young man, played cards with friends at Pleasantview. His wife, Eleanor, was an avid socialite and gossiper who always seemed to know the innermost secrets of the Royal Court. Whenever William left court, Eleanor held the reins of power for him; making sure that everyone stayed efficient and loyal. William was the first monarch to consolidate royal authority in Pleasantview instead of the traditional palace of the de Beauchamp family in Newcastle. Pleasantview (http://www.inetours.com/England/Windsor/images/Quadrangle_9898.jpg), the English Versailles, became the bastion of luxurious opulence and royal power in the reign of William I. When his wife died in 1545, William declared himself to be celibate and thus with-held himself from remarriage unlike those before him. William also curbed the power of the nobility by sending those nobles he deemed to be troublemakers to faraway parts of the realm where they would not be too bothersome. He was the Anglian version of the Renaissance Man in all aspects of his life and was the first Anglian man of authority to meet with Raul de Cacavellos, the Spanish conquistador who became the first Spaniard to stumble upon Anglia. Deciding not to attempt a conquest of Anglia, Raul sent a report about the newfound nation which he was quite fond of back to the King of Spain. The report spread like wildfire across Europe and eventually became very popular in England when news of the "long lost Englishmen" reached the court of Elizabeth I (note that during this time; the long lost daughter of Catherine Parr and Thomas Seymour, Mary Seymour, was smuggled into Anglia where she married into the Beaumont family). William took advantage of Raul's arrival by acquiring European ideas and technology from merchants who would eventually flock to Anglia in the hundreds in order to gain access to thriving markets. When William died from the effects of a stroke in 1593, Anglia was a prosperous and strong nation with a thriving economy and powerful military. His successor, William II, maintained the Royal Court at Pleasantview and took it upon himself to honor his father by building a massive statue of him in Newcastle. William II inherited his father's opulent lifestyle and continued to maintain the curbing of noble power but he also took aim upon Parliament by subduing dissidents within the halls of the Commons and propelling to power those men who would become the "King's Friends" and support his policies. Indeed, William II is considered to be one of Anglia's controversial monarchs when it comes to his relation to Parliament and his possible interest in absolute monarchy (although plenty of Anglian monarchs have reigned like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I; two of England's most famous monarchs). From 1593 to 1642, William II reigned in a life of opulent luxury and sheer decadence although he was generally a goodhearted man who sincerely cared for the well being of his subjects. William hired European tutors to educate his children and his wife, Charlette Canaigres, would wear all the latest dresses, etc from European fashion. William I may have been known as "The Opulent" but his son became known as "The European".
William II noticed the arrival of Royalist refugees from the Commonwealth of England with an interest not only in bringing more people to his nation but in maintaining the monarchy which he knew was all but dead in Cromwell's England. To secure the long life of the monarchy as he envisioned, William II granted his support to Acts of Parliament which would strengthen Parliament in the face of royal power; although he did believe that civil rights were important it is said that he only endorsed these acts to avoid a civil war with Parliamentarians (earlier he had sponsored Acts of Parliament which maintained civil rights out of sincere belief). William II also hired Royalist refugees to serve him in important positions in Anglian politics with many of them swearing loyalty to him as their new dread sovereign lord; although a few wanted to return to an England which had a restored monarchy. It is often said that when the English Restoration occured, some English refugees left Anglia, returned to England, and told Charles II of England about the merits of the "faraway King who sheltered His Majesty's devoted subjects." William II's death in 1642 opened the way for his son, James I, to take the Anglian throne. James I, like his father, felt that the Royalist refugees were too important to disregard and so he kept them around in Anglia and gave them land on which to settle. His wife, Queen Consort Charlette, was in fact the daughter of an English aristocrat who fled from Cromwell's England as a Royalist (Cavalier) emigre. In the Jacobean Era, Anglia continued to prosper under the developing semi-constitutional monarchy which was in place and Anglian explorers such as Walter Parsones were claiming new lands overseas for the Kingdom of Anglia while the Wynckworth family was gaining power and prestige in the markets as Anglia's patrons of trade. James and Charlette had only two children: Prince James and Princess Sarah. Both of them were educated by European tutors but lived completely different lives for while James was being groomed as the next King of Anglia, Sarah was being courted by the son of one of her father's friends. James Scott, the 1st Duke of Monmouth (and illegitimate son of Charles II of England) came to Anglia after he failed to overthrow James II of England in the Monmouth Rebellion. James Scott married an Anglian woman and founded the Scott family which, along with families like the Beaumonts, came to be known as the elites of Anglian nobility.
Prince James was often called The European because he completely donned European attire and the powdered wigs that were making their appearance in the realm. He was deeply interested in cultural pursuits and thus was quite fond of European and Anglian composers and playwrights and their works. James was often seen as one of the major icons of Anglian fascination with European ideas, etc. His sister, Princess Sarah, was more interested in the opera, teatime gossip and her relationship with her lover, John Spicer whose father was the Marquess of Westchester. The two married after several months and would have four children; two sons and two daughters. Her father had grown to be a sick and elderly man by the birth of her first child, William and was confined to a country manor for the rest of his life. James I, King of Anglia, passed away on March 21, 1660 at the stroke of midnight and his son was hastily coronated as King James II. By the time of his father's death, James II was courting the shy and beautiful Helen Cobham whose father was a wealthy aristocrat. Helen would eventually marry James and become famous for bearing about eleven children; dying from a fever after giving birth to her last child, Princess Zoe, who survived. Although James was madly in love with Helen and at times obsessed with her, he took Olivia Burton as his second wife. Olivia, a sophisticated and cunning woman, bewitched the single father of eleven and bore him another eleven children but she lived to a ripe old age unlike Helen. The twenty one children of King James II were each given their own estates; eventually marrying into the noble families of the realm. Out of them all, King James II chose the first child from his first marriage, Amelia, to be his heir. Olivia Burton was fond of her husband's heir and thus showered her with dresses, jewels and suitors. Amelia was tutored by brilliant teachers and was swarmed by people of all sorts. On carriage rides through the city of Royalton, the people often threw rose petals and confetti while shouting praises and best wishes for the princess. On one occassion, the fourteen year old Amelia gave a spare dress to a poor mother while donating money from her own pocket to charities for the downtrodden. She also spent time with orphan children despite her royal blood and was often known for her simplicity and heart of gold. James II's opulence and the decadence of the court was not for his daughter who valued different things. Amelia was sixteen when her stepmother passed away and she was placed in the care of her father who eventually fell ill with an illness after a while. Amelia quickly donned the attire of a nurse and attended to her father's every need with much zeal. Amelia's efforts to keep her father alive eventually ended when he died from the effects of his illness when she was seventeen in the year 1689. The One Year Regency began when Roger Williams was chosen to be her regent. Roger was the father of one of Amelia's childhood friends, Barbara Williams, and had been a wealthy aristocrat with plenty of political experience. The Regency was marked with a period of cultural and social growth including an appreciation for European fashion. It lasted for one year before Amelia took the throne as Queen Amelia I in 1690. Losing his powers, Roger Williams eventually became a baronet and a member of the Privy Council while his daughter would marry one of his colleagues' sons. Amelia's first act in power was the Great Purification of 1690 in which replaced the opulence and decadence of her father's court with her own simplicity while her second act in power was to find a suitable husband as one of her goals in life was to continue the House of Witcombe's hold on the throne. She eventually found the courtier, Charles Holland, to be a good love r and they married after months of romantic excursions and letters in 1693. Amelia also strengthened the Privy Council; maintaining their right to have seats in Parliament during sessions. Amelia was said to have had pacifistic leanings although she was alright with war only as long as it was the last resort. Amelia and Charles had their first child on the night of May 1st, 1695 when Prince Alexander came out of the womb to the joy of the congregation of nurses, aristocrats and others that surrounded the bed of their dread sovereign lady. The name for the child was chosen by Charles who named him after the famous Macedonian conqueror of ancient times; to which Amelia said: "Hopefully my son shall be as famous as his namesake." Alexander would have immense fame in his homeland to his mother's satisfaction and his birth would be followed by the births of his two brothers and three sisters before Amelia called it quits with the children. Alexander was educated in the company of the sons of the nobility including John Williams who was the firstborn son of Barbara, his mother's childhood friend. The school where he was educated was a boys only school but Alexander was able to see the students at the nearby girls' school including his future wife, Charlette Morley who he became infatuated with; often writing letters to her whenever he had the time. The two went on numerous dates to their parents' satisfaction before marrying years later at the Royal Chapel. At the time of her son's marriage, Amelia was the monarch of a prosperous nation and had a great marriage with her husband along with good relations with all of her children. She was the beloved monarch of the masses and many often spoke fondly of their liege. In the mid 1700s, Amelia was still going strong as was the Anglian economy which was stimulated by the brilliance of the realm's economic plans and many people prospered although there was still poverty in most parts of the realm. Her children were growing up well and the love she had for her husband was still strong but she became depressed when she found out that Charles was suffering from a dehabilitating illness which confined him to his bed on numerous occassions. Amelia became the nurse once again; often attending to her husband's every need. His death in 1713 sent her into depression which she only got out of after her son, Alexander, convinced her to move on with her life. Alexander, around this time, had two children out of the total of six that he would eventually have: Constantine and Elizabeth. Amelia shocked the Royal Court when she took a vow of celibacy that lasted until she died in 1720; her reign was pretty much without any problems as it had been when her consort was still living. She did, however, deal with feuds between the factions that were growing in number in the Parliament. The works of John Locke were appearing on Anglian bookshelves around this time with many people, including the Queen, being influenced by it. However, the Hobbesian philosophy which had been the mainstream philosophy ever since Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan was first published in Anglia held the majority of power despite the significant popularity of Locke's ideas. In epistemology, empiricism became the most popular branch although rationalism and other branches had some popularity among the philosophers and scholars of the day. Empiricist thought influenced men such as Robert Mason who not only brought the works of Isaac Newton and other legendary scientists to Anglia but who also made his own discoveries with his colleagues in the Royal League of Scientists which had Queen Amelia as its first patron in the 1700s. Thomas Gifford, a physician in the Royal Court, wrote numerous texts about the various systems of the human body while Benedict Hawtrey experimented with electricity with the records of his experiments influencing future scientists. Amelia's reign thus gained the title of the "Age of Discovery" in the sense that a lot of scientific discoveries were made during her reign. Personally, Amelia was fascinated by the ideas of John Locke and was seen reading his books in her spare time. The books of the European thinkers flooded the bookshelves of Anglian libraries and influenced plenty of Anglia's political thinkers and philosophers. James Rudhale, the influential Anglian philosopher, had studied the texts of the European thinkers and was deeply moved by them. Rudhale famously believed that there was no form of ideal government and that monarchies were not evil but rather the monarchs were. In his Treatise on Political Understanding, James Rudhale advocated such ideas and wrote: "There is no greater leader than one who is willing to fight for their people." His idea of the social contract was relatively the same as Locke's and Rousseau's; Rudhale held that people had a right to revolution but that this right could only be used as a last resort. To Rudhale, it was better to first use peaceful means of achieving reform. James Rudhale also championed the right to freedom of religion and the idea that women were equal to men. Rudhale is often cited as one of the foremost icons of the Anglian Enlightenment; he was born in the region of Norwoodshire in 1730 and died in 1800 during his visit to Newcastle. Another icon of the Anglian Enlightenment is George Fenton, who, with his wife Constance, served as the patron of the Bell House Salon in New London. George Fenton was an aristocrat who often sponsored the salons of his day and who was fascinated by the dogma of the Enlightenment. He and his wife were primarily active in the Bell House Salon in which numerous artists, musicians, philosophers and scientists all came to exchange ideas and discuss the issues of the day. The Anglian Enlightenment eventually ended in the early 1800s but the legacy of the period still lives on in the form of literature, monuments, ideas and so forth. The Bell House Salon, known to many as one of the "Houses of Ideas", still stands today as a museum to the Enlightenment and those men and women who led it. The Enlightenment, however, occured during the time when the Anglian throne was shrouded in controversy as King Thomas I of Anglia, the last member of the House of Witcombe to reign, died childless after refusing to find a replacement for his barren wife. He had only one sibling, Princess Elizabeth, and her son, Matthew Parker, would inherit the throne because of a special Act of Parliament. Matthew's coronation in the spring of 1774 ended over three hundred years of Witcombe rule. Coronated as King Matthew I of Anglia, Matthew Parker would consolidate his family's newfound power through various means. Matthew also implemented significant reforms in the spirit of the Enlightenment which made him very popular with the philosophers and intellectuals of his day; gaining him the title of "The Enlightened". In 1777, he married the lovely Alice Walton whose father served on the Privy Council of King Thomas the Childless. Alice bore him about ten children in total; beginning with Matthew II in 1779. Matthew II was given tutors imported from Europe and learned a variety of subjects as well as a fondness for Voltaire. When Matthew Parker fell ill from tuberculosis in the winter of 1793, Matthew II was hastily sent to Newcastle in preparation for his coronation as many felt that Matthew Parker would die in the end. In his last will and testament, Matthew Parker exhorted his son and heir to: "defend the people whom thou hast been groomed to govern with ruthless determination." The King of Anglia, Matthew I, died from tuberculosis in his wife's arms on December 1st, 1793 with his last words being: "Anglia, Alice, God." His son, Matthew II, was coronated as King Matthew II of Anglia several days after the death of his father with a coronation for his wife, Meredith Thatherton, held several more days later. Matthew II was a Conservative monarch who often held sympathies with the French Revolution although he would later declare war against (Napoleonic) France after tensions between them rose to the boiling point especially after the seizure of Anglian ships by French sailors. Matthew II, in his letter to his wife from a navy dockyard, wrote the following: "It is not my intention to merely jump upon the bandwagon with the British, our brothers by blood, in the crusade against Bonaparte but rather I, and Anglia, do so only so that peace may be restored and that injustices may be corrected sternly." Anglian soldiers were sent all over the world during the Napoleonic Wars to fight the French; mostly in joint operations with the British who regarded them as strong and noble soldiers at arms. Matthew II, from the simplistic splendour at Flemington Manor, was a vocal supporter of the war effort and his wife, Meredith, funded the war effort to the point that soldiers recieved boxes of chocolates and tobacco with her portrait on it, giving rise to the modern day Meredith Boxes. Once Napoleon was finally defeated at Waterloo, Anglian soldiers returned home to jubilant crowds and returned to their pre-war lives. Matthew II and his wife became immensely popular as well as certain Members of Parliament and military leaders such as Sir John Fowler who was knighted by the King after accounts of his heroism came to Anglia with his exploits such as the saving of trapped comrades in a sand pit becoming etched in the history books as legendary lessons of bravery. During Matthew II's reign, two sons and two daughters were born but the first child born was Princess Isabella, who would later become famous throughout Anglia as The Illustrious. Isabella was born in 1804 at Flemington Manor in the company of her father, his associates, and priests of the Church of Anglia during a cool spring afternoon. As the heir to the throne, Isabella was showered with all sorts of gifts and tutors imported from Britain who taught her how to speak various languages such as French which surprised members of the Court because: "An Anglian only hears English in his life. He is born with it, he lives with it, he dies with it." Regardless of this, Matthew II funded the lessons of his heir as well as those of his three other children and Meredith, his wife, often took Isabella out on walks on the manor trail where she learned all about animals and nature. At the age of three, she was given the tutelage of Sir George Taylor who became Isabella's favorite tutor to the point that, in the words of her mother, "she would only want to be taught by her dear Georgie."
George Taylor's lessons were built upon his ideal style of education which merged Rousseau's theories with traditionalism and which had much success throughout the years it was applied in the case of the princess. Isabella, in her adult years, often praised Taylor for his efforts to enlighten her mind with the words of Newton, Shakespeare and Voltaire. At the age of fourteen, Isabella met the sixteen year old Theodore Carew, the son of the Duke of Leifordshire, who would later become her husband. Isabella was completely obsessed with Theodore (and vice versa) to the point that she would spend hour after hour with him every day of the week and that she would stick close to him at church. Numerous paintings often show their mutual romantic obsession; many people knew about it at the time. Isabella's depression at the age of sixteen when George Taylor died was basically alleviated by the efforts of "good old Theo" who spent all his spare time with her to comfort her since George Taylor had still been her dear Georgie. The death of her mother at the age of seventeen also provoked a period of depression which Theodore dealt with like before. She was at the bedsides of both her mother and George Taylor but was unable to be at her father's side since she was, at the time, staying at the manor of one of her father's close friends. She had been sleeping when soldiers and ministers came into her room to tell her that her father was dead. Isabella did not seem to believe it until they bowed to her; giving her a letter from the family chaplain. Isabella, in response to this, looked at them all sternly and said: "I will be good."
In a letter to Theodore Carew, Isabella showers him with the news of her impending coronation and exhorts him to come in attendance: "....not only as a faithful subject of the Crown but also as a faithful partner in true love which, hopefully, will never be broken." The coronation of Queen Isabella was often said to have been a luxurious and breathtaking spectacle which began with a solemn church service in her honor and ended with a coronation banquet filled to the brim in fine wine and delicious food along with court jesters and acrobats. Her reign had begun officially in 1832 and would not end until the year 1901 when the heart of the "greatest Queen to ever live and reign" simply "ceased to work."
In 1834, she married Theodore Carew in a grand wedding ceremony which was attended by hundreds and thousands of noblemen, aristocrats, workers and bourgeoise as well as orphan children who Isabella personally invited to the wedding after her brief but famous meeting with an orphan by the name of Emily at the palace gates sometime before. Theodore, then in his twenties, was beloved by the entire realm as a man of the arts and as a devoted lover who cherished his new wife. The honeymoon was at a small country manor in the far corners of the realm: Crown House. Crown House, built in 1803 for a minor aristocrat, was purchased by Theodore out of his own pocket for his wife who immediately fell in love with the property during her first visit. It was about one year later that Isabella had her first child, a son which she named George, apparently after her beloved tutor. Prince George would be educated by British tutors and was raised at Flemington Manor like his mother was; he was cited to have been especially fond of the strawberries that grew in the manor's many patches. As a child, George was often known to be a curious child; always asking questions about various things. He would later recieve four brothers and five sisters over the course of his life. During the reign of Queen Isabella, the legends of the Isabellic Age such as Stephen Carpenter and Mary Goodyere came into fame. The Industrial Revolution was also imported to Anglia at this time; thanks to the efforts of George Kinge, a businessman with connections in the British Empire. While Stephen Carpenter made his living as the son of humble villagers who married into the aristocracy as "Anglia's Charles Dickens", Mary Goodyere astounded the realm with her philosophical talents and her cries for women's rights. Mary Goodyere famously wrote a series of letters known as the July Letters in which she criticized the idea of female inferiority with her famous words: "What is the Virgin Mary, then, if she is not a person?"
In religious circles, the Anglian Jesuit, St. Gerard Bailey, was famously active with the multitude of orphanages and soup kitchens that he ran throughout the realm and with his writings about his ardent belief in Christian unity which he felt was needed in the world. Gerard Bailey had immense popularity among the Christian faithful, regardless of denomination, and even athiests and other non-Christians admired him for his works of charity in the service of the poor and downtrodden. He died in 1856 from the effects of overworking, was the namesake of the Bailey Association which continues to run his soup kitchens, etc to this day, and was eventually canonized in 1893 by the Church of Anglia as a saint. One of his ardent followers, Angela Armstrong, expanded the Bailey Association to include battered women's shelters; at Gerard Bailey's request before he died. The poetry of Tostig Longe and Martin Kyngeston and the musical compositions of Walter Brook became popular during the Isabellic Era as well. Queen Isabella was particularly fond of most of these legendary personalities and had no problems with sponsoring them as their patron. Although she was seen by many to be a liberal, Isabella was an ardent supporter of imperialism and supported the strengthening of control over the colonies although her idea of imperialism was more humanitarian than racial in justification. Isabella also had an entourage of politicians around her such as Stephen Goldwell and the Earl of Gainsborough. Goldwell, Anglia's first Methodist Prime Minister, was famous for his ardent belief in individual liberty and his emphasis on religious tolerance and national pride while the Earl of Gainsborough was seen by many as a stubborn and stern figure in the House of Commons. Isabella was fond of Stephen Goldwell to the point that she granted him the title of Baron Goldwell which he accepted gladly during an audience. Isabella was once a mischevious little girl with a knack for curiousity but now she was the calm and refined monarch of millions. Her heir, Prince George, had been involved in literary circles and was a close friend of Tostig Longe whose epic poem about witch trials, The Condemned, was controversially published in 1856. The poem was graphic in its description of the deaths of witches and was thus condemned by people Tostig famously called "the prudes of the papers". While Tostig Longe wrote about witches, Martin Kyngeston wrote about the death of his infant daughter, Agnes, whose demise at the hands of typhus brought him into depression. His epic poem, The Pearl, has always been cited by many to have been about Agnes Kyngeston. Poets and writers of all kinds in the Queendom formed literary clubs in which they shared their poems and stories with each other and it was not uncommon to see legends arise from the humble clubs. Stephen Carpenter, the foremost novelist of the Isabellic Age, often appeared at aristocratic galas where he read from his novels. At one such gala, he met his wife, Anne Landry, who he eventually married after a period of courtship. Carpenter`s novels were often about social issues such as poverty and prostitution. The Wynckworth Trading Company, still active in Anglia since the Middle Ages, had established branches all over the world with its leaders, members of the Wynckworth family, becoming very wealthy and powerful people. Alexander Marshall, the longest living personality of the Isabellic Age, would also appear in the spotlight after winning the respect of the members of his literary club in the city of Nordale with his poem, The Washerwoman. Marshall idolized the Isabellic Age as the ideal age, a golden age of prosperity and cultural growth. When it ended, Marshall wrote The Golden Age as an epic poem which addressed the demise of the age he treasured. He would die from heart failure in 1936.
During the Isabellic Age, Mary Goodyere challenged society's views on the role of women with such passion that she provoked other like minded women including the Queen herself to do the same. Queen Isabella, who had been an avid reader of the writings of Wollstonecraft, was particularly fond of Goodyere and her crusade. Goodyere inspired the suffragettes to lead the fight for the vote although she famously quipped that not all women were interested in voting. Goodyere's husband also supported her crusade and funded it out of his own pocket. The crusade for gender equality ended in a success and in a letter to her daughter from her deathbed, Mary wrote:
''I die with a joyful heart in the knowledge that the women of my beloved nation can now enjoy the same rights and privileges as men and that they may relish the liberty which was fought for by our ancestors. I can only hope that women will enjoy these newfound gifts for many years to come.''