A political history of Balancía

This page shall document the political history of Balancía from the reign of King Alfonso I in 2655. For the history prior to this, see the page which documents the reign of King Philip I.

See also: Lord Keeper of the King's Seal; Balancín Monarchy

Reign of King Alfonso I (2655 - 2661)

See also Alfonso I

Accession

Alfonso's accession to the throne marked a major victory for King Philip I's Murcian dynasty. Philip I had reigned for fifteen years, throughout which the future wasn't entirely certain. Some members of court believed that Balancía should rejoin the Madrilene Empire following Philip's death, while others began to consider alternative forms of government. Philip marked in his will that he wished for his son, Alfonso, to succeed him as King. In addition to his will, Philip created the procedure for an Accession Council (a practice that exists to this day) which was filled with pro-monarchist ministers. The Accession Council was responsible for acting on Philip's behalf after his death.

King Alfonso I

The Accession Council met at Murcia Castle after Philip's death on 1 August 2655. Alfonso was residing at Pembroke at the time. Chaired by Lord Juan Pius, the Accession Council's responsibility was to proclaim the new King, as well as inform Alfonso of the death of the crown. Reports from the first Accession Council are hotly debated. However, the general consensus among historians is that the Council was more contested than Philip had originally intended.

Despite filling the Council with pro-monarchists, not all members who wholly convinced of Alfonso's ability to adequately succeed his father. During Philip I's reign, Alfonso made public declarations which suggested that his interests laid in academics rather than governance. Indeed, Alfonso's own diaries have since confirmed this, with them confirming that his life seemed "destined" to be spent in the histories. While no record exists, the most likely contender for King aside from Alfonso would have been Philip I's brother, Lord Carlos. Carlos Murcia, as the younger son of King Philip, served in a number of key ministerial positions in his court. Lord Carlos was Minister for the Crown, a position which made him the most powerful minister in the country. Philip's decision to name Lord Pius as head of the Accession Council has been interpreted as a mistrust on the part of Philip.

Despite this, the Accession Council, led by Lord Juan Pius, sent word to Pembroke and Alfonso rode for Murcia Castle. He was formally proclaimed His Grace King Alfonso, King of the Rock the next day. He was crowned on 3 November 2655.

Reluctance

Alfonso's desire to spend his time studying history and supporting the development of Pembroke University was not mitigated by his reign nor his coronation. In the first month of his reign, he only spent the night at Murcia Castle (the home of the court and government) on the night before and night of his coronation. Aside from that, he resided almost entirely at Pembroke. In an attempt to mitigate the impact of this on the general function of the government, King Alfonso made the unprecedented decision to vest his legal authority in another individual.

Alfonso created the office of Lord Keeper of the King's Seal, commonly referred to as the Lord Seal. In the royal charter which was signed only 2 days after his coronation, Alfonso granted the Lord Seal "the powers temporal of the King of the realm and henceforth the right to speak with the King's wisdom and voice". He named Lord Juan Pius to the position.

As Pius ran the court, Alfonso studied at Pembroke. Throughout his almost six year reign, Alfonso only ever signed laws that were placed in front of him by his Lord Seal. These laws included the Carriageway Act of 2657, which consolidated authority for building and maintaining new carriageways into the government, and the Treasury Act of 2659 which created a centralised treasury aside from the Crown's own treasuries.

Courtship

The biggest issue of Alfonso I's reign was the issue of his marriage, or lack thereof. As he entered the second year of his reign, the pressure on the King to marry was growing. Many, especially Lord Pius himself, were cautious over increasing the amount of power in the Accession Council. Some feared that the monarchy would devolve into an elected position, with the Accession Council choosing the successor if no obvious candidate presented themselves. In addition, there were fears that the King's will would become an unreliable source of finding the successor. Thus, a royal line needed to be produced.

Lord Juan Pius

Several Royal Balls were organised by Lord Pius, with the aim of finding the King a match that he would be well suited towards. It was readily apparent that Lord Pius was promoting his own daughter, Lady Hyde Pius, as a contender for the King's wife. Because of this, as well as his general reluctance to engage in court at all, Alfonso was reluctant to attend the balls. Ultimately, there were six balls between 2656 and 2658, none of which resulted in a royal marriage.

Since his death, there has been speculation into why King Alfonso was so unwilling to marry a lady of the court. At the time, it seemed to be believed that Alfonso associated the politicking of the court with the ladies. If he had married one of them, his personal life would be absorbed into the fray of internal politics. Some arguments since his death have suggested that his reluctance to marry was born out of an asexuality that Alfonso presented in much of his time at Pembroke University. There are no reports at all of Alfonso ever engaging in sexual activity with anybody, and no relationships have ever been uncovered.

Eventually, in October 2658, Alfonso dismissed Lord Juan Pius from his position of Lord Seal. The announcement came as a shock to much of the court, as Pius was managing the show. While some feared that Alfonso would begin governing for himself, this was quickly relieved as King Alfonso appointed his uncle, Lord Carlos Murcia, as the new Lord Seal.

Formal records from the court of King Alfonso I are rare. The most famous text, written by Lord Carlos's squire, seems to suggest that Alfonso's decision was born out of a frustration with Lord Pius and his insistence of marriage. Perhaps this was because Pius was relentless in pursuing his own daughter as Queen, or perhaps a general fear of an heirless succession. Regardless, Lord Pius left court and would not return for two years.

Death

King Alfonso's reign continued without interference from the King himself. Lord Carlos seamlessly continued the administration of Lord Pius and, likely due to his own standing as a potential successor of the King, Lord Carlos didn't push the matter of marriage very strongly. During this time, Lord Carlos married Lady Hyde after the death of his first wife, a German duchess called Anne, in 2656.

In late 2660, after his five-year anniversary on the throne, Alfonso announced his decision to attend a parlay with academics from the University of Madrid. Earlier in the year, Alfonso College had been established and Alfonso was seriously considering taking up role as Master of the University. Lord Carlos, who was Lord Seal at the time, advised that Alfonso not take the journey, which led to him being replaced with Lord Juan Pius. Lord Pius too advised the King not go on the six month expedition. However, he did not press the issue. King Alfonso departed Balancía on 1 December 2660. He spent the following six months in Madrid, where it is believed he was influenced heavily by Emperor Hadrian of the Madrilene Empire. Some feared that, upon his return, King Alfonso would try to push for Balancía's return to the Empire. Whatever the truth of this belief, fate intervened. On the sea journey back to the Doggerlands, a major storm in the Atlantic caused Alfonso's ship to sink. Alfonso's body was never recovered and it is believed that he died while trying to swim to one of the surviving ships in his flotilla.

Reign of King Charles I (2661 - 2695)

See also: Charles I

Accession and coronation

Charles I before his accession

Following the news that King Alfonso I had died in a shipwreck, the Lord Seal Juan Pius immediately called for an Accession Council. Since Alfonso's death was unexpected, the Council was rather incomplete. The previous year, King Alfonso had dismissed Lord Carlos Murcia as Lord Seal over his opposition to his planned trip to Madrid University. Along with Lord Carlos, four other senior ministers of the crown resigned. By the time of Alfonso's death, they were still yet to be replaced. The Accession Council was only half filled. Yet, it immediately made the proclamation that Lord Carlos, King Philip's brother and King Alfonso's uncle, would succeed as His Grace King Charles Murcia.

He was quickly crowned at a coronation alongside his wife. This became the first coronation in Balancín history to crown a King alongside a Queen. Queen Hyde Pius was the daughter of the Lord Seal. King Charles's accession was a big boost in power for House Pius. Lord Juan was the younger brother of Lord Andre Pius and thus had the ear of the richest House in the Kingdoms. Charles I's early reign reflected this power dynamic.

Early reign

Although Charles played a significantly more active role in government than his nephew did before him, he still relied significantly on Lord Juan for many aspects of government. Although the pair had a contentious relationship following their years of competing for power in the courts of King Philip and King Alfonso, they were remarkably well matched. Significantly, Charles promoted better record keeping than during the reign of his predecessors and so much of the relationship between the pair were, to some extent or another, documents after Charles's coronation.

King Charles and Lord Juan's relationship reached its apex in 2664 when the pair promoted new tariffs on trade with the Madrilene Empire. The tariffs themselves weren't economically significant as they concerned the trade of ivory, which was hardly a significant market in Balancía. However, it represented a significant victory for Charles and Balancía as a whole. The new tariffs was linked with the signing of the Madrilene Peace, which was the first peace agreement signed between Balancía and the Madrilene Empire since the Balancín War for Independence almost twenty years prior. It is said that Lord Juan was significant in the negotiation of the treaty and his victory won him significant respect from the King.

Queen Hyde and the Lorenz Affair

Queen Hyde Pius, second wife to King Charles I

The early reign was also characterised by the role of Queen Hyde. Queen Hyde was the daughter of Lord Juan and thus was heavily influenced by him. Lord Juan's diaries, which were discovered in 2705 during a formal accounting of Pius House, recorded many meetings between Lord Juan and the Queen in which they discussed a whole range of matters that the Queen would not typically be privy to. One such matter that seemed to garner significant attention at the time of its uncovering was the Lorenz Affair. Lord Vinick Lorenz was the Lord High Admiral during the early reign but, in 2666, it was uncovered that he was engaging in an extramarital affair with Lady Beesbery, the wife of the Lord High Steward.

The Lorenz Affair infuriated King Charles, who was a close friend to Lord Wyman Beesbery (the Lord High Steward) from childhood. The records of the King's Council from the day it was revealed to court showed the King demanding Lorenz's resignation as Lord High Admiral. While Lord Juan was able to calm King Charles enough to wait 24 hours before proceeding with a public dismissal of Lord Lorenz, he was unable to convince the King to keep Lorenz in post. Lorenz was a close political ally of House Pius and his dismissal would have been embarrassing for Lord Andre Pius, as well as a weakening of their control of the court.

After the meeting of the King's Council, Lord Juan held a private audience with his daughter, Queen Hyde. In the meeting, they discussed the affair and the importance of keeping Lorenz in post as Lord High Admiral. After the discussion, it is widely believed that Queen Hyde spoke with King Charles. After their discussion, King Charles gave up on his insistence to dismiss Lord Lorenz. Instead, Lord Beesbery was compensated with a knighthood for his son. The affair was seldom mentioned in court after the incident.

Princess Cecilia's Claim

The event that was widely considered to mark the end of Charles I's early reign was ignited when Princess Cecilia Murcia, the daughter of King Philip I and King Charles I's niece, returned to Balancía after an extended period in France on 20 June 2671. Princess Cecilia was King Philip's eldest daughter and some considered her to be a contender for the throne. Upon the death of King Alfonso, those supporters of the Princess were not present at the Pius-controlled Accession Council. However, upon her return to Balancía, as well as King Charles's declaration that he wished to see his daughter succeed him as Queen, ignited speculation because a) a woman could now inherit the throne, and b) Princess Cecilia was a more senior royal descendant.

Princess Cecilia found support primarily in those more ambitious houses that sought to displace the Pius-dominated court at Murcia Castle. Upon returning, she stationed herself at Talaga Castle along with her sister, Laurel, and wrote a declaration to the realm.

"To all those lords and ladies of the Rock who swore loyalty to my beloved father, I hereby lay claim to the Iberian Throne of Balancía."

King Charles did not make any comment on the matter at all. Lord Pius believed that a royal comment on the Princess's declaration would lend it legitimacy. However, House Pius declared an informal war on Princess Cecilia. Owing to House Pius's massive resources, they were able to raise a standing army to march on Talaga Castle. The siege lasted less than one month, before Lord Arthur of Talaga surrendered and gave up the Princess and her sister.

The rebellion formally ended when the Princess issued a statement on the steps of the Iberian Palace, pledging fealty to King Charles and renouncing the throne in perpetuity. Lord Pius's journals revealed that Princess Cecilia was threatened with execution by the Pius army. Despite the rebellion's short life, it created a precedent that undermined King Charles's ability to project power. After the rebellion, and for the rest of Lord Juan Pius's life, people perceived the true power in the Kingdom to be with House Pius and not House Murcia.

Pius's ill-health and death

Into the 2670s, Juan Pius's health began to decline. In 2674, he suffered a serious stroke and was absent from court. Later, in 2675, word got out that Lord Pius was refusing to eat. These reports were shocking to many, especially with the wide spread belief that Lord Pius was actually running the country. In reality, the 2670s gave King Charles the opportunity to govern independently - and he did so. In 2676, King Charles commissioned the construction of a new capitol, in what would become the Iberian Palace. In addition, he regularly addressed court by himself. He even considered forming a Parliament, though this wouldn't materialise until much later.

Pius's health recovered slightly between 2677 and 2679, during which time he returned to many of his duties. However, for the most part, his time was up. Pius's diaries noted the change in respect that people had for him. His position in court was dwindling as King Charles named more and more courtiers independently of Pius's influence.

The biggest crack in House Pius's power was the death of Lord Andre Pius in 2678. Lord Andre, Juan's older brother, was replaced as Lord and head of house by his 15-year old son. Without a clear leader, and with Juan's health in decline, many began to strongly believe that House Pius's apex was behind it.

Eventually, in early 2680, Juan Pius suffered a second major stroke. While he survived, he was severely debilitated. For the remainder of 2680 until his death in October, he was unable to speak. He died on 30 October 2680 at the age of 70 and was buried at Murcia Castle, as was requested in his will.

Pius's death was well prepared for, thanks to his series of strokes. King Charles named Sir Ricardo Dafydd to the position of Lord Seal in 2680. However, many now strongly understood that King Charles intended to rule himself.

Charles's age

The death of Juan Pius created a general sense in court that the era of political figures that included King Philip I, Lord Juan Pius, and King Charles was coming to an end. This was joined by the fact that King Charles himself was very old. At the time of Juan Pius's death in 2680, King Charles was 76 years old.

While many were confident in his health - as he was, in fact, extremely fit and active - he gained the nickname the Old King and many began to plan for his succession. As it turned out, King Charles reigned until he was 90. But, before his death, the last big issue of his reign was the succession.

It was during his period that King Charles rebranded the monarchy. He changed his formal style to His Majesty King Charles and moved the court to the newly constructed Iberian Palace. Murcia Castle remained House Murcia's ancestral seat, as well as the Royal Family's summer home.

The Mountain War (2685)

The Mountain War broke out in the Almere mountains when several tribes of barbarians that lived in the region began to raid the outer farms of the Balancín realm. The war was brief but served as an opportunity for King Charles to demonstrate his ability to lead of the country. While the King did not lead soldiers into battle himself, his decisive leadership helped vacate the mountains of barbarians. In addition, it solidified Balancía as the firm power of the eastern Doggerlands.

The victory parade through the Iberian Palace was one of the largest events of his reign and would not be beaten in terms of crowd size until the coronation of Philip II in 2749.

The succession debate

Upon taking the throne, King Charles made the declaration that he wanted to see his daughter and only child, Elisa, succeed him as Queen of the Rock. Charles married Hyde Pius in 2656. However, before this, he had married the German Princess Anne, with whom he had a daughter, Elisa. After remarrying, it became quickly clear that Queen Hyde was unable to have more children. Thus, if the throne were to continue through Charles's lineage, it would have to go through Elisa.

Issues with this arose immediately. Firstly, many didn't support the throne passing to a woman. While the concept of male-only succession was floating around, it was not vocalised until Elisa was formally named as the heir to King Charles. The biggest proponent of this was Lord Ause Fallon, the Duke of Belemadena, who argued that the throne should pass through Elisa to her son, Charles.

The idea that the throne should skip over Elisa was not an unpopular one. Firstly, Elisa had struggled to gain many friends in court and her marriage to Maeron Martell of Sardinia annoyed many courtiers who would have strongly coveted the royal match. Prince Charles (Elisa's son) began to be groomed by many of those who supported the idea of skipping. Eventually, they formalised into the faction that became the Whigs.

Elisa was a very jealous woman. Having lived through much of the discrimination that women faced in the early years of Balancía, she began to believe that Charles himself was conspiring to usurp her throne. When Maeron Martell died in 2682, Elisa's abuse towards Charles became significant. She would often have her guards beat the Prince, and refused to give him food when he would be locked away in his chambers for days on end. Eventually, King Charles uncovered his grandson's mistreatment. He sent him away from court for his own protection, sending him to the Royal Navy for his education.

Divisions in court

The Lord Seal during the initial period of contention was Sir Ricardo Dafydd. As one of the chosen successors of Lord Juan Pius, Dafydd seemed automatic in his support for King Charles's choice of heir. Upon taking the office in 2680, Dafydd began to organise the support in opposition to Lord Ause Fallon's attempts to rally support for supplanting Elisa. Dafydd's faction in court was the largest and Elisa gained confidence from Dafydd's advice and counsel. Supporters of Elisa's claim became known as the Rooks, named after the Chess piece and its symbolism with castles.

Dafydd's position as Lord Seal was significantly weaker than that of Lord Juan Pius. He was not a member of the nobility and rose to prominence as an advisor to House Pius on commerce affairs. As House Pius's power continued to dwindle in court, so did Dafydd's leadership of the court, especially given the King's reducing health and thus the increasing emphasis on the role of the Lord Seal.

In reaction to the creation of the Rook faction, the Whigs, led by Lord Ause Fallon, formalised their faction into the Whigs - named after a term of general reformers. Historians believe that Fallon chose the term "Whig" to avoid associations with sexism and misogyny, but instead wishing to be seen as reformers and progressives.

Fall of the Rooks

The dominance of the Rooks in court was short lived. When much of the court uncovered Elisa's mistreatment of her son Charles, support for her claim began to fall. Initially, it was minor fluctuations such as the resignation of the Lord Spiritual over Elisa's comments. Eventually, however, as support continued to fall, Dafydd seemed unable to govern effectively. The sole issue of the court come the fall of 2685, after the Balancín victory in the Mountain War, was the succession, and Dafydd's association with the Rooks made him increasingly unpopular.

On 1 November 2685, Dafydd was ambushed by courtiers in the halls of the Iberian Palace. The Whig courtiers demanded Dafydd to explain why he was ignoring Princess Elisa's track record of abuse. Reports suggest that many of them turned violent, only to suggest that it represented what the Kingdom would become should she succeed King Charles to the throne. As tensions rose, it became clear to Dafydd that his lack of nobility left him unable to confidently navigate the crisis. He feared that his continuation in his post would contribute to a war for the succession, something that he, and most Rooks, wanted to avoid.

On the same day as his ambush, Dafydd resigned as Lord Keeper of the King's Seal. King Charles was angry by Dafydd's decision and tried to convince him to remain in post. However, Dafydd's decision was firm and he left court that same evening alongside his wife and son. King Charles sent three letters to Dafydd, requesting his return to court. None of the letters were followed by Dafydd's return.

King Charles's health was weak in 2685. At the age of 80, he was struggling to maintain even his own level of work. In the absence of a Lord Seal, that workload looked set to increase. Thus, a replacement was essential for the effective continuation of Charles's government. He did consider appointing his grandson, Prince Charles, after his success as a Commander during the Mountain War. However, he recognised that such an appointment would create the impression that he was beginning to favour Charles over his own heir, Elisa.

Ultimately, King Charles elected to appoint the person who seemed to hold the broadest base of support in court - that of Lord Ause Fallon, the leader of the Whigs. Lord Fallon became Lord Seal on 3 November 2685. His appointment was a clear victory for the Whigs, whose base in court was only growing as the 2680s reached their conclusion.