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, Marco. 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.

Lord Fallon's leadership and parliamentarianism

As King Charles's health continued to reduce his ability to work, the Lord Seal's position was growing in power. Eventually, by 2887, the Lord Seal was presiding over sessions of the court exclusively. The Whigs were now the clear majority in court and courtiers were switching over to Fallon's side. Prince Charles, the King's grandson and the Whig's preferred successor, was also in an increasingly powerful position as Lord High Admiral from 2888. In contrast, Princess Elisa was becoming so isolated in court that she eventually moved to Murcia Castle, where her Rook allies were more properly able to plan without the interference of the Whigs.

Lord Ause Fallon's tenure as Lord Seal saw the first discussion of the creation of a formalised Parliament be raised. The Whigs, and Fallon in particular, wished to see the Accession Council formalised into a House of Parliament, with a second, General Court, established for other operational functions. King Charles was reportedly open to the idea and Lord Fallon began to make preparations for its establishment.

The biggest set-back in the creation of a Parliament was the death of Lord Fallon, who was killed in a duel with Sir Vyman Vox in 2691.

The Princess Regent and the Earl of Basque

By the time of Lord Fallon's death, King Charles was entirely unable to function without significant assistance. At the age of 86, the King went through significant periods of being unable to speak and walk. With the death of his Lord Seal, King Charles had to name a replacement - a task that he was simply unable to do independently.

In light of his condition, King Charles ordered for his daughter, the Princess Elisa, to return from Murcia Castle to assist him as regent. King Charles signed a royal charter, known as the Regency Charter of 2691, in which he signed over many executive functions to his daughter. Notably, the regency in this form did not include powers of law, succession, or military command. It was primarily for appointments and, where necessary, organising the court. Princess Elisa became known as the Princess Regent.

In her first act as Princess Regent, Elisa named Lord Vic de Vigo, the Earl of Basque, to the position of Lord Seal. Basque was a Rook and the appointment angered the Whig majority in court. However, despite their previous seemingly dominant position, the King's decision to name Elisa as the Princess Regent was perceived as a major setback to the Whig cause. Elisa now had the authority and the control of the Iberian Palace to put herself in a prime position to succeed in the event of the King's death.

The Earl of Basque's tenure as Lord Seal was dominated by the Princess Regent's reshaping of the royal court. She was ruthless in her dealings with Whig courtiers. Known as the 'carrot and the stick' policy, she both attracted courtiers over to the Rook faction, and punished Whig loyalists who refused to pledge their support to her. By 2695, Princess Elisa was able to overturn the Whig control of the court to where it was, virtually, a stalemate.

During the period in which the Earl of Basque was Lord Seal, the Princess Elisa refused to meet privately with her son, Prince Charles. As their relationship completely broke down, and as the King's health continued to decline, many were fearing the outbreak of civil war.

The kingly recovery

Known as "the Kingly Recovery", the period just before King Charles's death was characterised by a sudden and unexpected return to health. In the summer of 2695, King Charles surprised many by entering the throne room while the Princess Regent was addressing the court. Reports from the time suggest that the King seemed relatively youthful and smiling. He walked without assistance and spoke without pause.

Recognising his return to health, the King re-instated his own powers and dismissed the Earl of Basque as Lord Seal. Many have speculated that Prince Charles, King Charles's favourite, convinced him to name a Whig successor to help mediate the divided court. Others, however, believe that King Charles had some grudge against the Earl of Basque after (unsubstantiated) reports that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with the Princess Elisa during the regency.

Whatever the reason, King Charles had dismissed the Rook Lord Seal and named Geoffrey Albares, the childhood best friend of Prince Charles to the position of Lord Seal. Albares was seen by many as a puppet of Prince Charles and so a short burst of hope was ignited into the Whig cause.

Death

With the belief that King Charles had returned to health, Prince Charles left court on 20 June 2695 to ride for Rock's End. The reason for his departure is not entirely documented, though many have speculated it was in an attempt to convince Lord Bovril over to the Whig cause. Most historians agree, however, that the decision was disastrous.

On the night of 27 June 2695, King Charles collapsed in his study at the Iberian Palace. He was alone, until the early hours of 28 June when he was found by his primary physician. He died in the early hours of 28 June with his daughter, Princess Elisa, by his side. Charles was buried the same day without a state funeral, a sign of disrespect that would characterise the reign of his successor.

Reign of Queen Elisa I (2695 - 2703)

Accession

With Prince Charles away from court, only the Lord Seal Geoffrey Albares was in any position to resist Elisa stacking the Accession Council. The early hours of 28 June 2695 saw the Accession Council summoned, though many invitations to Whig members were omitted by Princess Elisa. Albares was, however, present. In a clear minority, he contested Elisa's claim vocally. He was supported by Lord Cartwright alone but, when threatened by Elisa's guard, they relented. Without Prince Charles present, the few Whigs left felt unable to resist the stacked Accession Council.

The Accession Council proclaimed Elisa had succeeded her father. She became Her Majesty Queen Elisa, the Lady of the Rock. She held court the same day at the Iberian Palace, where oaths of fealty were sworn for her. Even Whig courtiers swore allegiance, though most simply prepared to leave court in fears of persecution from the new Queen.

On 1 July 2695, Prince Charles returned to the Iberian Palace. He defied protocol by visiting the grave of his grandfather, King Charles, before entering the Iberian Palace throne room. Isolated and alone, he swore allegiance to his mother, thus ending the prospect of a Whig-backed usurping of the throne. Queen Elisa sent Prince Charles away from court, likely in an attempt to isolate him from the governance of the country. Charles took his place as Lord of Talaga Castle, a title that would eventually become Duke of Talaga. Subsequently, all heirs to the Iberian Throne became known as the Duke of Talaga, even after the destruction of Talaga Castle during the Crusade of 2840.

Remarriage

Queen Elisa was coronated on 1 September 2695, after which she immediately announced her intention to remarry. The announcement came as a clear indication that she intended to replace her son, Prince Charles, as heir with a new child. While precedence supported the eldest child being the natural successor, Queen Elisa and her supports had complete control of the Accession Council. Thus, they had the de facto ability to name a different heir. By the time of Queen Elisa's coronation, almost all Whig courtiers had either been banished from court or left on their own volition. The Rooks commanded the court, and the Earl of Basque returned as Lord Seal.

Meanwhile, many Whig courtiers regrouped at Talaga Castle where Prince Charles set up a rival court. The court at Talaga Castle was entirely comprised of Whigs, who grew to gain many of the reformist ideas of Lord Ause Fallon. They became convinced that the creation of a Parliament was required to mitigate future situations like this. They also believed that the Accession Council was a flawed method of handling the succession, as evidenced by Queen Elisa's stacking of it with Rooks. While some Whigs refused to join the rival court in fear of persecution, most did continue to support Prince Charles. Eventually, their mission became to oppose Queen Elisa's remarriage.

Queen Elisa married Gaston Maria on 3 February 2696 and the royal couple immediately began trying for a child. Prince Charles did not attend the wedding, and none of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting were the wives of Whig courtiers (though this is likely a result of the concentration of Whigs in Charles's rival court at Talaga Castle). Gaston Maria received the title "King Consort", the first and last time that such a title has been used in Balancín history.

The Lord Seal, the Earl of Basque, seemed to grow more distant from the Queen after her remarriage. Some have speculated that the change in relationship between the Queen and the Earl of Basque was a sign of a romantic past between the two. However, many historians have countered this by bringing up the increased role that the King Consort played in court during this time - a role taken almost entirely from the Lord Seal.

Pregnancy and death

Queen Elisa, in her mid-40s, struggled to get pregnant. Records from her physicians documented three phantom pregnancies between 2696 and 2670, as well as a miscarriage in 2671. In the case of the miscarriage, the Queen bore the child for six months. Upon the child's death, she was buried and given the name Anne (after her mother). Princess Anne was buried and given a full state funeral. In her diaries, the Queen wrote how Balancía "was robbed of a future Queen".

The Queen's determination to get pregnant didn't relent after the death of Princess Anne. In September 2702, Elisa announced that she was pregnant. In contrast to her previous pregnancy, in which no announcement was made until the miscarriage, the Queen made a public show of her pregnancy. Physicians were unable to determine the child's sex, due to the technological limitations of 27th century Balancía. However, Queen Elisa proclaimed that it would be a boy. She named the child Philip, after Philip the Great, and spoke regularly in private about how Philip would be her heir, and not her elder son Charles.

The records from her latter pregnancy were all destroyed on the order of the King Consort Gaston during the Christmas of 2702. Historians have speculated that the reason for this was that it was an attempt to preserve the Queen's delusion that the child would be healthy. The Queen would go on for long stretches speaking about the "future reign of King Philip", and, by all accounts, she genuinely believed that the child would be healthy.

Elisa went into labour on 29 January 2703. The documentation from the period of labour was well kept by her physicians and they report a difficult and painful labour for the Queen. In one testimony, a royal physician speculated on the ethics of euthanasia. She remained in a difficult labour for almost 40 hours. On 1 February 2703, the physicians discovered that the child had died in the process. The news broke the Queen, who was told that she would need emergency surgery to survive. In agony, she died as the physicians were unable to save her. Queen Elisa's funeral was held on the same day as her child's. They were both buried alongside the miscarried Princess Anne. The boy was buried as Prince Philip Maria.

Contemporarily, Queen Elisa I is remembered as a cruel monarch, who mistreated her son and surrounded herself with sycophants. The Rook position in court was her only lasting legacy and continued well into the 29th century.

Reign of King Charles II (2703 - 2738)

A contested succession

The Accession Council's refusal

The Accession Council met on the day of the Queen's death. It was chaired by the Earl of Basque and, in attendance was King Consort Gaston Maria. Given the near-sycophantic nature of the Rook majority in the court, the Accession Council simply refused to proclaim Prince Charles as King. In the records from the meeting, the Accession Council heard a number of claims and Prince Charles's name was only mentioned once and was immediately dismissed from consideration.

Among the claims considered were that of noble lords, such as Lord Marco Pius, the head of House Pius, Lord Pedro Beesbery, and even the King Consort himself. The debate was fierce, given the lack of noble options aside from Prince Charles. Some on the Accession Council even considered naming Prince Charles's son, also called Charles, in a form of spite against the Whig attempts to supplant Queen Elisa, though this proposal didn't go anywhere. Ultimately, the Accession Council was gridlocked. This was the last accession that held a powerful Accession Council. From this point forward, the Accession Council was a formality of the law.

The Accession Council refused to proclaim a new monarch. As a result, the news of Queen Elisa's death wasn't widely reported. King Consort Gaston Maria ordered a legion to be stationed outside the Iberian Palace and nobody was allowed to leave the grounds, on the fears that the reports would reach Prince Charles at Talaga Castle.

Charles's response

Despite the attempt to hide the information, Lord Beesbery himself was able to escape through a back entrance and a bribed century. He rode to Talaga Castle and informed Prince Charles of his mother's death. Prince Charles was reportedly saddened by the news, despite of the poor relationship he had with his mother. Lord Beesbery informed Charles of the King Consort's actions in stationing soldiers outside of the Iberian Palace. As a result, he called his banners. The Whig rival court represented large swaths of the country and thus he was able to raise an army of 2,500 men. They set off from Talaga Castle and marched through Balancía, towards the Iberian Palace.

The King Consort's garrison at the Iberian Palace was only made up of soldiers from the surrounding lands. He refused to raise more soldiers at the risk of spreading information of the Queen's death. So, when Prince Charles's host reached the Iberian Palace, they outnumbered the King Consort's 5-1. Basque ordered the Palace's surrender, in open defiance of the King Consort. However, as Gaston didn't have any legitimate authority in his own right, the soldiers followed Basque's order.

The gates of the Iberian Palace were opened to Prince Charles's host without a single life lost. Later that day, the Accession Council met again, this time comprised of both Rook and Whig courtiers. They proclaimed that Charles had succeeded to the Iberian Throne. He became His Majesty King Charles Martell, the second of his name, King of the Rock and Elector of Sardinia. King Charles held the title of Elector of Sardinia in the Madrilene Empire, a title that would be held by the Balancín royals until 2815.

Charles's court

The court of King Charles II was a far more dynamic one than that of his predecessor. Upon ascending to the throne, Charles named and knighted his childhood friend, Geoffrey Albares, making him the Lord Keeper of the King's Seal. However, he refused to take malicious actions against the Rook courtiers of his mother's reign. While the Earl of Basque was relieved of his office as Lord Seal, he was allowed to keep his lands and titles, as well as continue in court. This applied for most other Rooks, creating the dynamic of a contested court between the Rook and Whig factions. While Charles had particular sympathies for the Whigs, he did not exclude the Rooks and often included them in meetings of state.

Sir Geoffrey Albares, the new Lord Seal, counselled Charles in favour of keeping many Rooks in court. Despite being a Whig himself, he did this in the hope of creating the basis for a new Balancín Parliament. The Whigs and the Rooks often found themselves in a state of debate. However, regardless of how heated they got, the King served as a good mediator between the two factions.

Military expansionism

The biggest priority of Charles's early reign was the establishment of a Royal Army that could be levied by the monarch and could serve appropriately with great range. While Sir Geoffrey operated primarily on the domestic side of policy, as well as regulating both the Rook and the Whig factions in court, King Charles focused on boosting the navy and the army.

He signed three military-related royal charters in the first ten years of his reign. The first was to minimise the ability of noble lords to raise troops that weren't sent directly to the Royal Army. The second created the Ministry of War, which operated Balancín military policy until the abolition of the monarchy in 2986. The third took the first royal charter even further and eliminated private armies entirely in Balancía.

The result rose Balancía to become the strongest military power in the Doggerlands, as well as in the North Sea. While Balancín power was still less than that of the Madrilene Empire, the Martelian ability to project power through their seat in Sardinia, as well as in Balancía, made King Charles and his successors some of the most powerful people in all of Europe.

Scandal about his son

When he first ascended to the throne, Charles II named his son, also called Charles, as Duke of Talaga. This formalised the tradition that the their to the throne would take the title of Duke of Talaga. The Duke of Talaga was, from a young age, groomed to be a King. He grew up attending court and had a private education fit for a King.

During his father's reign, the Duke of Talaga seemed reluctant to marry. Rumours started to spread that he was a closeted homosexual, and that he had been engaging in sexual activities with his squire, Sir Manson the Devilish. While the Duke continued to refuse to marry, the rumours were becoming embarrassing for the King.

On orders from his father, the Duke of Talaga married the daughter of Lord Aerion, who at this time was serving as Lord High Steward. The marriage did not reduce rumours of Talaga's sexuality, which continued well into his own reign after his father's death.

Religion

With the rediscovery of the Lux Orbis by St. Konstantin and the establishment of the Pontifical Church in Ecclesia, religion became a growing topic of conversation in Balancía. It is believed that Lord Norte was the first Balancín nobleman to convert but the religion quickly spread across the Kingdom. The religion was particularly popular among the peasantry, who used it as a means of building community.

Many noblemen resisted the rise of Pontificalism. The most prominent opponents of Christianity in Balancía were the Whigs. Believing religion to be a step back into the past, the Whigs (self-branded reformers) were hesitant to promote religion in Balancía. The Lord Seal, Sir Geoffrey Albares, was among the Whigs who repeatedly attempted to block the establishment of Pontifical parishes in Balancía.

In 2720, however, King Charles himself converted to Christianity. The announcement came as a shock to him and his Whig courtiers, who had assumed that the King was as secular as them. In a statement to his people, King Charles spoke of the "enormous potential of faith in the Crown". Many believe that Charles's decision was partially inspired by the political desire to introduce the divine right of kings to the constitution of Balancía.

St. Konstantin the Great travelled to Balancía to meet King Charles II in 2723, further cementing Charles as a Pontifical Christian. The contents of St. Konstantin's private discussions with King Charles are not known. However, when Sir Geoffrey Albares resigned over religious expansionism in December 2723, he was replaced as Lord Seal with Archbishop Alfonso Ferdinando. Archbishop Alfonso Ferdinando had been named as the Archbishop of Balancía by St. Konstantin upon his visit, with many speculating that the Pontifex had influenced King Charles into naming a Pontifical clergyman to the head of the government.

Archbishop Alfonso was a significant contributor to the growth of Christianity in Balancía. He commissioned the construction of what would later become St. Alfonso's Basilica, and broke bread with many sceptics in the country. By the time of Archbishop Alfonso's retirement as Lord Seal in 2729, after just five years in the post, Balancía was a majority Christian Kingdom.

Frustrated with the Whig scepticism that continued to grow, despite the new Christian majority, King Charles refused to name a Whig as Archbishop Alfonso's replacement. Instead, in a surprise move, he named the Duke of Rajoy to the position of Lord Keeper of the King's Seal. Rajoy was the first Rook Lord Seal in 26 years and the change represented a significant shift in policy for King Charles II.

The royal charter of 2733

In 2733, as his health seemed to be declining, King Charles II signed a royal charter which proclaimed the status of the Balancín Crown as subservient to that of the Christian Church in Ecclesia. The royal charter was incredibly divisive. While supported by most Rooks, including the Duke of Rajoy, it was fiercely opposed by Whigs in court. The signing of the royal charter is considered by historians as the moment in which Balancía truly became a Pontifical Christian state.

The biggest political result of the charter was the change in the succession. The charter outlined a number of rules for succession, namely male-preference primogeniture, and the role of the Pontifex in the coronation. This meant that, from then on, the Accession Council was merely a formality, and that the Pontifex in Ecclesia would be the final decider on succession uncertainty.

Pontifex St. Konstantin I granted King Charles the title "Defender of the Faith" after the signing of the royal charter. This changed the royal title to By the Grace of God, Charles Martell, the second of his name, King of the Rock and Elector of Sardinia, Defender of the Faith.

Death

Despite believing that his health was a strong as his grandfather's, King Charles II suffered from obesity towards the end of his life. He continually smoked the pipe, which resulted in his voice growing weaker and weaker. By the Christmas of 2737, King Charles II looked likely to die in the coming weeks. When the King spent Christmas day in prayer, he gained a burst of health. Many considered this to be another instance of "the kingly recovery" that occurred when King Charles I died at the age of 90. However, unlike Charles I, Charles II's health did measurably improve in the spring of 2738.

Eventually, though, the King died in good spirits at the Iberian Palace on 8 August 2738. He was succeeded by his eldest son, also called Charles, who became King Charles III. He was coronated by Pontifex St. Konstantin, making him the first ever Balancín monarch to be coronated in a Christian service.

Reign of Charles III (2738 - 2748)

Accession

Upon the death of King Charles II in 2738, the new rules for the succession, as laid out in the royal charter of 2733, were put into action. Prince Charles, Duke of Talaga was formally proclaimed as the new King by the Accession Council, with Pontifex St. Konstantin I publicly affirming the proclamation. The Pontifex would travel to Balancía for a second time during the Christmas of 2738, when he conducted the first Christian coronation service in Balancín history. He was crowned By the Grace of God, Charles Martell, the third of his name, King of the Rock and Elector of Sardinia, Defender of the Faith

Charles's wife, Queen Matilda Aerion, was crowned as Queen Consort alongside him. This was widely seen as an attempt by the new King to solidify his marriage after significant rumours that he was engaging in sexual activities with men. However hard the King tried to refute the charges, there was little luck. Historians have debated the root of the rumours against Charles III. Some have suggested that it might have been rooted in truth, while others believe it may have been a symptom of his policies of liberalisation.

Liberalisation

Charles III grew up surrounded by Whigs. During his father's rival court at Talaga Castle, all of Charles's contacts and associations were with Whigs. This stuck with him as he grew up and, eventually, had huge influences over his reign. Upon ascending to the throne, Charles wanted to replace his father's Lord Seal (a Rook) with a Whig. The King's preference was likely to re-appoint Sir Geoffrey Albares. However, Albares continued many of his anti-religious statements after his resignation in 2723. Thus, many in court felt uncomfortable with the appointment of such a secularist. In addition, the current Lord Seal, the Duke of Rajoy, was immensely experienced in government. He had served for over 10 years and so King Charles decided to retain Rajoy as Lord Seal.

Despite the continuation of a Rook Lord Seal, King Charles wanted to see more liberal policies instituted. His first major policy was one that his father had wanted, as well as most Whigs: the creation of a Parliament. In a royal charter, King Charles decreed that the court would be formalised into two bodies: the King's Court (which was made up of noble courtiers), and a new General Court (also known as the Cortes Generales). The Cortes Generales would be elected by all landowning individuals in the country. Upon its establishment, it had 210 elected MPs.

The Duke of Rajoy was completely opposed to democratisation in any form and so resigned on 1 November 2739. The new Parliament was comprised of a Rook majority, and so Charles decided to appoint another Rook. This time, though, he named his father-in-law, Lord Aerion, to the position.

The death penalty

King Charles was morally opposed to the death penalty. Believing the practice of beheading to be anti-Christian, he attempted to pass laws restricting and abolishing the practice. While the new Parliament was reluctant, owing to Rook opposition to the idea, King Charles effectively ended the practice when he announced that he would no longer sign warrants of justice (which were akin to judicial verdicts) that included the penalty of death.

In place of the death penalty, Balancía began to use the practice of transportation, in which criminals of serious crimes were shipped to different parts of the world in exile. One such location was the Balancín colony of San Helio, an island in the south of the Eastern Sea of the Doggerlands. The policy of transportation was detested by the nobility of San Helio, as well as many of the coastal lords who traded significantly with them. Following the implementation of the transportation policy, the Madrilene Empire denounced the practice.

The Corn Laws

Another liberal policy that King Charles promoted with opposition to the Corn Laws. The Corn Laws were one of the first acts of Parliament, which served as a land levy on farmers. The nobility had been petitioning the monarch to levy taxes on farmers as their profits grew significant in the early 28th century. The Balancín tax system taxed land, not the sale of food, and thus the nobility saw profits from farms as lost revenue.

Parliament, with its new powers, passed laws to tax the produce of farmers. In three different bills, Parliament taxed different forms of agriculture, from cattle to grazing. Despite King Charles not wanting the law, he did grant royal assent to them, primarily because he didn't want to have to veto the first ever law of his new Parliament.

However, he did make it a mission of his to abolish the Corn Laws. He made significant noise in Whig circles about repealing them, and tried to threaten his father-in-law into campaigning for their repeal. However, as the King's later reign was overshadowed by rebellion, he wasn't able to repeal the Corn Laws.

Rebellions

Three major rebellions characterised the latter part of Charles III's reign. All of them rose up as a result of his encouragement of liberalising policies. While none of them were successful in achieving their primary goals (which varied), they all helped destabilise Charles III's ability to enact liberal policies.

The Queen's Rebellion (2741-42)

In his attempts to repeal the Corn Laws, King Charles threatened to fire Lord Aerion as Lord Keeper of the King's Seal. Aerion was, by all accounts, an immensely proud man. After the confrontation, he immediately resigned as Lord Seal. The resignation of Lord Aerion came as a surprise to the Rook controlled Parliament, which was growing increasingly frustrated with the King's attempts to circumvent their wish to have the Corn laws.

Lord Aerion, along with a number of his favourites, fled court on the day of his resignation. While his daughter, Queen Matilda, remained behind at court, she was equally as enraged by the incident. She refused to meet with her husband, the King, and began to speak poorly of the King's government to their children. The diary of King Charles and Queen Matilda's second son, Prince Alfonso, were filled with many of the distasteful comments which originated from his mother.

As House Aerion's position in court was severely damaged, and as Queen Matilda was isolated from the decisions of government, the leadership of the Rooks seemed to be disenfranchised, despite their commanding majority in Parliament. The tensions between House Aerion and the Crown were made worse when King Charles named Sir Geoffrey Albares, a former Whig courtier of his father and grandfather, to take on the position of Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. Sir Geoffrey was significantly older than King Charles but, with twenty years of experience as Lord Seal, he seemed a strong choice. He was, however, a Whig.

The appointment of Sir Geoffrey came as a shock to Lord Aerion, who had assumed that King Charles would respect the Rook's majority in Parliament. After the decision, Lord Aerion declared his intention to force change in the King's Court. House Aerion raised a host of 3,200 men, in direct violation of the ban on private armies. The rebellion had significant sympathies from within the royal household, given Lord Aerion was Queen Matilda's father. Thus, historians have dubbed the rebellion as the Queen's Rebellion.

The Battle of Trias Forge

When news reached the Iberian Palace that Lord Aerion was in open rebellion, the royal army wasn't immediately mobilised. Going against the advice of Sir Geoffrey, the King didn't believe that House Aerion was capable of raising enough troops to muster a force. The royal charters instituted by his father that eliminated private armies were also designed to reduce the nobility's ability to raise soldiers even if they wanted to. His belief in the effectiveness of this policy was, however, ill-founded.

The Aerion host was led by Lord Aerion himself and sieged the minor castle of Trias Forge. They quickly took the undefended castle, in a battle that all but eliminated House Frutos (the lords of Castle Trias Forge) from the map. Lord Frutos was hanged by Lord Aerion - he was a Whig and a supporter of the Crown. While Lord Aerion wasn't public about his desire to usurp the throne from King Charles, historians unanimously agree that his plan was to depose King Charles and replace him with Prince Alfonso (Aerion's grandson and King Charles's younger son).

After the defeat of House Frutos, King Charles woke up to the threat of House Aerion. He quickly mobilised the royal army and rode with 13,000 men to Trias Forge. On 20 January 2741, Lord Aerion was resoundingly defeated. Letters that were found in his command camp indicated that Lord Aerion didn't believe that King Charles would mobilise before the Spring, at which time he had hoped to capture Murcia Castle and gain support from other houses.

Aftermath

Lord Aerion survived the battle and was arrested, along with his brothers and sons who were serving as advisors. In a royal decree some days later, King Charles stripped Aerion of all lands and titles. House Aerion ceased to exist, and Lord Aerion, his brothers and his sons were all hung outside the Iberian Palace. Many Rooks saw the destruction of the old House Aerion as something of an overreaction, with many wondering how capable King Charles truly was at commanding militarily.

Sir Geoffrey Albares, the Lord Seal, wrote in his diary that he believed the death of Lord Aerion's sons, the King's own brothers and sisters by marriage, was a step too far. House Aerion was stripped of their dominion of the Dreadfort, with the seat being granted to House Rovira. The whole rebellion was a significant drain on the Crown's reserves, and saw two major houses (House Frutos and House Aerion) destroyed forever.