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.

The reign of King Alfonso I

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.

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.

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.