View source for James Akhilleus I

{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 22em;"
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| align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor=#800080|<font color="#F8F8FF"> '''HM King James'''<br>''Monarch''
|-
| align="center" colspan="2" |[[Image:King James.JPG|250px|border]]
|- 
| align="center"| '''Full name'''
| James Philip Aleksandr Benjamin
|-
| align="center" colspan="2"| '''Titles'''
|-
| align="center" colspan="2"| 
|-
| align="center"| '''House'''
| [[House of Akhilleus]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Father'''
| [[King Benjamin VI]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Mother'''
| [[Lady Mary Godlan of Utorik]]
|-
| align="center"| '''Born'''
| {{birth date and age|1954|03|20|df=y}}
|-
| align="center"| '''Religion'''
| {{wpl|Christianity|Christian}}
|}

The current ruler of [[Belfras]], father to Prince [[Edward Akhilleus|Edward]] Princess [[Catherine Akhilleus|Catherine]] and [[Elizabeth Akhilleus|Elizabeth]].

==Early life and education==
James Philip Aleksandr Benjamin was born on 20 March 1954 in the [[Queen Mary Memorial Hospital]] in [[Isn Deslen]], [[Deslen]]. He was the second child and first son of [[King Benjamin VI]] and [[Lady Mary Godlan of Utorik]], and the first male of the [[House of Akhilleus|Akhilleus Dynasty]] to be called James. He was the first royal baby to be born away from the [[Mountainblood Estate]] since [[King Eduard X]].

From birth, James has held the titles of Prince of Belfras and Lord of [[Deslen]]. He was baptised as a member of the [[Rodarion|Papal Catholic Church]] on 5th July 1954 in Saint Andrews' church in the [[Golden Palace]]. His godparents are Prince Andrew, Prince Albert, and former prime minister Tony Albertson.

He has three younger brothers and one sister: Prince Thomas (1955 - 2005), Prince Frederic (b. 1955), Prince Aleksandr (b. 1960), and Princess Charlotte (b. 1962). He early life was spent with his family in the [[Mountainblood Estate]] following renovations to the [[Golden Palace]] from 1955 till 1962, when the family moved back into the historic palace.

James attended the [[Fellstone Royal Academy of Gifted Nobles]] from 1961 to 1970. He left the academy and enlisted into the [[Belfrasian Armed Forces]] at age 16 and attended the [[Royal Naval College (Belfras)|Royal Naval College]] until graduating at age 18 in 1972 at the rank of Lieutenant.

==Military training and career==

James served with the [[Belfrasian Navy|Royal Navy]] from March 1972 until April 1984 after spending two years attending the [[Royal Naval War College]] in [[Portsdown]]. His training was spent at the college and aboard the Royal Naval Warship [[HMS Broadsword (BB-115)]] and [[HMS King Alexandros (CV-51)]], where be served his midshipman term of the class. Upon promotion to Lieutenant, he was transferred and served aboard the HMS Broadsword until the [[Attack on the HMS Broadsword (1974)]] by [[Kunarii Rebellion (1970s)|Kunarii Separatists]]. His actions during the attack earned him popularity, and directly contributed to the survival of most of the crew members after taking command of the stricken warship. He was promptly promoted to Captain and placed in command of the [[HMS King Benjamin (CVN-102]] a year later.

James was formally transferred off of the King Benjamin in 1980 when he was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral and was placed on the [[Belfrasian Admiralty|Royal Admiralty Board]]. He maintained his post and was directly responsible for several renovations to both the navies tactical systems and for modernizing the air arm. He became a face of the navy, appearing at public gatherings and was interviewed by the [[Belfrasian News Network]] in 1983, in which he stated that the Royal Navy was "The finest in the world" - earning the navies motto of "The Finest."

He was honorably discharged from the navy in his investiture as King James, with the government stating that the head of state cannot be both an active service member whilst also serving as the Supreme Commander. During his career in the Royal Navy he was not only the first royal family member to serve aboard a carrier, but also became a heavily respected seaman and commander and won the [[Victoria Cross (Belfras)|Victoria Cross]] for his efforts during the Broadsword attack.

==Reign==
Following his Investiture as King James I at the age of thirty, he serve as head of the Kings Council and as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Since his investiture, he has attended the council's weekly meetings as often as possible, with the council visiting James when his health started to fade in the late 2000's. King James also has weekly meetings with the Prime Minister and speaks regularly with ministers and state secretaries. He is also the final signatory for all acts of parliament, senate, and royal decrees. Until his stroke in 2009, he attended all public gatherings as King and represented the Monarchy abroad.

King James is heavily interested in both marine mammals and nautical engineering. He is an honorary member of the Belfrasian Society of the Preservation of Marine Life and authored the Coast Guard Protection of Whales Act 1992. He made it a criminal offense to critically injure on purpose a whale and, in regards to the endangered Blue Scaled Whales, a capital offense to kill one. His interest also swayed into sport, and he spoke in support of a pan-Pardesi sports competition and is a founding member of the Sports Injury Recovery Hospital in Nos Kenwadi.

He was a signatory to keep the [[Royal Mint (Belfras)|Royal Mint of Belfras]] in government hands, stating that control of the currency couldn't be allowed into the hands of corporations who's own agenda might endanger the public interest. 
==Marriage and children==
James met [[Lady Biel Antell]] in 1980, shortly after his promotion to Vice Admiral. They married in 1983 and Biel was granted the title 'Queen' upon James' investiture in 1984. Biel was of [[Western Republic|Western]] descent and was, prior to their marriage, Chief of Staff to then-Prime Minister Derrick Williamson. Their marriage triggered significant controvery due to the role of Biel's father, Anthony, had in the Western Civil War. Following complications during the birth of the couple's third child, Elizabeth, Queen Biel perished. Following her death, King James swore to never remarry. The couple had three children:

* Empress [[Saxon Akhilleus-Alestei|Saxon]] {{birth date and age|1976|03|5|df=y}}
* His Royal Highness the Prince [[Edward Akhilleus XVI|Edward]] {{birth date and age|1983|11|18|df=y}}
* Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal [[Catherine Akhilleus|Catherine]] {{birth date and age|1986|05|24|df=y}}
* Her Royal Highness the Princess [[Elizabeth Akhilleus|Elizabeth]] {{birth date and age|1993|01|19|df=y}}

===Prince Edward controversy===
{{main|Prince Edward murder trial}}
HRH Prince Edward was arrested on 1 January 2005 following a fight in a gentleman's club in Nos Fellstone. The fight, which started following a verbal altercation between Prince Edward and [[Nathan Johns]], resulted in the fatal stabbing of Nathan with a shattered bottle. Prince Edward was formally extradited from Fellstone province to [[Isn Deslen]] three weeks later to attend trial at the [[Royal Windhallow Court]] and pleaded guilty to Aggravated Murder.

Prince Edward was cut from the line of succession by King James on 9 May 2005 and Prince Edward began a twenty year prison term at [[Rockmont Prison]]. King James was able to grant leniancy on Prince James, giving the royal a suspected release date of 2020.

==Titles, styles, honours and arms==
===Titles and styles===
* 20 March, 1954 - 5 April 1984: His Royal Highness Prince James of Belfras
* 5 April 1984 - Present: His Majesty The King
===Military ranks===
''' {{Flagicon|Belfras|Navy}} [[Belfrasian Navy|Royal Navy]] - Active Forces'''
* Lieutenant (March 1972 - December 1974)
* Captain (December 1974 - July 1980)
* Vice-Admiral (July 1980 - April 1984)

===Honours===
====Belfrasian orders and decorations====
''In his capacity as the Sovereign, James is Grand Master of the Military Order of Aleksandr''

* Military award of Excellence (15 December 1974)
* Purple Heart (15 December 1974)
* Combat Action Award (15 December 1974)
* Ship Survival Award (15 December 1974)
* Victoria Cross (15 December 1974)
* King James Investiture Medal 1984 (5 April 1984)

====Foreign orders====
==Ancestry==

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|1          = 1. '''James Akhilleus I'''
|2          = 2. [[King Benjamin VI]]
|3          = 3. [[Lady Mary Godlan of Utorik]]
|4          = 4. [[King Aleksandr XV]]
|5          = 5. [[Duchess Marian Whisby of Kingsfield]]
|6          = 6. [[Lord Albert Godlan of Utorik]]
|7          = 7. [[Lady Elizabeth of Callis]]
|8          = 8. [[King Eduard X]]
|9          = 9. [[Princess Beatrice of Kunarii]]
|10         = 10. [[Duke Herbert Whisby of Kingsfield]]
|11         = 11. [[Elise von Ampbridge]]
|12         = 12. [[Lord Gregory II of Utorik]]
|13         = 13. [[Jessica Manstead]]
}}</center>
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{| border=2 align="center"
|width="30%" align="center" |Preceded by:<br/>'''[[Benjamin Akhilleus|Benjamin]]'''
|width="40%" align="center" |'''[[List of Belfrasian Monarchs|Belfrasian Monarchs]]'''<br>
|width="30%" align="center" |Succeeded by:<br/>'''Incumbent'''
|}
[[Category:Belfrasian Nobles]]
[[Category:House of Akhilleus]]
[[Category:Reigning Monarchs]]
[[Category:Old Pardes]]
[[Category:Belfras]]