Richard XIII of Estmere

William III
William while King of Estmere, 1927
King of Estmere and the Lands beyond the Sea
Reign	12 March 1918 – 31 December 1936
Predecessor	Charles II
Successor	Monarchy abolished (Wolfgar Godfredson as President of the Federated Republics of Estmere
Prime Minister	See list
Born	(1911-01-29)29 January 1911 Ashcombe, Kingdom of Estmere
Died	23 June 1984(1984-06-23) (aged 76) Garrafrauns, Caldia
Spouse	Henry Jasper, Viscount Hopemore (m. 1941)
Full name William Henry Charles Clovis Richard
House	Vernon-Dryden
Father	Charles II
Mother	Sophia of Werania
Religion	High Estmerish Church

William III (29 January 1908 – 23 June 1984), was the last King of Estmere and the Lands beyond the Sea, reigning from 12 March 1918 until the abolition of the Estmerish monarchy on 31 December 1936.

He was the eldest son of Charles II and Sophia of Werania and was first in the line of secession. William had two sisters, Charlotte, Duchess of Hadleigh and Minnie, Princess Royal, and two younger twin brothers, princes Clovis and Richard. Following the death of his father in the Taverly Rail Disaster, William unexpectedly became king at the age of ten in 1918. His mother served as regent but was replaced by the king's uncle, Prince George, Duke of Ardougne in 1922. Soon after his reign began, Estmere and Swetania were at war in May 1918. The conflict defined the early years of his reign. In the years after the war, his reign was marked by attempts to curtail Gaullican influence globally after national functionalists took power. The foreign policy of H. H. Arterbury resulted in the outbreak of the Great War on 2 February 1927. At the wars onset, William was only 19 years old. The country's poor performance in the war was in part blamed on his weak rule, as the powers of the monarchy over foreign policy had largely been relegated to the government. He fled Estmere alongside his government in 1928 and joined the government-in-exile in Occupied Caldia. He played an active role in exile, but was sidelined by Edward G. Norcross in 1931 after which he showed little interest in politics. Following the end of the Great War and the failed communist revolution, William agreed to abdicate in favor of the establishment of a republican government.

After the end of his reign, William remained in Caldia and became a private citizen. He finished his university education and became a practicing lawyer. In Caldia, he was known as William Vernon-Dryden. On 21 August 1941, married his long-time lover, Henry Jasper, Viscount Hopemore. William remained in Caldia until his death on 23 June 1984. He was survived by Jasper and had no issue.

His intellect, sexuality, and mental health caused much scandal in Estmere before the end of his reign in 1936. William struggled in his academics and required extensive tutoring before he could attend the prestigious University of Catherby. Willian was a homosexual and was involved in several high-profile relationships. He began a relationship with his tutor, Stephen James, when he was sixteen-years-old. It was broken off by his uncle, Prince George, following the Augustine Street scandal, which involved a homosexual brothel. Rumors at the time linked William with the scandal. He later began a relationship with Jasper, which was an open-secret in elite circles. The issue of his sexuality was frequently brought up by his political opponents and drew immense criticism. As a teenager, William was also reported to have been at times suicidal and struggled with his father's death and his mother's own mental health issues.

Early life

Charles II, father of William III.

William was born on the morning of 29 January 1908 at the Royal Palace in Ashcombe. He was the third child and first son of Charles II and Sophia of Werania. His father was the second son of William II and Marguerite of Florena, and his mother was the eldest daughter of Kaiser Sigismund and Kaiserin Victoria of Werania.

As the eldest son of the King, he immediately surpassed his sisters in the line of succession and became his father's heir. He was formally styled His Royal Highness Prince William of Estmere from birth. He was baptized as William Henry Charles Clovis Richard in the private chapel of the Royal Palace on 15 February 1908.

During his childhood, William had a close relationship with older sisters Princess Charlotte and Princess Minne. He was eight-years-old when his twin brothers, the princes Clovis and Richard, were born on 19 July 1916. The family lived at the Royal Palace with his paternal grandmother, Celine of Gaullica.

During a trip to the family's seaside estate in Solihull, the royal train derailed on 12 March 1918. In the wreck, Charles II was killed shielding his daughters from the collapsed roof of the dining car. His mother was injured and grandmother later died from her injuries. A number of other relatives and friends of the royal family were wounded or killed. Following his father's death, William became king. He was seven at the time of the accident.

Education

The Queen appointed Richard Dalton as William's tutor in 1917. The prince was given a strict program of study by Dalton covering a variety of academic subjects. He struggled at first, but in a letter to her husband the Queen commented on Dalton's patience writing that he had "a way with the boy". Dalton was killed in the Taverly Rail Disaster. He was replaced by Sir Edmund White who struggled to make progress with William. White complained that the young king's mind was "abnormally resistant" to an education and that he was progressing "far too slowly" in his academics. While he was able to learn and speak Weranic, he struggled in Gaullican and the classical languages. Frustrated by the slow progress of the king, White left the position in 1923. The royal physician, Sir Oscar Gull, speculated that William's inattentiveness in his academics was the result of absence seizures, which he began to suffer from after the Taverly disaster. These seizures are often associated with learning difficulties. However, the Queen Mother blamed White for her son's poor education and slow progress, believing he was uninspiring and bothersome.

William later had a number of tutors who had been appointed by his uncle. His academic progress remained slow and he showed little interest in his studies. Despite this, his uncle maintained plans for the king to attend the University of Catherby. Catherby was Estmere's second-oldest university and it was expected that William would cram before attending university in 1927. To prepare him, Prince George appointed Stephen James as William's tutor in 1924. James was a recent graduate of Catherby and had come highly recommended by Sir Anthony Harling, the university's chancellor. William began to show a new interest in his studies under James' guidance, who was optimistic about tutoring the king. The two began a relationship during the summer of 1926. The king's uncle knew about their relationship but was content with progress made with William's studies and did not initially intervene. Plans for William to attend the University of Catherby were cancelled after the outbreak of war with Gaullica in 1927.

Reign

Upon the death of his father on 12 March 1918, William succeeded to the throne as William III of Estmere at the age of ten. The Queen Mother was appointed as his regent after his ascension.

Within months, the country was plunged into a crisis over the status of the counties of Ashdale, Bardonshire, and Gulval. On 6 May 1918, the Sunrosian Monarchy issued an ultimatum to the Estmerish government demanding the cession of the Airdale region within 48 hours. The government of Thomas Sinclair refused to respond to Sunrosian demands, and began to make preparations for war. Two days later, Sunrosia officially declared war on Estmere. The beginning of the Airdale War, Sunrosian forces were able to occupy a fifth of the country within the first five months of the war. The major cities of Lumbridge and Morton fell under Sunrosian occupation. This triggered a crisis within the Sinclair government, which was surprised by the Sunrosian ultimatum. Estmerish counter-offenses were successfully and by November 1918 Sunrosia was forced to retreat west. This began a war of attrition as both sides settled into trenches. Advances in military technology turned the tide of the war in 1920 and trench warfare came to an end. Fighting ended on 23 November 1921 and the terms of the Treaty of Rimmington ended the war with a status quo ante bellum with neither side obtaining concessions from the other.

The war saw little gains for Estmere despite its victory. The massive number of causalities had a lasting impact on the country. Estemre's weaknesses had also been exposed to rival powers, allowing Gaullica to take advantage of the situation. While the liberal Sinclair government remained popular, it faced new complications. The Queen Mother was entirely absent from the war effort, delegating all constitutional powers of the monarch to the civilian government. This was criticized by conservative politicians and members of the extended royal family. Her deteriorating mental health and grief from the loss of her husband and mother-in-law kept her from serving as an effective regent. She was replaced by Prince George, Duke of Ardougne, William's paternal uncle, in February 1922. As an institution, the monarchy had been weakened as a result of Queen Sophia's decision to delegate powers to Sinclair. This resulted in a series of complications for her son's reign a decline in the popularity of the monarchy.

Augustine Street scandal

In August 1926, Ashcombe police raided a male brothel on the city's Augustine Street. Following police interrogation, male prostitutes revealed the names of their patrons. William's tutor and lover, Stephen James, had been named as a client during the police investigation. All homosexual acts were illegal at the time but laws were seldom enforced. However, the high-profile nature of the raid meant that many suspected clients were arrested and faced trial. In addition to social ostracism, those accused faced two years' imprisonment.

The scandal generated by the Augustine Street raid implicated a number of high-profile figures in Estmerish society, including politicians, businessmen, and artists. Rumors swept though upper-class social circles about who else had been involved. One such rumor suggested that a senior member of the royal family had visited the Augustine Street brothel. While the king himself had never been named by any of the male prostitutes, James' association with the brothel linked William with the scandal.

The king's relationship with James was not well-known. Records indicate that only select members of his family knew about the affair, including Prince George and the king's eldest sister, Princess Charlotte. However, in her letters the Queen Mother was surprised by the scandal and appeared to have no knowledge of William's relationship with James. She began to receive anonymous letters accusing her son of being a homosexual, which left her emotionally distraught. Estmerish newspapers had initially surprised mention of William's name in reporting on the case. However, as the scandal continued to develop they became less supportive of the king. He was ridiculed in the press, with the Ashcombe Globe labeling him as a "careless dullard" and the Daily Post accusing him of being a "perverse boy" who had "sullied the Estmerish throne".

Prince George intervened in the police investigation and had it closed. No clients were prosecuted and nothing against the king was proven. James was dismissed as the king's tutor in September and their relationship ended. In November 1926, William began a relationship with Henry Jasper, Viscount Hopemore. This was an open-secret within the royal family and upper-class social circles, resulting in further criticism of William. However, his uncle did not intervene and instead looked to find a bride for the king in order to end the scandal and the relationship with Jasper.

World Tour

• turns 18 and has his coronation
• as a way to get past the scandal and celebrate his cornation, away he goes
• goes to most Euclean powers (except Gaullica), visits Senria and all Estmerish colonies in Coius, attends the 1926 Invictus Games in Adunis, makes a few stops in the Asterias
• mostly successful, becomes a way for the Arterbury government to counter Gaullican influence

Abolition of the monarchy

Soon after the Estmerish Revolution began on 21 March 1935, William informed the prime minister he was willing to abdicate. He had previously offered to do so in February 1935 following the end of the Great War. William did not return to Estmere with the government-in-exile and chose to remain in Cadlia. His offers were refused by Norcross who wanted to make maintain appearances that the national government was stable. A conservative, Norcross was later a reluctant republican and originally had planned to replace William with the eldest of his twin brothers, Prince Clovis. Clovis was nine-years-old at the time and Norcross had hoped that a carefully selected regent would rehabilitate the monarchy. However, the start of the revolution in 1935 forced him to scrap his plans.

Fighting lasted between socialist insurgents, led by the Swathish Council Republic, and the provisional government until 9 May 1936. The end of the revolution convinced Nocross that significant constitutional reform was required. After months of negotiations, a new republican constitution was drafted in September 1936. It was approved by the provisional parliament in October and came into effect on 1 January 1937. The monarchy was officially abolished and William was succeeded by Wolfgar Godfredson as President of the Federated Republics of Estmere.