Louis X of Hesperia

Louis X
Roi du Hesperie, Duc de Sully, Protecteur du Peuple
King of Hesperien
Reign	6 March 1910 - 17 June 1960
Coronation	31 March 1910
Predecessor	Margaret
Successor	Jacques II
Royal Chancellor	François Duvet
King of the Hesperic Free State
Reign	30 August 1932 - 29 April 1944
Coronation	2 September 1932
Predecessor	Position established
Successor	Position abolished
Duke of Sully
Reign	31 December 1881 - 17 June 1960
Predecessor	Margaret
Born	31 December 1881 Palace of Geurdin
Died	17 June 1960 Georgesville Royal Hospital
Spouse	Mary, Princess of Hoel
Issue	Prince Philip, Duke of Portín Charles, Prince of Hesperien Lucienne, Princess of Hesperien Jacques II
House	Dreux-Bourbon-Sully
Father	Robert, Prince of Amesfort
Mother	Margaret
Religion	Calvinism

Louis X (Hesperien: Louis Margaret Albert Conrad, 31 December 1881 - 17 June 1960) was the King of Hesperien from 6 March 1910 until his death. He reigned during one of the most tumultuous periods of Hesperic history. He was King of the Hesperic Free State from 1932 until the end of the Civil War in 1944, and before that ruled a country that had just left the Margaretine Era, a major era of social upheaval, revolution and change. After the Great Putsch in July 1932, the Eastern quarter of the country would declare independence. After establishing the Free State that year, he would go on to make it an powerful monarchy, with a Royal Chancellor in charge. By the 1950s, he would essentially create a hegemony in Rohane.

Childhood

Louis X was born Louis Margaret Albert Conrad, Duke of Sully on 31 December 1881. His mother, Margaret, was the reigning sovereign of Hesperien, and his father Robert was king consort of said sovereign. By the age of two, learned individuals had immediately come close to him, and started tutoring him at the age of three. He received his first initial education at the Palace Private Junior School.

By the age of thirteen, he became increasingly more knowledgeable in various subjects, and by seventeen, he had finished his secondary school education at the palace. Margaret, satisfied with his endeavours, employed him as an unofficial advisor to her. He worked hard to soothe the tense relations with the ailing Queen Margaret, and by using his knowledge, he became an effective secretary for the nation, and had a good relationship with Prince Robert, his father.

Heir apparent

Military Service

In 1900, not seeking to enter the Royal College, he decided to serve in the Hesperic Army until 1903, where he had become wounded after fighting in a brutal skirmish in the South. This injury debilitated him for the rest of the year, as he was discharged from hospital until six months later.

Prince of Hesperien

Assuming an anti-Atmoran stance from this point onwards, he would continue to aid his mother Queen Margaret until her death in 1910. For three days in November 1909, Margaret was considered extremely sick, and had been unable to walk for months before this point. Queen Margaret was diagnosed with rheumatism, and Louis, discovering this, declared himself effective Regent of Hesperien on December 2, 1909. From December 1909 to March 1910, Louis X was the sole executor of the Royal Prerogative, yet was still not King.

On January 1, 1910, Louis X headed the prelude to the first annual opening of the Hesperic Congress. It was the most controversial, as pundits criticised the King for acting on the behalf of his mother, even though she was universally considered inoperable and not cognizant at that point. Nevertheless, it would the first recorded opening, as well as the most attended, with an audience of forty thousand during the first three hours.

Monarch

Ascension and coronation

On March 6 1910, Queen Margaret was pronounced dead after having gone through several lapses of consciousness that same day. Prince Robert, husband to the Queen - had gone into hiding after an attempt was made on his life in April of last year. Louis ascended to the throne in a ceremony that lasted until the next day, yet plans for a full coronation were considered too expensive and costly. A week of mourning was decided instead, however on the 20 March, Louis signed a Royal Legislation demanding a coronation be held on the 31st.

Early Reign

The populace considered Louis' early reign was characterised by impulsivity and lack of responsibility, as he signed an Royal Legislation again, demanding a second opening to the Hesperic Congress. It was less attended and less publicised as many pundits found the move to be irresponsible and pointless - had still been popular for the most part, as republican sentiment was deemed a major taboo.

In 1911, following the outbreak of the Vozhsk War of Independence, the King issued a Act of Armed Indifference which allowed a stance of neutrality only if Atmora agreed not to have its navy present in the Gulf of Rohane, paralleling his anti-Atmoran stance that he would keep until his death. In 1912, Louis married Princess Mary of Hoel. By 1916, Louis managed to consolidate his rule, as he was at peace from the mid-1910s to the early 1920s.

Eight years after his ascension, in 1918, Antoine Ferdinand became Prime Minister. He, as well as several prime ministers following, had Republican sentiment, so was despised by the Monarchy. The King had issued several royal vetoes on his Bills, yet they failed to take course and Ferdinand became increasingly popular during his premiership. This imminent power struggle, that would cause the foundation of radical partisanship, would be the major cause for the Hesperic Civil War.

By 1923, Ferdinand defeated Socialist Democrat Henri Rubíen in the 1923 general election - which angered Louis and his supporters. Ferdinand was forced to resign on 4 February 1924, causing the Blackshirts to march on the Palace on the 23rd that month. Ferdinand created and became the Provisional Director of the Fascists in June 1924, and had fought with the police several times, engaging in pyrrhic victories.

By late June 1924, reports of police contingents allowing Fascists to operate in city grounds caused Louis to issue a prerogative effectively giving Louis emergency monarchical powers, allowing him to override all democratic power. This caused major protests in the cities that were later subdued quickly, as the Monarchist government had a stash of supplies.

Following the Fascist Putsches of 1923/24, the Monarchy was considered stable for the most part - as consolidation was still prevalent in royalist, loyalist holdings that were commons across the country.

Hesperic Demise and Civil War

By 1927, military preparedness was strengthened, as new military regiments were created, and firearms imports increased by 20% in the wake of any possible new insurrection. The largest pre-war re-armament of the Monarchy took place in 1928, however, increasing unemployment and a lack of international prestige, would continue to plague royalist forces.

During 1929, The King's popularity remained toxic - as royalists still fought for the continuation of his rule, while opposition groups would opt him as a folk villain, despite talks for peaceful abdcation.

Louis X at the First Congress for Progress in 1928