Madalyn Romm

Madalyn
Princess of Ottonia Princess-Dowager of Staalmark Lady of Meuse
Press photograph of Madalyn in 2011.
Born	Madalyn Theofania Maria Romm (1946-07-03) 3 July 1946 Staalburg, SM, United Kingdom of Ottonia
Husband	Adolfus (m. 1971 - 1978) Leopuld (m. 1978 - )
Issue	Godwyn, Prince of Staalmark See Below
House	House of Romm House of Sproek-Kristhulm (by marriage)
Father	Viktur, Duke of Meuse
Mother	Madalyn II, Duchess of Meuse
Religion	Honorian Church

Princess-Dowager Madalyn Romm of Staalmark and Ottonia (born Madalyn Theofania Maria Romm on 3 July, 1946) is a South Ottonian and Draakuri aristocrat and influential figure. She has been a notable figure in royal politics since the 1970's, having been married to the Prince of Staalmark and the High Royal Prince Leopuld. Princess Madalyn's children include the current (pretender) Prince of Staalmark, along with several dynasts in the nation's ruling family. Madalyn has been attested to have been an attentive mother by her children, and she continues to carry influence with them.

In 2022, Madalyn became the Princess-Dowager of Staalmark by virtue of her son's ascension to the (admittedly, empty) title of Prince of Staalmark.

She is known to be a very observant Honorian Catholic.

Early Life

Madalyn was born to the future Madalyn II, Duchess of Meuse and her husband Viktur in 1946, the couple's first child. Though she would be displaced in the succession for the Duchy by her younger brother, Izaak, Madalyn never lost her parents' attention, and they doted on all three of their children: Madalyn the eldest, her soon-following younger sister Vikturya, and Izaak, ensuring no expense was spared on their education. Unusually for their time, Madalyn and Vikturya received a collegiate education at Santa Elisabeth College, an all-women's college in Onneria, after they had finished secondary education at Vylfhuld Academy and attended etiquette schooling.

Debut and High Society

The Romm sisters made their joint debut to South Ottonian high society in 1966. The beautiful, well-mannered and well-read young ladies were the darlings of South Ottonia's upper-crust over the next several years, with attention first primarily on Madalyn and then also on her sister once she completed her schooling in 1968. While several eligible young men sought to court Madalyn, ultimately permission was given to the dashing young heir-apparent to Prince Alfryd of Staalmark, Adolfus. The two began courting in 1969, were almost immediately enamored with each other, and were swiftly betrothed, with their wedding occurring on Midsummer 1970.

Portrait of Madalyn in 1970.

Marriage to Adolfus of Staalmark

The handsome and charming Adolfus at first seemed the perfect husband for Madalyn, and she quickly bore him a son, the future Prince Godwyn. The marriage was initially a happy one, but as the first few years passed and the two settled into married life, it became increasingly-clear that Adolfus had little patience for Madalyn's own strong will and intelligence. The couple's honeymoon phase had almost certainly ended by the time Madalyn dutifully bore a second child, the couple's daughter Audhild, and it only got worse from there. Although Madalyn became pregnant a third time and gave birth to the couple's second son Harald in 1977, palace observers in Staalburg suggest that by this point Adolfus had become abusive to Madalyn, at least emotionally and possibly physically, although Madalyn herself has never spoken of the latter.

The upshot is that by the time Harald was born, Madalyn was already seeking a way out of the marriage, and four months later she was successful in her quest to divorce the Staalmarker heir, although she lost the benefit of primary custody of their three children in the process.

Early Marriage to Leopuld of Ottonia

In 1978, unwilling to return home to her parents but no longer safe in Staalburg, Madalyn made her way to the High Royal Court in Wyllemspurt to recuperate. The Crown Princess Adelhaed and her husband made Madalyn feel welcome in spite of suspicion from Adelhaed's parents, the Storkeneg Karlus and Storkenegyn Maria. As it turned out, the royal couple, trying to convince their son Leopuld to remarry after a very long mourning period for his first wife, were justified in their fears, because Madalyn and Leopuld by all indications met once and immediately fell madly in love. Perhaps it was a function of the two both having been hurt (Leopuld by his previous wife, Erika's death in childbirth in 1971, Madalyn by her marriage to Adolfus) and finding comfort with each other, but the two were nigh-inseparable by Midsummer of 1978 and had wedded by the end of December with the grudging acceptance of Leopuld's parents and the relief of Madalyn's.

As it turned out, the two were extremely fond of each other and they wasted no time in having children, with their first-born, Prince Otto being welcomed into the world a scandalous six months after their nuptials. The two would have five more children over the ensuing seven years, with the last of the brood (or so they thought) being born a little under four months before Madalyn's 40th birthday. However, the happy couple would be blessed one more time with a surprise pregnancy in late 1990. Due to being 44 and amid fears of complications of the pregnancy, Madalyn was counseled by some in the House of Sproek-Kristhulm to terminate the pregnancy, but, due to her own beliefs about abortion, Madalyn opted to keep the pregnancy with, after some coaxing, her husband's anxious support. As it turned out, their miracle baby, Princess Felixia, would be born the day after Madalyn turned 45, and only a few weeks before the ailing Storkeneg Karlus would pass away, causing Madalyn's sister-in-law Adelhaed to ascend the throne.

Later Life

While child-rearing consumed much of Leopuld and Madalyn's attention over the ensuing two decades, Madalyn also became a trusted confidant to her sister-in-law and a beloved aunt to Adelhaed's own children (although the situation would be complicated somewhat when Adelhaed's eldest daughter, Vikturya, married Madalyn's estranged son Godwyn, thus bringing Adolfus back into her life by extension), and, along with her husband, the de-facto managers of the Royal Household in Wyllemspurt. While relations with her first-born remained strained, Madalyn's other two children with Adolfus, Audhild and Harald, both independently made overtures to reconcile and reunite with their mother. Madalyn was also active in the local Honorian church community, and was a fixture at fundraisers for Church-affiliated charities. In addition to raising her own children with Leopuld, when Adelhaed's children began having children of their own, Madalyn was an eager great-aunt, happy to visit with and dote on her grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

At the time of the South Ottonian Revolution, Madalyn had settled into a sort of semi-retirement in Wyllemspurt, and was quickly evacuated to Draakur in March of 2022 out of an abundance of caution. She remains in Haefeld with the relocated High Royal Court.

Issue

Madalyn has had several children with two different men.

• by Adolfus, Prince of Staalmark
  • Godwyn, Prince of Staalmark (b. 1972)
  • Audhild of Staalmark (b. 1975)
  • Harald of Staalmark (b. 1977)
• by Leopuld, Prince of Ottonia
  • Otto, Prince of Ottonia (b. 1979)
  • Rudulf, Prince of Ottonia (b. 1982)
  • Audrey, Princess of Ottonia (b. 1982)
  • Theodura, Princess of Ottonia (b. 1984)
  • Theofania, Princess of Ottonia (b. 1984)
  • Ludwyg, Prince of Ottonia (b. 1986)
  • Felixia, Princess of Ottonia (b. 1991)