Grace of Onneria

Grace of Onneria
Lady
Born	Grace Elisabeth Claudia Heligsburg (1995-03-14) 14 March 1995 Onneria, Onneria, United Kingdom of Ottonia
House	Heligsburg
Father	Theodurik I
Mother	Caroline of Ghant
Religion	Honorian Church

Lady Grace of Onneria is the third child of Prince Theodurik IX of Onneria and his consort Caroline of Ghant. She is the twin sister of Aetius of Onneria, and is considered third in birth order because she was born hours after her twin. Prior to the South Ottonian Revolution, Grace was noteworthy for her general withdrawal from public life despite being a high-ranking aristocrat in South Ottonia. However, Grace, along with most of her family and much of the South Ottonian upper crust, fled to Draakur in March 2022. Since then, Grace has publically affiliated with the Association of Honorian Socialists, speaking publicly in support of the party and entering politics and public discourse.

Early Life and Education

Grace Elisabeth Claudia Heligsburg was born on March 14th, 1995 at St. Theodur Hospital in Onneria in South Ottonia, hours after her twin, Aetius. She was baptised with her twin on April 10th, 1995. Grace's godparents were her cousin, Godwyn, Duke of Staalmark, and her aunt, Serena of Onneria.

Alongside her brother, Grace attended the Academy of Colona for her primary schooling before matriculating to Vylfhuld Academy at the age of 13 in 2008. While the two had been close prior, despite their differing temperments (Aetius was rambunctious and extroverted, while Grace was introverted and was called "courtesy incarnate" by one instructor), once in Vylfhuld the two rapidly grew apart. Aetius' increasingly hedonistic tendencies alienated Grace, who had become more and more devout in her faith and was considered by many of her peers to be "a bleeding heart."

Following her graduation secondary school in 2013, Grace chose to attend Sant Edwyg University in Hetsburg, an all-women's college not far from Onneria, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Sociology. Although Grace's collegiate education would drag on for six years, when she graduated in 2018 she did so with three degrees: baccalaureate degrees in Sociology and International Relations (with a minor in Honorian Theology Studies), and a master's degree in Public Administration.

Portrait of Grace in 2013, commissioned to celebrate her majority.

Young Adulthood

Following her graduation, Grace made a point of keeping a low profile, largely declining to join her elder sister and twin brother at public events. Instead, when she could be seen in public, Grace was often found volunteering and fundraising for women's shelters, drug rehabilitation clinics, food banks, and homeless shelters. She became particularly associated with Honorian Relief Services, a church-affiliated charity, and the Society of Sant Anna, a mendicant order of nuns.

In her spare time, Grace was reportedly a voracious reader in this time, both of fiction and nonfiction. Moreover, palace sources in Onneria indicate that the young Lady attempted to lobby both the regional government and her father, Theodurik to improve social safety nets and poverty relief measures, to little avail.

Personal Life

Grace is noteworthy among her family for her level of piety; Grace is known to attend mass every week without fail, and is often seen at Saint Honorius Cathedral in Onneria even during the week. Reportedly, in 2013 following her graduation from Vylfhuld Academy, Grace had to be convinced by her parents not to enter a convent at that juncture.

Grace Heligsburg, speaking at a gathering in Sant Mikel, Draakur, in early 2023