Tara of Ossoria
| Tara | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Queen of Ossoria | |||||
| Reign | 25 August 2010 – Present | ||||
| Coronation | 22 September 2010 | ||||
| Predecessor | Nevan III | ||||
| Heir presumptive | Nerys Ní Sionán | ||||
| Born | 9 March 1989 Kenlis | ||||
| Prince Consort | Jason Luther von Grath | ||||
| Issue |
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| House | Ó Sionán Dynasty | ||||
| Father | Nevan III of Ossoria | ||||
| Mother | Eithne Ní Branáin | ||||
| Religion | Ossorian Druidry | ||||
Tara is the queen regnant of the High Kingdom of Ossoria.
Biography
Early Life
Tara was the second child born to High King Nevan III Ó Sionán and Queen Eithne Ní Branáin. In 1992, the Queen Mother died due to complications relating to the birth of her younger sister, Aisling. The next year, in 1993, Nóra, Tara's older sister, was killed when the brakes on a truck failed and struck the vehicle in which both she and Tara had been traveling, leaving Tara with a scar on her right temple.
Tara spent much of her early life in the city of Gabhrán the care of Lúcán Ó Dónaill, who served as her guardian and tutor, and attended a private primary school for the children of the aristocracy during this time. On her twelfth birthday, Tara was formally presented and declared to the Court as the Heir Presumptive to the Throne.
Education as Heir
Now officially designated Heir, Tara began her education to prepare her to become the next Monarch. She attended the Royal Academy of Governance, a six-year private secondary school for children of the aristocracy expected to enter into government, either as a titled noble or in another function. As the Heir Presumptive of to the High Kingship, Tara's curriculum was more rigorous and demanding than most of her peers'. During school breaks, she observed her father during meetings of the Privy Council and with foreign diplomats, and was often questioned by her father afterwards as he sought to give his daughter more practical experience on a variety of subjects, affairs, and procedures.
In the year 2007, on Tara's eighteenth birthday, she was named Princess of Carmane and sent to rule over the Principality of Carmane in her own right the next day. This was the traditional 'final exam' for the Heir, intended to test her readiness to assume the full powers of the Monarchy: after three years of governing the small principality on her own, she would be eligible to be named the Heir-in-Right, and her position in the line of succession would be secured.
Rule of Carmane
During her tenure as Princess of Carmane, Tara oversaw the response to the 2007-2008 winter floods which saw seven deaths in the Principality, the implementation of a mandatory vaccination program in response to a measles outbreak which struck the island in the autumn of 2008 and resulted in 836 cases and fourteen deaths, and introduced a program of tax incentives to reduce carbon emissions in 2009. By 2010, the Privy Council was convinced of her ability and prepared to recall her to the capital.
Nevan's Death
On 9 March 2010, the earliest possible date, the Privy Council urgently recalled Tara to Kenlis. Two years before, the High King had been diagnosed with lung cancer and both Nevan and the Council were anxious for her to begin taking over the reins of government. Upon her arrival in the capital, instead of the traditional ceremony to formally designate her as the Heir-in-Right, Nevan and the Council moved to empower Tara as the Princess Regent and issued letters patent granting her complete authority over the government. This allowed her to take over in a controlled manner before his death three months later on 10 May 2010. Later that day, Tara was officially acclaimed as High Queen of Ossoria and was formally coronated on 18 August 2010.
Assassination Attempt
On 28 February 2011, the militant wing of the Republican Faction, a domestic terror group seeking the complete abolition of the aristocracy, attempted to assassinate Tara as she disembarked from her aircraft following a visit to the Kingdom of Ardliss. Tara was shot twice while an aide was killed and one of the Bloodsworn was seriously injured in the attack, which resulted in the immediate killing of her assailant. Tara was taken to a nearby hospital, which was immediately placed under heavy guard. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the Rídhamhna called for an emergency session of the Privy Council and Tara's older half-brother Mathúin was named Regent for the duration of her recovery, a move she formally approved after recovering from the emergency surgery. The incident was a watershed moment for the Faction's terroristic campaign, as the security forces undertook to crack down on the organization, ultimately breaking its effectiveness within two years of the assassination attempt.
Tara spent two weeks in hospital before moving to a country estate in the Grand Duchy of Gabhrán to finish her recovery. There, Sir Cathair Ó Raghallaigh, her Champion, submitted his resignation over his self-described failure to protect her, despite Tara having ordered him to take leave to recover from a bout of the flu. Tara refused to even open the envelope, unceremoniously tossing it into a fire as soon as he handed it to her. She returned to the capital four months later and resumed work.
Description
Tara is a short, slender young woman who has a pale complexion, red hair which she typically wears cut to just above her shoulders, and green eyes. Tara is most commonly described as "pretty", whose features do not stand out very much. She tends to dress in comparatively simple clothes which aren't very conspicuous.
Personal Life
Tara has eight siblings, seven of whom are still alive and six of whom are half-siblings. Her full siblings are Nóra (deceased) and Aisling; her half-siblings are Mathúin, Cormac, Sorcha, Ardal, Fiadh, and Pádraig.
In 2012, Tara announced her engagement to Count Jason Luther von Grath, a childhood friend from the Duchy of Iron Island in the Empire of Shalum. The two were married in 2015 and welcomed the birth of their twin daughters Nerys and Bláithín on 5 September of the next year. On 13 April 2020, their third daughter, Émer, was born.
In her scarce free time, Tara enjoys engaging in hobbies such as sailing and reading. She spends the majority of her time at her official residence in Kenlis and at her country estate in the Grand Duchy of Gabhrán. She is very fond of dogs.
Titles and Styles
Ossorian: Her Royal Ossorian Majesty Tara, High Queen of Ossoria, Queen of Kenlis and her other territories, Lord of the Isles, Lord Protector of the Realm, Guardian of the Holy Temple, and Chief of Her Name
West Aotearoan: Her Majesty Tara, Queen of West Aotearoa and of Her Other Realms and Territories
Patronage
As the High Queen, Tara serves as matron to several charitable organizations, including:
- Royal Cancer Treatment Foundation
- Royal Higher Learning Fund
- Royal Animal Sanctuary
- Royal Culture Center
- Royal Academy for the Performing Arts
- Royal Children's Health Institute