Illeana Valeria, Cazique Giarelle
| Illeana Valeria Giarelli | |
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| Cazique, Head of House Giarelli | |
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| Reign | 26 December 2010 - Present |
| Ascension | 27 December 2010 |
| Predecessor | Vittorie Nicolo Giarelli |
| Seneschal | Leandre Cordiae |
| Born | 6 June 1996 Eporte Vir, Sante Reze |
| Spouse(s) | Robyrt Krynnur (m. 2011 – 2014) (his death) Prince Baldwin of Ghant (m. 2018 - present) |
| Father | Vittorio Giarelli |
| Mother | Ilarie Giarelli |
| Occupation | Director, Azende Generale Vir |
| Ghantish Imperial Family |
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Extended imperial family
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Personal Life
Early Life
Illeana was named after Ileana Giarelli née Zoagli, one of the three founding members of the house Giarelli. She was born in Eporte Vir at the Giarelli estate.
Christmas Massacre
Between the hours of 3 A.M. and 5 A.M. on Christmas Day of 2010, a large, concerted strike against the Giarelli family succeeded in removing hundreds of Giarelli officials, including the majority of the main branch of the family. The only survivors of the main line were Illeana, her mother Ilaria, and her brother Nicolo; Ilaria was determined to be a suicide risk and otherwise mentally unstable, and was deemed incapable of leadership; Nicolo lapsed into a coma after a gunshot wound to the head, leaving Illeana as the only capable member of the main line.
Illeana accepted leadership of House Giarelli the next day following a chaotic period during which no one was sure who had survived. Her official ascension to the ducdom was a low-key ceremony with only trusted family witnesses on the 26th of December, and she became the youngest power-player in the Rezese government.
Due to the deaths of every director and senior officer of the Giarelli umbrella corporation Azende Generale Vir, Illeana also became a director of the corporation and the CEO, though she immediately stepped down from her executive office due to lack of experience and knowledge to be able fulfill her duties. She appointed her house seneschal as CEO to oversee the transition.
Education
Illeana attended an elite Kirizyuntupao school until the age of fourteen. After the Christmas Massacre, she dropped out of the school and pardoned herself with her newfound powers as Cazique Giarelli from the legal requirement for completion of secondary school, and university or military service.
Family
Illeana is the third daughter and youngest child of the late Duxe Vittorie Giarelli and Lady Ilaria Giarelli. She had three brothers and two sisters, four of which were killed during the Christmas Massacre. Her surviving brother is Nicolo Giarelli, an inactive lieutenant colonel in the carabinieri.
She did not have any children with her first husband, Robyrt Krynnur. She became engaged to Prince Baldwin of Ghant, a first cousin of Nathan IV of Ghant, after meeting Nathan and one of Nathan's other cousins, Isaac, in 2016. Isaac was initially put forward by Nathan to marry Illeana, but this changed to Baldwin for reasons that were not disclosed. At the time, Illeana had not met Baldwin, and it would take several months for them to actually see each other in person for the first time. They married in November of 2018, four years after Robert's death.
Illeana's niece Mirelle, the daughter of Nicolo, is known to be very close to Illeana, and is currently her designated heir.
Controversy
Despite having ascended at the age of fourteen, six months prior to reaching age of majority, Illeana did not appoint a regent, and there was no one left in the house who had the ability to appoint one for her. Her actions during the first six months, then, are considered unauthorized and even illegal, though no attempts to prosecute were made. Several attempts to usurp the ducdom were made, though all failed; two of the failures resulted in the disappearance of the attempted usurper under uncertain circumstances. This has led to rumors about their murder or unlawful exile from the nation by Illeana and her supporters.
The pardoning of herself as Cazique Giarelli from having to complete secondary school and attend university (or join the military) has resulted in continual criticism from sources both outside and within House Giarelli. There is nothing illegal about the move, but it was seen by many as an abuse of the system and a strike against one of the most important traditions in Rezese society. More academic criticism has attacked her ability to run a great house without having completed her formal education.
To date, seventeen attempts to reject her legitimacy as Duxe Giarelli have been put forth in the Korik Signorun, but only one has gained enough support to reach vote. Despite the support, however, it failed to garner enough votes to pass.
In November 2014, it was reported that Robyrt Krynnur died in a glider accident in Eporte Tolle. Not long after, rumors regarding his murder surfaced and there was some evidence of tampering with the glider, which had mostly survived the impact with the ground. Opposition parties accused Illeana of having him killed once he had served his practical purpose (providing an of-age duke while she was still under-aged herself). Authorities questioned why Illeana would resort to murder to remove the man from his position when he was a foreigner capable of being exiled without legal ramifications, and why it would have come so late had it been that Robyrt no longer served a purpose following Illeana's fifteenth birthday. No legal action against Illeana or House Giarelli was pursued, however, especially after Robyrt's family requested the investigation cease out of respect.
Ancestors
The Giarelli family boasts direct lineage from House Zoaglie, a contemporary of the Royal House of Promontoroia. They also claim direct lineage from Principessa Livie Savina Giarelli née Promontorio, but historical records indicate that Livia had no meaningful relation to the Zoagli siblings from whom the blood line of House Giarelli derives. These siblings were Niccolo and Ileana Zoagli, both of whom changed their names to Giarelli following the dissolution of the kingdom.
There is some debate in academic circles as to whether or not Ileana's daughter, Ziara Giarelli, was actually a product of incest, citing resentful nobles and outside enemies as the source of rumors of an illicit affair between Ileana and her brother Niccolo. If the rumor was false, then Chiara was the daughter of Umbere Promontorio, which brings Duchessa Illeana Giarelli closer to the Royal House, but still removes her from being direct descendants of Livia Giarelli.
Another such debate comes from the actual parentage of Niccolo, Ileana, and their younger siblings, whose mother some records say is up for question. One or more of the last generation of House Zoaglia could in fact have had a different mother, with evidence hidden as best as possible by their recognized parents. This mother would be Vitalia Ferrante, of the last generation of House Ferrantia, another Promontoroi contemporary, and sister to Lorenze Ferrante who was Livia Giarelli's husband.