Royal Crisis (Lyngaard)
The Royal Crisis (Nørdspråg: Kongelig Krise) was a major Political Crisis in Lyngaard that lasted from 1961 until 1967. The cuase of the crisis was the revelation of Prince Hans Erik's involvement with the Far-Right Kultur og Tradition group. The group had been implicated in several Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Communist, and Anti-Union attacks since the mid 1940's. The media scrutiny placed on Prince Hans Erik also helped to uncover illegal banking praticies he was involved in as a board member of Kongelig Investeringsbank. This would come to a head when bank official and co-conspirator Rasmus Mortensen was found dead, hung at the Sort Munk Bridge in 1966. Several members of both Kultur og Tradition and the Royal Investment Bank were implicated in the killing. Victories for the Socialist Labor Party of Lyngaard in 1963 and again in 1967 would eventually force Hans Erik to abdicate his claim, making the way for his uncle King Gustav Fredrik II to be elected king by the Regency Council in 1967.
Background
Monarchy and the Constitution
Since the End of the Second Lyngaardian Civil War the monarchy had been left as a ceremonial Head of State. While the Republicans were defeated, Republicanism remained a prominant political trend. Culminating in the Grand Compromise that allowed for the passage of the 1890 Lyngaardian Constitution. The Monarchy had transitioned into a symbolic and obstensibly apolitical institution which gave political power to the Lundsthing. The constitution expressly limited the political influence the monarchy would have. The monarchy could no longer endorse candidates, it could no longer vocally endorse or criticize governemnt policy, nore could it talk to politicians without it happening within an open forum.
One thing that the 1890 Constitution formalized was the existsance of the Regency Council. Traditionally an ad hoc assembly of the Royal Family, Church Bishops, The Army, and invited guests. The Regency Council would advise the Royal Family on who should succeed the king at the onset of their death. With the 1890 Constitution established the Regency Council as the body who would elected via 2/3rds majority the Monarch after the Death or Abdication of the previous Monarch. a total of 30 seats. 15 seats are appointed by the Monarch, 5 seats are occupied by Bishops of the Church, 3 Seats for the Military, 3 Seats for reprasentatives of the Royal Bank of Lyngaard, and 4 Seats elected by popular vote for life terms.
The constituion also stipulates that the Lundsthing has the power to Veto the Election of a Monarch by the regency Council, however that was consitered more a formality, with the Lundsthing never attempting to block a vote from the Regency Council until 1962.
Prince Hans Erik
Prince Hans Erik was the oldest son of King Christian Magnus X and generally seen as his fathers natural successer. Educated at the St. Hilda School in Fyrhøgh he went on to university at Lyndholm where he graduated with degrees in Classical Studies, and Strategic Financial Management. He then went on to work for Voss Bank where he rose quickly in the corporate leadership. He was noted for his reserved and diplomatic personality. Scott F. Albaugh, CFO of Voss Bank would describe Hans Erik as "Someone who listen to you one on one for hours, and ask deeper questions as you went along. He could also give a poetic speech about anything to a whole conference hall. but he struggled to entertaine in groups, he would simply melt into the background."
Hans Erik would be given a possition at the newly established Royal Investmant Bank of Lyngaard in 1956. Something he personally had advocated for, speaking to the Lundsthing on multiple occasions about the value of such an institution. He would be placed on the board of the Investment Bank and would be tasked with investing a large portion of the Royal Families assets into verious Holding Companies and Assets. Upon the death of his Father in 1961 Hans Erik would become the primary candidate to succeed his father, as per his own wishes at the time of his death on April 3rd 1961.
KIB Investment Fraud and Money Laundering
From june 2nd 1959 until March 8th of 1961 reporters from Providence Times, particularly Mary Ann LaMay, and Robert Irving Rowe would investigate claims brought up by an anonimous source from 1957. These reporters had uncovered that nearly $50 Milion in assets belonging to the Lyngaardian Royal Family had been placed in stocks held by Voss Bank via trading between them and the Royal Investmant Bank. According to them this effectively prevented any financial oversight of lyngaardian financial assets from being under the authority of Lyngaardian legal authority. Acruing intrest and sell offs would untaxable or would face very little taxation if wired to a Lyngaardian bankaccount. Funds would then be transfered from those accounds to verious anonimous accounts from within the Voss Bank System. meaning that one could access money through a Voss Bank branch in Lyngaard but not be subject to Lyngaardian finance law because the money and account would all be located within Arcadia. It is assumed that from 1957 up to 1961, the accounts affiliated with the Royal Family Assets had made roughly $43 Million based on intrest and trade.
The report published on March 10th 1961 would name several KIB members as involved in the scandal. The team was able to name KIB Head Risk Management Officer Rasmus Mortensen, based on financial trades he made in order to buy a third home in Vangsødrup, which was subject to public realese upon request via the Municiple Transparity Act. After his arrest multiple other KIB workers would be arrested by the Royal Constabulary, including CFO Markus Bohr, and Chairmen Augustus Callisen, Frederik Henning, and Bergnart fra Langstenvik. A police Investigation and Reporting from the Providence Times would show that nearly $1 Million made from an account with nearly $5.2 Million in Royal Assets was sent to Ulysse Ngenyo, who was know to be a finance adviser in Vailleux who had close ties to Asemese Military Officer Cléas Twe. From testimonies by Callisen and Henning it was also revealed that nearly $100 Million Dollars (roughly $990,000,000 when adjusted for inflation) was held in Arcadian accounts, mostly tied up with KIB holdings and Royal Family Assets. The money was used to not only enrich members of the KIB Board but also to fund political activities abroad.