Aidan Redmond
| Aidan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aidan Redmond during an award ceremony in 2021. | |||||
| Reign | 29 June 2018 - Present | ||||
| Coronation | 8 July 2018 | ||||
| Predecessor | Stuart Redmond | ||||
| King of Seylos | |||||
| Reign | 8 July 2018 - Present | ||||
| Predecessor | Stuart Redmond | ||||
| Born | 3 July 1992 Norfolk, Seylos | ||||
| Issue | None | ||||
| |||||
| House | Redmond | ||||
| Father | Stuart Redmond | ||||
| Mother | Eleanora Mac Aodhagáin Redmond | ||||
| Religion | None | ||||
Aidan was born in Norfolk, Seylos, the third child of Eleanora and Duke Stuart Redmond. In 1999, Stuart was appointed to the throne by King Harding Morrish upon his retirement, moving the family into the Royal Palace in Selbourne. Hardship between Eleanora and Stuart however made the home difficult, and in 2005 the couple informally split. Aidan and Margaret, his sister, were taken by Eleanora to continue living in Norfolk, while the older Henry continued to live in the palace with Stuart. In 2018 after the death of Stuart and the failure of his father to appoint a successor, the Royal Council of Seylos made Aidan the successor, causing a crisis in which Henry attempted to take control of the country but failed.
Aidan is the youngest King in Seylosian history, having ascended the throne five days after his 26th birthday. In the present day, Aidan is still one of the youngest wurld leaders at the age of 31. Under his reign, Seylos has seen a variety of important events, from the Sentist War to the foundation of the North Adlantic Union.
Early Life
Aidan was born on the 3rd of July in 1992. He was the third child of Eleanora and Stuart Redmond. The first being Henry born 5 years earlier, and Margaret born 2 years earlier. Eleanora and Stuart were on a visit to Norfolk when Aidan was born, which even to this day had Aidan associating the city with his home.
Duke Stuart was the official Duke of Norfolk, and during the five years preceding Stuart's ascension to the throne, Aidan grew up in the Ducal Residence outside the city. In 1999 Stuart was appointed the King of Seylos by former King Harding, which relocated the family to Selbourne to occupy the Royal Palace. Aidan had a poor relationship with his father, who had become infatuated with creating a dynasty with Henry as his successor. While both Henry and Aidan had a strong relationship growing up, Stuart had built a heavy divide between them as time had progressed. By 2005 Eleanora had become increasingly unhappy with her marriage with Stuart, while divorce was not an option she opted to take Aidan and Margaret with her back to Norfolk to raise them separately from Stuart, who had become increasingly erratic.
Aidan attended most of his schooling in Norfolk in the public system. At the time, it was a political decision to have the Royal children educated in the public system. However, when presented with the opportunity to move to a more presitgious institution later in life, Aidan declined, saying that he both had no ambition for a high schooling and that he did not want to leave where he had grown up. Stuart was enraged by this decision, however Eleanora protected Aidan, allowing him to stay at his current school. By 2010, Aidan had graduated in the top third of his class, and had been thinking for some time about joining the Seylosian Navy, an incredibly competitive organization to join.
In May of 2010, Aidan declared his intention to join the Royal Navy. In August of that year, Aidan enrolled in the Norfolk Officer's Academy to begin his service in the Royal Navy. At the time, Aidan had not considered himself to be able to aquire any sort of position in the government or as an heir to his father, who had made the most unusual decision to groom Henry Redmond for the role of King. In May of 2014, Aidan graduated the Naval Academy in the middle of his class. An instructor at the time had noted, "Aidan had a poor time with the diplomatic, philosophical, and hierarchical portions of the Academy's education, but in exercises he had proven himself to be a fair commander with excellent tactical knowledge."
While Aidan had actively protested being given preferential treatment within the navy, as an Ensign he was assigned to the HMS Dauntless, the aging aircraft carrier under the command of then Commodore Isabella Forrest. He served on the Dauntless until 2016, when he and most of the crew transferred to the newly constructed HMS Defiant, leaving behind the Dauntless as she was to be decommisioned.
By 2017 King Stuart's health had taken a turn for the worst, and Aidan was granted special dispensation from the Royal Navy to have a discharge to continue his royal duties. By the time he was discharged, he has achieved the rank of OF-2 Lieutenant.
Reign
Coup Attempt
Forces within Seylos had been acting for some time in the background, mostly outside of the world Aidan was a part of. Still, however, Aidan's popularity as a Prince had continued to grow over the years, peaking after his admittance to the Royal Navy. His distance from his father, and his image as more of an “everyman” royal had caught the public eye. However, for his brother Henry, he had become increasingly stressed as his father had still not yet named him his heir. Despite asking the reason for this, his only answer had been that he was not ready yet for the appointment.
Without warning, King Stuart passed away in his sleep from a heart attack, leaving succession in the air. With no heir selected, the decision was up to the Royal Council to put forward appointees. There was a significant camp within the council to avoid appointing Henry, who was seen as too close to his father's erratic policies. Still, a large section of wealthy nobility were quick to back Henry, seeing him as more friendly to noble interests. Quickly, Henry was surrounded by nobles ready to get him appointed and other more shady figures within the Seylosian government who desired him on the throne.
Despite the power behind his backing, it was found out the majority of the Royal Council was planning on appointing Aidan to the role. Pro-Henry nobility were quick to act, isolating him from his family and convincing Henry that Aidan was planning on using his contacts in the military to support a coup against him. Though initially dismissive of this, fabricated evidence was presented to him that convinced him otherwise.
On June 23rd, Aidan attended a planned ceremony aboard the HMS Defiant, and the nobility used the opportunity to launch their coup attempt. Unknown mercenaries claiming authority from the crown occupied key government building, including the SBC headquarters in Selbourne. Not long after his arrival onboard the Defiant, he was informed of the developments and was immediately supported by now Admiral Isabella Forrest.
After come time, Aidan was able to cut through the no-contact orders issued to the Royal Army and was able to get them to stand down and restore order in the streets. Still, some key locations were occupied by Pro-Henry mercenaries, and on the same day Aidan personally led a team of Royal Marines from the HMS Defiant to retake the SBC headquarters and calm the public.
Shocked by their defeat, massively underestimating Aidan's military and public support, Henry, and those nobles that supported him, fled the country. Henry himself took a covert offer from Iverican intelligence to head a PMC to support their own efforts, where he hoped to bide his time for his return to Seylos.
