Prince George, Duke of Lysos
| Prince George | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke of Lysos | |||||
 George in a conference, 2018 | |||||
| Born | 5 May 1990 Sarepta, Sydalon | ||||
| |||||
| House | Dimitrios | ||||
| Father | Nicholaus I | ||||
| Mother | Beata of Catana | ||||
| Military career | |||||
| Service/ | Belfrasian Army | ||||
| Years of service | 2007 – 2018 (active service) 2018 – present (Reserve Service) | ||||
| Rank | Captain (Active) Colonel (Reserve) | ||||
| Unit | XIX Legio (2008-2010) XXIII Legio (2010-2018) LI Divisio (2017-present) | ||||
Prince George, Duke of Lysos, GCSA, KCM (born George Alexandros Konstantinos Mykonos; 5 May 1990) is a member of the Belfrasian royal family. He is the third child and second son of King Nicholaus and Princess Beata of Catana, and is second in the line of succession to the Belfrasian throne. He was born in Sydalon after his mother entered premature labor during a foreign visitation to the city of Sarepta where Jesus Christ was born. His birth in the foreign country meant he was the first member of the royal family to be born in another country, and he was also the first child of his family's house to be christened in the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre by the sitting pope himself.
George was educated at Jason V Academy in the footsteps of his elder siblings and father before announcing his intentions to attend the Imperial War College in 2007 to undergo officer training. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and briefly served with his cousin, Prince Michael.
Early life and education
George Alexandros Konstantinos Mykonos was born in Sarepta, Sydalon on 5 may 1990 at St Vincent's Hospital during a trip by his father and mother, who entered premature labour having not been due for another three weeks. They had been visiting Sarepta, most notable for being the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Nicholaus made the decision the day after his birth to remain in Sydalon in order to have him christened at the Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre and to have the ceremony conducted by Pope John XII.
He is the third child and second son of Nicholaus and Beata. He has three siblings; elder sister and brother twins Victoria and Alexander (b. 15 June 1984), and a younger brother Christos (b. 7 April 1993) He was born as the next in line to the position of Heir Apparent behind his brother Alexander.
George spent the first three years of his life mostly at the family's house of Questros Palace in Thessalona, with summer breaks being taken at the family's summer household of Oakfield Castle. In 1994, aged four, George attended his first public appearance with his mother at a charity fund-raising event for the reforestation works in the south of the country. In 1997 he travelled with his family to Latium for the coronation of Jason VI, which sparked the first of several foreign trips by the royal family in which George was a part of.
In 1998 George began to attend the Jason V Academy at the age of eight. When he began his attendance at the boarding school his two older siblings were still attending, making life easier for him during his first few months. His studies were called 'typical' by professors at the academy, although he took a keen interest in learning Sydalene in honour of his birthplace. His tenure was marked with him excelling at physical training and in the academy's team-working exercises. At age seventeen, in 2007, a demonstration team from the Army arrived to talk about service in the military's officers corps during a day that hooked George with the idea of military service. During that year's winter break he told his father in private about his desires to serve in the military.
During his time in the army, he continued his studies through the military's continued education scheme, specialising in Politics, Economics and Philosophy to earn his degrees during his service so that, when he left the service he would be able to capitalise on his skills in his royal duties. His alma mater for his final studies and exams were Nouvo Portelli, the nation's most prestigious university for high-end degrees.
Military service
Training and early years
George entered the Imperial War College on 7 September 2008 to formally begin his training as an officer with the Army. Following tradition, nobody at the college referred to him by his royal name, instead utilisng his family name in a 'Cadet Dimitrios' fashion. During his tenure at the War College he excelled and upon completing training in August 2009 he did so with honors and was immediately promoted to First Lieutenant, a move authorised by the Military Council after written testimonies by his instructors spoke of his sheer excellence at tactical knowledge and foresight, levels of fitness maintained, command of his fellow cadets and how he conducted himself as a role model for those same cadets. A quotation from one such letter, released as a separate quote by the Ministry of Defence, spoke of George's sense of duty: "It has been an honor of mine to train Cadet Dimitrios to become a part of our armed forces, for it is easy for all to see that this man will excel in his duties, bringing honor and pride to his men, this army, and indeed this nation which will be blessed to have such a fine, capable man defend it."
His first assignment was to Legio XIX, which holds the remains of the banners held by Legio XXX, a command held by his ancestor Prince Nicholaus who died fighting in the Belfro-Mutulese war of 1911. His duties with the legion in Peloponasia placed him in command of a platoon of armoured infantry tasked with escorting the legion's heavy main battle tanks into combat, where manoeuvrable infantry could defeat the tanks with the right equipment - It being the armoured infantry's duty to defeat said infantry before they could do so, and if possible do likewise to a hostile combatant. George attended three wargames in the flat plains of Peloponasia during his two years with the legion. In the last year of his time with Legio XIX he gained seniority and took theoretical and practical exams to place himself on the list for promotion.
Time in the LIV Divisio
On 9 November 2010 George was informed that a position was open for promotion and that he had been selected for it, but it was with the legendary LIV Divisio - The nation's premier airborne division, a move that would require him to uphold a higher standard of physical fitness and redo his qualifications for parachuting. He accepted and on 15 December 2013 was formally promoted to the rank of Captain with the fifth cohort, XXIII Legio. This assignment would mean that as opposed to commanding a platoon of thirty men, he was now in command of a centuria of around 130 men. It was announced after the end of his active service that during this time he partook in two operational tours in the anti-drug smuggling operations conducted by the Army in the nation's southern rainforests, and was engaged in combat as a result.
While on a training exercise in the northern mountains in 2012, George and his platoon were diverted to assist local Gendarmerie rescue personnel in the search and rescue of a group of thirteen school-children and their teacher who had gotten lost in the snow-covered mountains. A statement by the search commander stated that George divided his Platoon into a ground and airborne element, with the rescue helicopters operated by the Gendarmerie being modified versions of those utilised by the platoon in it's air assault role, so operating from them required no familiarisation. Thanks to the efforts of George's platoon and the Gendarmerie forces the class were found in a cave almost five miles from their last known point, although several children had sadly perished from the cold. Worsening conditions as winter began to settle in removed any option for ground escape, meaning that the platoon, under the dire circumstances clause of the Gendarmerie protocols, took command. George, now as the temporary search commander, stayed with most of his men with the class whilst the search's two Peregrine rescue helicopters conducted day-time transportation missions the next morning to extract the class, with a search operation lasting a week recovering the body of one child who had fallen from a cliff-edge.
A formation shake-up in 2013 instigated by the deactivation of the a cohort inside the Legion resulted in George being notified of his promotion to Colonel after the cohort's colonel was reassigned to take command of the Legion's first cohort. This promotion meant that he was now the officer in command of the entire Cohort of 670 soldiers. It was recognised by the Military Council in a statement that the shake-up of the legion had resulted in some 'early promotions' but assured the public that "No officer or soldier is being promoted to a position they do not deserve to be at through their own merits and achievements.".
Enyaman Service
In his role as the commanding officer of II Cohort Aerium, XXIII Legio, his roles were reportedly the day-to-day administration of the Cohort, scheduling and executing training sessions in partnership with the Air Force - Which is responsible for the aircraft the Cohort operates with, and training foreign personnel in the usage of Belfrasian equipment both in the Federation and during overseas deployments. Statements by the Office of the Sovereign confirmed that such deployments George was with included several trips to nearby Enyama for equipment and personnel training, along with several trips to ????.
It was announced that George would be transfering to the Reserves on 12 October 2017, ending his active duty in the Army. He would be promoted to the rank of Colonel and have a post reserved for him with the LI Divisio, a reserve division based in Salonika.
Royal Duties
Upon the conclusion of his active service in the armed forces, it was announced that George would begin performing roles in his official position in the line of succession on behalf of the crown. His first visit was to the Cappadocia Hospital in the spring of 2018 where his sister, the Princess Victoria, is a resident consultant in Paediatrics. This visit, which included opening a new MRI suite, marked the start of a tour of hospitals, schools and clinics around the country. The end of the tour, in January 2019, saw him take a two month break in Lihnidos with friends which also saw him visit Sydalon and Latium to visit friends and distant relatives.
His first international duty was a visitation to Latium, visiting the Imperial Court and over the course of three months visiting members of the Imperial family which included a formal declaration of the undying alliance between the Federation and the Empire. A visit to his birthplace of Sydalon followed, including a visit to the court of Queen Melisende.
Personal Life
For most of his life, Prince George has led a private personal life away from the public eye. His active role in the Army, which involved for most of his active-duty tenure assigned living spaces when not at Questros Palace with his father. He is bilingual, speaking Sydalene fluently from an early age and often holidays in Periclean nations, such as Sydalon, Latium and Lihnidos where he has gathered an array of friendships during visits in both his military and royal duties. He also spends time in Onekawa-Nukanoa, where he has gained a close friendship with the sovereign of the nation, Toa II Nukanoa.
Since his accession as Duke of Lysos at the end of his active duty, he has resided in the titular estate which, while owned by him, is managed by the Royal Household, which also supplies financing, administrative assistance, and staff as necessary. He is known to keep his fitness level up, even after having left the military.
Titles, styles, honors and arms
Styles of address
| Styles of The Prince George | |
|---|---|
| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Highness |
| Alternative style | His Highness |
- 5 May 1990 – present: His Royal Highness The Prince George
- 12 October 2017 - present: His Royal Highness The Duke of Lysos
As a Belfrasian Prince and a member of the House of Dimitrios, George does not utilize a surname. If George were to utilize a surname, it is likely that she would take on the Dimitrios name; however, it is also possible that the surname for all children of the Sovereign to simply be "of Belfras". For ceremonial and formal purposes, all children of the Monarch - with exception to the heir apparent - are entitled to the rank of "prince" or "princess" after their Christian name followed by the territorial designation "of Belfras." While this would mean that George would be styled as "Prince George of Belfras", following his transition from active duty in the Belfrasian Army to conducting royal duties, George was bestowed the hereditary Duchy of Lysos. His title following this is, in full and formally, "Prince George, the Duke of Lysos".
Military Ranks
Belfras
- Belfrasian Army
- 12 August 2008: First Lieutenant, XIX Legio
- 3 January 2010: Captain, XXIII Legio
- 12 October 2017: Colonel, LI Divisio
Honourary military appointments
- Belfras
- Since 3 September 2020: Colonel-in-chief, XXIII Legio
- Since 1 January 2022: Commodore-in-chief, Destroyer Squadron Three
National honours and medals
- Belfras: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Andrew (GCSA)
- Belfras: Knight Commander of the Order of Michael (KCM)
Military honours and medals
- Belfras: Army Commendation Medal 7 November 2012
- Awarded for all members of III-II Platoon, V Cohort Aerium, XXIII Legio for service during the seconded Gendarmerie rescue mission of the Trehekis School class trapped in the Eribia Major mountains. At great risk to their well-beings they chose to brave treacherous and worsening conditions to locate and rescue the survivors, and then remaining for a further operation to locate the bodies of those lost in the blizzard.
- Belfras: Combat Infantryman Badge 5 August 2014
- Belfras: Anti-Drugs Operations Service Medal, with double Rosette 2015, 2016
- Belfras: Latium Service Medal 2016
- Belfras: Periclean Service Medal, with Rosette 2016, 2017
Foreign honours
Latium: Knight of the Illustrious Order of the Purple Ribbon 
Petra: Knight of the Order of the Holy Lance 
Sydalon: Knight of the Honorable Order of St Philip 
Onekawa-Nukanoa: Kaitiaki of Te Ngārara Nui
Awards
- Belfras: Friend of the Township of Trehekis 7 November 2012