Louis X of Hesperia
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| Louis X | |
|---|---|
| Roi du Hesperie, Duc de Sully, Protecteur du Peuple | |
 | |
| King of Hesperia | |
| Reign | 6 March 1910 - 17 June 1960 |
| Coronation | 31 March 1910 |
| Predecessor | Margaret |
| Successor | Jacques II |
| Royal Chancellor | François Duvet |
| King of the Hesperic Free State | |
| Reign | 30 August 1932 - 29 April 1944 |
| Coronation | 2 September 1932 |
| Predecessor | Position established |
| Successor | Position abolished |
| Duke of Sully | |
| Reign | 31 December 1881 - 17 June 1960 |
| Predecessor | Margaret |
| Born | 31 December 1881 Palace of Geurdin |
| Died | 17 June 1960 Georgesville Royal Hospital |
| Spouse | Mary, Princess of Hoel |
| Issue | Prince Philip, Duke of Portín Charles, Prince of Hesperia Lucienne, Princess of Hesperia Jacques II |
| House | Dreux-Bourbon-Sully |
| Father | Robert, Prince of Amesfort |
| Mother | Margaret |
| Religion | Calvinism |
Louis X (Hesperic: Louis Margaret Albert Conrad, 31 December 1881 - 17 June 1960) was the King of Hesperia from 6 March 1910 until his death. He reigned during one of the most tumultuous periods of Hesperic history. He was King of the Hesperic Free State from 1932 until the end of the Civil War in 1944, and before that ruled a country that had just left the Margaretine Era, a major era of social upheaval, revolution and change. After the Great Putsch in July 1932, the Eastern quarter of the country would declare independence. After establishing the Free State that year, he would go on to make it an powerful monarchy, with a Royal Chancellor in charge. By the 1950s, he would essentially create a small hegemony in Aurica.
Childhood
Louis X was born Louis Margaret Albert Conrad, Duke of Sully on 31 December 1881. His mother, Margaret, was the reigning sovereign of Hesperia, and his father Robert was king consort of said sovereign. By the age of two, learned individuals had immediately come close to him, and started tutoring him at the age of three. He received his first initial education at the Palace Private Junior School.
By the age of thirteen, he became increasingly more knowledgeable in various subjects, and by seventeen, he had finished his secondary school education at the palace. Margaret, satisfied with his endeavours, employed him as an unofficial advisor to her. He worked hard to soothe the tense relations with the ailing Queen Margaret, and by using his knowledge, he became an effective secretary for the nation, and had a good relationship with Prince Robert, his father.
Heir apparent
Military Service
In 1900, not seeking to enter the Royal College, he decided to serve in the Hesperic Army until 1903, where he had become wounded after fighting in a brutal skirmish in the South. This injury debilitated him for the rest of the year, as he was discharged from hospital until six months later.
Prince of Hesperia
Assuming an anti-Atmoran stance from this point onwards, he would continue to aid his mother Queen Margaret until her death in 1910. For three days in November 1909, Margaret was considered extremely sick, and had been unable to walk for months before this point. Queen Margaret was diagnosed with rheumatism, and Louis, discovering this, declared himself effective Regent of Hesperia on December 2, 1909. From December 1909 to March 1910, Louis X was the sole executor of the Royal Prerogative, yet was still not King.
On January 1, 1910, Louis X headed the prelude to the first annual opening of the Hesperic Congress. It was the most controversial, as pundits criticised the King for acting on the behalf of his mother, even though she was universally considered inoperable and not cognizant at that point. Nevertheless, it would the first recorded opening, as well as the most attended, with an audience of forty thousand during the first three hours.
Monarch
Ascension and coronation
On March 6 1910, Queen Margaret was pronounced dead after having gone through several lapses of consciousness that same day. Prince Robert, husband to the Queen - had gone into hiding after an attempt was made on his life in April of last year. Louis ascended to the throne in a ceremony that lasted until the next day, yet plans for a full coronation were considered too expensive and costly. A week of mourning was decided instead, however on the 20 March, Louis signed a Royal Legislation demanding a coronation be held on the 31st.
Early Reign
The populace considered Louis' early reign was characterised by impulsivity and lack of responsibility, as he signed an Royal Legislation again, demanding a second opening to the Hesperic Congress. It was less attended and less publicised as many pundits found the move to be irresponsible and pointless - had still been popular for the most part, as republican sentiment was deemed a major taboo.
In 1911, following the outbreak of the Vozhsk War of Independence, the King issued a Act of Armed Indifference which allowed a stance of neutrality only if Atmora agreed not to have its navy present in the Gulf of Rohane, paralleling his anti-Atmoran stance that he would keep until his death. In 1912, Louis married Princess Mary of Hoel, and gave birth to Prince Philip in September. By 1916, Louis managed to consolidate his rule, as he was at peace from the mid-1910s to the early 1920s.
Eight years after his ascension, in 1918, Antoine Ferdinand became Prime Minister. He, as well as several prime ministers following, had Republican sentiment, so was despised by the Monarchy. The King had issued several royal vetoes on his Bills, yet they failed to take course and Ferdinand became increasingly popular during his premiership. This imminent power struggle, that would cause the foundation of radical partisanship, would be the major cause for the Hesperic Civil War.
By 1923, Ferdinand defeated Socialist Democrat Henri Rubíen in the 1923 general election - which angered Louis and his supporters, because of their indifference to republicanism. Ferdinand was forced to resign on 4 February 1924, causing the Blackshirts to march on the Palace on the 23rd that month. Ferdinand created and became the Provisional Director of the Fascists in June 1924, and had fought with the police several times, engaging in pyrrhic victories.
By late June 1924, reports of police contingents allowing Fascists to operate in city grounds caused Louis to issue a prerogative effectively giving Louis emergency monarchical powers, allowing him to override all democratic power. This caused major protests in the cities that were later subdued quickly, as the Monarchist government had a stash of supplies.
Following the Fascist Putsches of 1923/24, the Monarchy was considered stable for the most part - as consolidation was still prevalent in royalist, loyalist holdings that were commons across the country.
Hesperic Demise and Civil War
By 1927, military preparedness was strengthened, as new military regiments were created, and firearms imports increased by 20% in the wake of any possible new insurrection. The largest pre-war re-armament of the Monarchy took place in 1928, however, increasing unemployment and a lack of international prestige, would continue to plague royalist forces.
During 1929, The King's popularity remained toxic - as royalists still fought for the continuation of his rule, while opposition groups would opt him as a folk villain, despite talks for peaceful abdication. Later that year, he abolished the National Provisional Council, and personally appointed François Duvet as Royal Chancellor, causing a bolster of trust of the Monarchy to resonate across the country.
In 1930, the political situation in Hesperia had drawn closer to becoming a civil conflict. Republican parts of the country became more and more Republican, and rural parts of the country stayed true to King Louis. That is, until the Hesperic Recession caused major business to become defunct, after bank shareholders became increasingly less prevalent to appease the Socialist populace. The Hesperic Recession had so much of an impact on the country, that Ferdinand was able to break out of prison in March, and started to organise mass rallies of thousands. King Louis instinctively organised a new royal cavalryman contingent curbing civil cause for action.
On July 15 1932, Ferdinand organised a large uprising against businesses in Georgesville, and erupted into the Battle of Rue de Garde - Police did not choose to intervene, and shortly after, the Head of the Fascisti in Imperos declared independence. Antoine quickly arrived in Kalini, and declared the Hesperic League. Louis X, quickly panicking, had no choice to quickly form a new Provisional Government on 30 August that year.
In 1934, while guerrilla warfare was very active, Prince Robert, Louis' father, husband of Queen Margaret, died of natural causes on 10 May. In 1938, after 3 years of inactivity and stalemate, Louis X launched a naval raid on Heulen Beach, causing outage. He also spoke with Vozhsk leaders on possible collaboration in a war.
In 1940, he successfully personally lead and routed a Fascist garrison 30 km outside of Georgesville alongside Duvet, which reset the war again - he was ecstatic when the Third Voshan War erupted, yet after the start of Operation Northern Lights was enacted, he was angered and frustrated at the fact that his old ally had nearly fallen so quickly. He never was fully involved in the war, he gave birth to Jacques II in 1942.
By 1943 - continuing to relish in the gains he had made on the front, Louis and his forces captured Ferdinand and executed him publicly, with Joseph Chél becoming Acting Director. He signed the Treaty of Letbon on 29 April 1943, yet the Free State did not dissolve until a year later.
Reconstruction Era and later years
Louis X, claimed by most pundits, was enthusiastic to have the war ended. He triumphantly championed the rites of his rule in 1946, when Duvet was almost unanimously elected as Prime Minister. The Monarchy has resurged at that point, as members of both the traditionalist right and revolutionary left began to resonate with him. At the beginning of the "Miracle Era", he began to make critical reforms to the Government, as his royal prerogatives had been able to be validated again due to constitutional reform. According to many contemporaries, the general public started to once again become apathetic of his rule as he pandered to Conservatives.
Countless infighting and debate about traditional reform swept the country by 1952 as Duvet died in office. The political landscape was changing as technological upheaval began to mount. Louis X, ailing - had publicly criticised Socialist Democrat Gerard Helme for "not obeying the will of the King". This scandal caused a rift in the social landscape, and toppled what could be called a "once eternal Conservative hegemony".
In 1960, upon the election of PM Matthieu Bernard, and by the counsel of the former, Louis X diligently attended the annual opening of Congress. He was side-by-side with Crown Prince Jacques, appointed crown prince due to Philip and Charles' apathy to rule.
Death
King Louis X died on 17 June 1960, with a large funeral ceremony presiding. He was carried in the series of funeral processions across Georgestown. Following an impressive state funeral, Jacques II took a voluntary, subsequent oath the next day. He was coronated King on 1 August 1960, ending Louis' fifty year long reign.