Antony Edmund II

King Antony Edmund II c. 2840

Princess Anne Capulet

Prince Edward

**Antony Edmund II** (Antony Edmund Martell; 3 September 2811 - 1 January 2859) was King of Rockfield during the second half of the 29th century, following the deposing of Elisa II of Pius. As the first King of the restored House of Martell, Antony Edmund II is considered one of the greatest Kings and the start of the modernization period of Rockfield's history.

Born during the reign of his uncle, Maximilian, Antony Edmund was never intended to be in consideration for the throne. Maximilian's marriage to Elisa Pius - who had previously married his brother who had died several years prior - was proving successful with the birth of three royal daughters, Anne, Catherine and Matilda. In 2821, King Maximilian sired a son, John, and Antony Edmund was expected to live the rest of his life as a distant member of the royal family.

However, this turned out to not be the case. The year 2821 became known as the Annus horribilis with a plague running through the royal household. The plague killed all three of King Maximilian's daughters and, in November, killed Maximilian himself. While his only son, John, survived the incident (he was only one-years old at the time), he was an extremely sickly and unwell boy for much of his reign. As the babe King, his mother, Dowager Queen Elisa Pius, ruled the country in his name.

In 2823, Antony Edmund's father - Prince Oberon Martell - died. With this, as well as the commonly-held belief that the child King John would not survive adolescence due to his ill-health, Antony Edmund became the heir-presumptive. People in court began preparing for Antony Edmund's ascension to the throne. This, however, angered the Dowager Queen Elisa Pius. Many argue over the state of Elisa Pius' mind during the period. However, many historians consider the loss of two-husbands, three daughters and the likely future loss of her last child led her to insanity. This led her to refuse to recognize Antony Edmund as the heir. Upon the boy King John's death in 2829, Elisa Pius had herself crowned Queen-regnant. The move, which angered the Pontifical Church and many throughout the country due to it being considered illegal and having the coronation performed by a disgraced former clergy member, resulted in Antony Edmund fleeing the country.

Elisa Pius, now Elisa II, called for Antony Edmund's head. She accused her nephew-in-law of murdering the King and started her brutal reign as the hated dictator of Rockfield. Elisa II would rule Rockfield for over a decade. Her reign is often considered the darkest chapter in Rockfield's history with brutal executions, suppression and suspension of all of the population's freedoms. Her insanity, at this point in her life, is seldom debated by historians and she would spend years at a time locked up inside the Iberian Palace. She was genuinely paranoid, with a belief that the deaths of those closest to her was a conspiracy. She trusted nobody and made the lives of her citizens miserable for her entire reign. Her reign did come to an end, however, in 2821, with the Pontifical crusade to depose Elisa II and restore a "true Martell" to the throne of Rockfield. The crusade, ordered by Pontifex Ivanov II, saw Antony Edmund installed as King on 7 September 2840. Antony Edmund was crowned King Antony Edmund II.

For the next two decades, Antony Edmund II ruled as one of the most freedom-granting monarchs in Rockfield's history up until that point. His reign marked the beginning of the modernization period and saw the beginning of the end of the feudal system that had been in place for centuries before. Antony Edmund II is well regarded as one of the best monarchs, succeeding one of the most terrible.

## Titles and Styles

* 3 September 2811 - 7 September 2840: *His Royal Highness* Prince Antony Edmund Martell
* 7 September 2840 - 1 January 2858: *His Majesty* The King

As King of Rockfield, Antony Edmund's full title and style was:

> Antony Edmund of the House Martell, second of his name, by Grace of God, of the Rock and of the Balancín people, King, Lord of the Iberian Palace, Defender of the Faith and rightful regnant of the East, Doggerland
>
>

## Issue

* Queen Julia
* Queen Matilda
* Queen Catherine the Old
 Prince Maeron Martell
* Fredrick Martell
* Jonah Martell
* Maximilian Martell
* Josiah Martell
 Princess Anne
* Mountbatten Philip Capulet II
 Prince Edward