King Robert Koopa III

"*The best way to conquer your foe, is to pursue him, at his own realm"* - King Bowser Koopa II quoting King Robert Koopa III in "Ludwig's Dilemma (2/2)"

**King Robert Koopa III** was the twenty-third of the Koopa Kingdom who reigned from his coronation in the year 1345 up until his death in the year 1397, reigning for a total of fifty-two years. He is highly praised as one of the greatest kings in the Koopa Kingdom's history. His reign is described in the *Wars of Frozen Flames* prologue as "Long and eventful," with him being well into old age at the time of his death.

King Robert Koopa III is perhaps best known for starting the Hundred And Eight Years War, in which the Koopa & Bohnenkraut Kingdoms fought over their lands as well as the Bohnenkraut throne itself, and while the origins of this conflict have yet to be revealed, what is known is that Robert III was greatly praised for his skills in battle during said war. He was succeeded by his son, who became King Edrick Koopa IV, and conversely had the shortest reign in the Kingdoms history, lasting merely thirty days, following which Robert's sole surviving grandson became King Richard Koopa II.

King Robert Koopa III is based on King Edward III of England.

## Appearances in Videos

He was first mentioned by King Bowser Koopa II in the *Bowser's Koopalings* episode "Ludwig's Dilemma (2/2)". When confronting King Johann Von Speckbohne XVIII to shut down Johann's Oblivion Cannon and put a stop to his schemes to forge a new Bohnenkraut Empire, Bowser quoted Robert III (*see the top of the page*), before proceeding to follow the advice and surround Johann's Bohnenfrost Castle in Joke's End with a fleet of airships ready to arrest him.

Robert III later briefly appeared himself in "The Feeble King" as apart of its prologue. Though dead by the start, he is briefly shown granting Dukedoms to his five surviving sons. While generous, this gave them more power than any other Princes beforehand and set the stage for the series central conflict, *The Wars of Frozen Flames*.

## History

### Early Life

King Robert Koopa III was born Prince Robert Koopa, to King Robert Koopa II and his lowborn-wife turned Queen Alexandra Naples in the year 1332, being the eldest of Robert and Alexandra's children, having a younger brother and two younger sisters. Growing up he enjoyed playing with his second cousin, Blayne Koopa, and was knighted alongside him at the age of 12, though tensions would rise between them when Prince Robert's father would execute Blayne's Uncle Tyburn. The two would be reconciled however, when King Robert II would fall out of favor with his people due to his favoritism shown towards the family of his new mistress, Lady Francesca Serventine. Prince Robert would be used as a pawn by his mother and her own favorite, Lord Edgar Kassimeer, who would raise an army, execute Robert II's new favorites and imprison the old king, who would later be murdered by Kassimeer himself. Prince Robert would be crowned as King Robert Koopa III. Though now King, Robert III had very little power at this time, being only 13 years of age, and it would instead be Queen Alexandra and Lord Kassimeer running the Kingdom, with the Queen Mother acting as the de-facto regent during Robert's minority of age.

### Regency

Lord Edgar Kassimeer had entered in negotiations with the Duke of Bohnenfrost to marry Robert III to the Duke's daughter Alaina Von Bohnenfrost, in exchange for troops to support he and Queen Alexandra's army. This was accepted and Alaina was brought to the Koopa Kingdom and crowned Queen Consort shortly after her husband, though like her husband was also merely 13 at the time. Queen Alexandra continued to look after her son, but grew to dislike Robert's new Queen Alaina and grew jealous of the attention Robert would give her. She left running the Kingdom to Kassimeer, however much like Tyson Koopa 650 years later, Kassimeer made a terrible ruler. He ignored all the Kingdom's problems and spent most of the time raising taxes and enriching himself. As well as this when an army from the Frosted Kingdom led by Chieftain Chilly, (not to be confused with Chief Chilly), crushed the Koopa Kingdom's forces, Kassimeer himself refused to fight despite formerly being a capable warrior, agreed to an embarrassing treaty which agreed that the hated "Chill Koopas" could come into the Kingdom to raid, slaughter and pillage whenever they wished, so long as they stayed away from the castle. The late Robert II's brother, Prince Halbert Koopa, spoke up against this. In response, Queen Alexandra and Lord Kassimeer condemned Halbert a traitor, and had him executed for "plotting to murder the King and usurp the throne for himself". Halbert was Robert III's favorite Uncle, and he did not believe this story. Kassimeer meanwhile was cold and uncaring to Robert III, only ever being kind to him when needing him to grant him a favor.

### Seizure of Power

Kassimeer and Queen Alexandra continued to corrupt the realm for the young king, and word that Kassimeer had in fact murdered Robert II soon reached his ears. In addition, once of age in 1348, Queen Alaina was struggling to produce an heir, as the Queen Mother had been secretly using potions to disable her reproductive system, not wanting her son to produce an heir and lose attachment to her. Robert III grew tired of being a powerless king, and hatched a plan to seize back power for himself. He had help from his friends, the previously mentioned Sir Blayne Koopa, another close companion Sir Wallace Montageau, and several other soldiers. Robert III's friends used a hidden tunnel in the castle, previously used to sneak beer past his mother, to reach Robert III and free him from his bedroom, where he was forbidden to leave past nine. The group burst into the Chamber of the Claw, where Lord Kassimeer was sat counting coins, and successfully captured him, with Kassimeer screaming that he was going to murder the boy as he was being dragged away. The following day he was found guilty of seizing power for himself, enriching himself at the Kingdom's expense, and falsely sentencing people to death despite not having the right to do so, and was himself sentenced to death. The Queen Mother cried and begged her son to spare his life, but he refused to listen due to the way Alexandra had treated his own wife. Lord Edgar Kassimeer expected a simple beheading, but was instead bashed on the head with a spiked club, before being hurled into a pool of lava, where he was burned alive. Despite the brutal execution, Robert III showed kindness to Edgar's children. His son and heir Sir Robert Kassimeer was restored to his father's estates, and when he died his grandson, also named Edgar, was allowed to succeed his grandfather as the next Earl of Waterlog Marsh. He exiled his mother Alexandra to Gwahar Lagoon in the Bohnenkraut Kingdom, where she later disappeared rather mysteriously, with no one ever hearing from her ever again.

### War with Frosted Kingdom

Robert III told his subjects to ignore the past three years, as he did not agree with the majority of what Lord Kassimeer and the Queen Mother had done. He waged war against the Frosted Kingdom after news that yet another army had invaded. While he was advised to let them be as "well, no one really cares about those villages anyway," Robert insisted that disrespect to his Kingdom would not slide, and that "They should pillage their own foul villages if they must get it out of their system". This angered the Chieftains, and two armies met in the north of Sherbet Land at Snowball Park, in which Robert III crushed the Chill Koopas in battle. Chieftain Chilly acknowledged Robert III as his overlord and was shipped back to the Frosted Kingdom, though his boat would hit a small iceberg and he would drown. Robert III celebrated with a large feast, and the nobles celebrated. Several gallons of wine were drunk, but it was no bother to them, as they could simply just trade with Oho Oasis for some more.

### Bohnenkraut Kingdom Claim

King Klaus Von Speckbohne V was considered reasonable and had a decent relationship with King Robert Koopa III. Unfortunately, King Klaus would die without male issue, and due to the Bohnenkraut Kingdom being under salic law, a succession issue arose in said realm. King Friedrich Von Speckbohne IV had had all three of his son's wives tortured for having affairs, and thus Klaus and his two elder brothers, Johann X and Friedrich V, hadn't been able to produce heirs either. This left three possible candidates open for the Bohnenkraut throne. The first was King Klaus Kaliente II, the King of the nearby Saltwater Kingdom and a grandson of King Johann X through his daughter Johanna. His claim was dismissed as he was believed to be somewhat mad. He had a foul temper and was not easy to get along with. The next was Robert III. His great-grandmother, Queen Ursula Von Speckbohne, was the eldest daughter of King Friedrich Von Speckbohne III. She had married King Alfred Koopa III as apart of a temporary treaty made by Klaus IV, who desperately didn't want to fight (*Ludwig's Dilemma erroneously states the treaty was with King Patrick, however this was inaccurate as the time of the reigns does not corelate*), and this marriage gave Robert III a genuine claim. However, there was a third candidate through Ursula's younger sister Klaudia, specifically her own son, Lord Friedrich Von Valbohne. The Bohnenkraut nobles initially chose Robert, believing him to be the most effective warrior and most capable man for the job. However, they ended up changing their minds last minute, deciding they did not want someone from the Koopa Kingdom in charge of them, and chose Lord Valbohne instead. He was crowned King Friedrich Von Speckbohne VI.

### Hundred and Eight Years War

Friedrich VI immediately sent letters to King Robert Koopa III demanding he pay homage to him. Robert III refused, and sent Friedrich VI a letter with spit on it, stating "I shall not be treated as a vassal to your crap Kingdom." Friedrich VI was horrified, and instantly cut off trade with the Koopa Kingdom. This meant the Koopa Kingdom could get no more valuable resources, including wood from Chucklehuck Woods for their homes and ships, Mushrooms from Hoohoo Mountain for their feasts, and worst of all, wine from Oho Oasis. Robert III would not have it, and instead waged war on the Bohnenkraut Kingdom. He and his nobles set sale to Heehee City in the County of Zweibelbohne, in which a large festival was set up at the market square. Everywhere was decorated with colorful flags and banners, however at the head of the building, a large flagpole held up a new flag, containing Robert III's Koopa emblem quartered with the Bohnenkraut Kingdom's Hawkmouth emblem. People assumed they just made the wrong flag. However, when Robert III entered, wearing his crown, he announced to the people of the city that he was proclaiming himself rightful King of the Bohnenkraut Kingdom. Half the people cheered, the other half burst out laughing. When Friedrich VI received the news, he let out a horrified scream and allegedly buried his foot into a wall.

### Early Campaign

King Robert III had amassed many capable military commanders during his time as king. He observed that his father's failures mainly came from just appointing friends to positions of power over people actually capable of leading battle. His strongest ally and King's Claw was his second cousin, the now Lord Blayne Koopa, Duke of Kayenne Kragg. As well as this he had the assistance of several knights he appointed to the Order of the Hexagon, including his son, **Prince Edrick** **Koopa**, **Lord Robyn Windwaker**, Earl of Bristlewood Bay, his old ally **Lord Wallace Montageau**, now Earl of Twinsy Tropics, **Lord Korbyn Sylver**, **Lord Tytus Garnet**, **Lord Edgar Kassimeer**, grandson of the executed Edgar Kassimeer, and later the newest member of the order, fifteen year old **Lord John Tyebolt**. The group decided the best strategy to win the war would be to enter the Bohnenkraut Kingdom at different points, and eventually make their way to Friedrich VI's castle and surround him, after conquering much of the Kingdom. Lord Blayne would travel by sea to land in Oho Oasis, which was still loyal to the Koopa Kingdom, while Robert III and his son Edrick would make their way to Karhar City. Robert III and Prince Edrick arrived in Stardust Fields aboard their Musties, and when Friedrich VI heard the news he amassed his army to counter them. His forces had to divide their efforts as Lord Blayne had already begun causing trouble in Teehee Valley, and Friedrich VI's army met Robert III's army at what would be known as the Battle of Stardust Fields. Despite Friedrich VI having the bigger army, the battle was a huge victory for the Koopa Kingdom. The minute the Bohnenkraut Crossbowmen were approached by the Koopa Kingdom's soliders, they attempted to flee but were slaughtered by their Bohnenkraut allies for desertion. Friedrich VI charged at Robert III but was unhorsed from his Mustie and wounded. His ally, King Byron the Blind of the Sunshine Kingdom, was killed in action after slaughtering half of Friedrich VI's own troops thinking he was killing Koopa Troop soldiers, before running off a cliff. Friedrich VI fled back to his castle in the aftermath of the battle. Robert III took control of Karhar City, however its people refused to surrender. They waited months in chains for Friedrich VI to come to their aid, but he saw Karhar City as useless so didn't bother. Eventually, Queen Alaina felt sorry for the people and begged Robert III to offer them mercy. He eventually did and the people handed control of Karhar City to Robert III.

(*TBC*)