Monarchy of Sladonia

Personal Coat of Arms of the King or Queen

The **Monarchy of Sladonia** (Italian: *La Monarchia di Sladonia*) is the form of government in Sladonia. The monarchy is headed by a ceremonial hereditary monarch. The monarch holds no political power, unlike the other monarchies of Europe. The current monarch is Alexandre III, who has held office from 1972.

## Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of the monarch of Sladonia is a combination of the Banner of Saint Nicholas (Sladonian: Vesile de Sante-Nicholá) (The *gules* and *or* chequered pattern with four squares at the top of the design), the coat of arms of the Cardinal of Duligo (the *French style* *gules*, *argent* and *or* design in the bottom right) and the coat of arms of the Lord of Roelle (the *French style* *gules* and *or* design in the bottom left).

The supporting lions (*rampant coward*) were added around 1724, to mark the family's descendant from the houses of Stuart and Habsburg (the Stuart coat of arms featuring a supporting lion on the left and the Habsburg coat of arms featuring a red lion as the charge).

## History

Samuel, Count of Giu (born Samuel de Farabesque) was the first Prince of Sladonia from 1412 until his death in 1426. He was given the title by his mentor and first-cousin-once-removed, Pope Gregory XII, as a gift for his loyalty to the Papacy in the Hundred Years' War. The title of Cardinal-Duke of Duligo had been held by the Pope since its seizure from the Crown of Castile following the Siege of Duligo in 1381.

What is today known as Sladonia was part of the Kingdom of Castile until 1381, and then the Holy Roman Empire until 1729. Thus, the King of the Romans was required to agree to elevating Samuel's title from the Count of Giu to the Prince of Duligo (later of Sladonia). He agreed, and Samuel was crowned Prince-Regnant Samuel I of Duligo, Lord of Giu (Sladonian: *Princip Samuelle I di' Dulígo, Domineur d' Giu*) on June 24, 1412.

The title was changed by his successor to the Prince-Regnant of all Sladonia (Sladonian: *Princip d' Sladonia tuo*) as his territory expanded to the entire Isle and parts of Sicily.

The use of *King of Sladonia* arose in 1557, when Samuel V petitioned to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, to be made King of Sladonia (Sladonian: *Rei d' Sladonia*). This was declined but Samuel persisted for the promotion, and the ailing Emperor finally agreed on the condition that his seven-year-old granddaughter, Anna of Austria, marry Samuel's twenty-five-year-old son, Alessandro, Prince of Palermo. Samuel eagerly accepted, and the two arranged that the pair would marry in 1562. Samuel was crowned King of Sladonia by Pope Paul IV on December 25, 1557; mirroring the coronation of Charlemagne.

Charles died the following year, as did Alessandro of Palermo unexpectedly, and Samuel called off the betrothal, while remaining King. Charles' successor, Philip II of Spain, demanding that Anna marry the next-in-line to uphold the deal, but Samuel rejected the idea. The War of the Sladonian Succession ensued, which lasted between Philip and Samuel for three years, until a peace treaty in 1562, when Samuel's daughter was to be married to Philip's son, Carlos. This *did* happen, when Renata of Sladonia married Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, in 1563. She died a year later giving birth to a stillborn son.

Sladonia stayed within the Holy Roman Empire until 1657. The Thirty Years' War had ravaged the Empire and Louis VIII was fearful of another war that would topple his place as monarch. He decided that it was wise to disassociate himself with the empire, and requested that the Holy Roman Emperor grant him full sovereignty over an independent Sladonia. During the period in which there was no Holy Roman Emperor (between Ferdinand III's death in April 1657 and Leopold I's election in July 1658), Sladonia separated from the empire.

## Present Day

Currently, the Monarchy is headed by Alexandre III of the House of Beauharnais, who came to the throne upon the death of his maternal uncle in 1972. His eldest son, Leopold, is the first in line to the throne (see below).

## List of Monarchs of Sladonia

1. The House of Farabesque (1412-1426)
	1. Samuel II "il Pio", Prince of Duligo (r. 1412-1426)
2. The House of Geves (1427-1457)
	1. Francesco II "il Justo", Prince of Sladonia (r. 1427-1439)
	2. Samuel III "il Veqio", Prince of Sladonia (r. 1439-1457)
3. The House of Sanili (1457-1509)
	1. Ludovic (Louis) V "il Batard", Prince of Sladonia (r. 1457-1480)
	2. Enrique VIII, Prince of Sladonia (r. 1480-1482)
	3. Samuel IV, Prince of Sladonia (r. 1482-1486)
	4. Luisa-Petronilla, Princess-Regnant of Sladonia (r. 1486-1509)
4. The House of Fresacao (1509-1510)
	1. Ludovic (Louis) VI, Prince of Sladonia (r. 1509-1510)
5. *Interregnum* (1510-1516)
6. The House of Valois (r. 1516-1531)
	1. Francesco (Francois) I, King of France and Prince of Sladonia (r. 1516-1531)
7. The House of Artespan (r. 1531-1639)
	1. Samuel V, Prince of Sladonia (r. 1531-1567)
	2. Samuel VI, King of Sladonia (r. 1567-1570)
	3. Francois II, King of Sladonia (r. 1570-1588)
	4. Samuel VII, King of Sladonia (r. 1588)
	5. Samuel VIII, King of Sladonia (r. 1588-1602)
	6. Samuel IX, King of Sladonia (r. 1602-1611)
	7. Samuel X, King of Sladonia (r. 1611-1614)
	8. Louis VII, King of Sladonia (r. 1614-1629)
	9. Samuel XI, King of Sladonia (r. 1629-1637)
	10. Samuel XII, King of Sladonia (r. 1637-1652)
8. The House of Farnese (r. 1652-1846)
	1. Louis VIII, King of Sladonia (r. 1652-1681)
	2. Louis IX, King of Sladonia (r. 1681-1696)
	3. Samuel XIII, King of Sladonia (r. 1696-1775)
	4. Léopold I, King of Sladonia (r. 1775-1779)
	5. Louis X, King of Sladonia (r. 1779-1785)
	6. Francois II, King of Sladonia (r. 1785-1801)
	7. Alexandre (Alessandro) I, King of Sladonia (r. 1801-1809)
	8. Élisabeth I, Queen of Sladonia (r. 1809-1846)
9. The House Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (r. 1846-1972)
	1. Charles-Guillaume I of Sladonia (r. 1846-1880)
	2. Léopold II, King of Sladonia (r. 1880-1899)
	3. Alexandre (Alessandro) II, King of Sladonia (r. 1899-1917)
	4. Léopold III, King of Sladonia (r. 1917-1951)
	5. Léopold IV, King of Sladonia (r. 1951-1972)
10. The House of Beauharnais (r. 1972-Present)
	1. Alexandre III, King of Sladonia (r. 1972-Present)

## Line of Succession

* Alexandre III (b. 1937)
	+ (1) Léopold, Crown Prince of Sladonia (b. 1962)
		- (2) Samuel, Prince of Sladonia (b. 1995)
			* (3) Élisabeth, Princess of Sladonia (b. 2017)
			* (4) Alexandre, Prince of Sladonia (b. 2019)
			* (5) Louis, Prince of Sladonia (b. 2021)
			* (6) Joséphine, Princess of Sladonia (b. 2023)
		- (7) Julia, Princess of Sladonia (b. 2001)
		- (8) Marie-Matilde, Princess of Sladonia (b. 2002)
	+ (9) Adélaïde, Mrs. Hardfeld (b. 1968)
		- (10) Thora Hardfeld (b. 2000)
		- (11) Margriet Hardfeld (b. 2003)
		- (12) Jean Hardfeld (b. 2004)
	+ (13) Ercole de Beauharnais (b. 1980)
		- (14) Justìn de Beauharnais (b. 1999)