House of Charmaine

The House of Charmaine is a European Dynasty of French Origin, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, and the royal house of the [French Empire]. The House of Charmaine was founded in 1300 by 2nd son of Robert de Bourbon, John. John de Bourbon founded the House of Charmain in 1300, at age 17 after a fight with his Father regarding the life of a peasant.

The members in the House of Charmaine served as simple Counts during the reigns of the Capetians and the Valois' until 1558 when the 25 year old Peter, 13th Count of Charmaine got into a quarrel with the King. Henry II ordered that county be destroyed, along with its title. Upon hearing this, Peter ran away to Austria and joined the court of HRE Ferdinand I. His two year old son, Phillipe was raised by his mother Joanna in Spain until her own death in 1573. Peter returned back to France in 1574. From that point onwards, the family lived quietly in their manor house for over 200 years.

## Origins

In early 1300, John de Bourbon, 2nd son of Robert de Bourbon got into a quarrel with his father regarding the life of a female peasant whose name was believed to be Maria. John believed that the peasant should be given another chance after her petty crime of stealing. Robert believed that the women should be punished with torture in response to her crime. After a fight broke out, John was kicked out. In order to separate himself from his father he moved with his cousin Phillip IV, King of France. At his court, on the 16th of February 1300 the House of Charmaine was formally formed.

In 1300, the County of Charmaine was formed and the senior line took the title of Counts of Charmaine for 258 years. After a quarrel with Henry II in 1558, the title was abolished and the family lived in their manor home at Maison for over 200 years. From that point on the family became great bankers, earning a suitable amount of money to keep their family alive. The family was notable for their former connection to royalty and the large amount of money they had. Up until the 18th century, the family was mostly forgotten by history.

## Early 1700s

Phillipe Charmaine (1670-1738) was the Great Great Great Grandson of the last count of Charmaine. The rich man fell in love with the illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV, Marie de Bourbon. She had been legitimized, but her status remained the same. Phillipe's father, Charles (1649-1717) had gone against the match but it still went through. Their one son, Louis (1695-1793) was greatly loved by the King and was given land but no title. The prefix "de" or "of" was added back to their last name, signifying their noble rank. Louis' son Charles (1726-1791) was raised in the court of his second Cousin, Louis XV. Charles married Maria, his second cousin and daughter of Phillip V. Their marriage was of great importance, due to its legitimacy. With the marriage the Charmaine's had 2 lines to the Sun King.

### The Last two

The eldest son of Maria and Charles was Charles (1745-1815). He was the Grandson of Phillip V of Spain, and Great Great Grandson of Louis XIV, two times over. He was born in his Grandfather Phillips Palace, and raised with his uncles Ferdinand and Charles, who both ended up as Kings of Spain. Charles married his third cousin, Alice and had Louis de Charmaine. Louis was born in 1767 and died in 1803. He was the father of the future King of France, Charles X as well as the future King of the United Kingdom of Sweden and Norway, King of the Netherlands and Protector of Egypt.

## The Rise

In 1797, Eldest son of Louis, Charles was born. At the time of his birth he was not important, and was not expected to be. The family was living in Amsterdam due to the tension of the French Revolution. Louis died in 1803 while fighting. Upon hearing of the coronation of Napoleon in 1804, Charles the elder moved back to France with his 7 Grandchildren and continued life in Paris. In 1810, Charles, grandfather of the Future King was elected as heir-apparent to the Swedish Throne. Though he was 65, older than the King he had a number of suitable heirs. Charles chose to stay in France instead of move to Sweden but kept the position open. When Charles died in early 1815 the title was passed to his eldest Grandson, the future Charles X. After the French Succession Crisis, Charles was chosen as King of France to succeed the imprisoned Napoleon Bonaparte.

### Titles

From 1815 onwards, the house of Charmaine would hold over 100 titles, 13 of them being monarchal titles. Through countless marriages, and good political stances the family managed to squeeze its way into Every aspect of European Politics.

* Kingdom of France 1815-
* United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway 1818-1905
* Kingdom of Netherlands 1831-
* King-Protectors of Egypt 1837-
* Kingdom of Portugal 1853-1910
* Kingdom of Poland 1861-
* Kingdom of Rome 1862-
* Kingdom of Greece 1863-
* Kingdom of Central Germany and the Rhine Republic 1866-
* Kingdom of Romania 1881-
* Kingdom of Norway 1905-
* Kingdom of Sweden 1907-
* Tsardom of Bulgaria 1908-

### Kingdom of France

The Charmaine's gained power in France during the French Succession Crisis when they were chosen to succeed Napoleon. Charles was chosen as King instead of another Bourbon because the people of France had lost hope in them to keep France Safe. The Charmain's have reigned in France for 207 years but have only seen 4 kings. Charles X, Louis XIX, Louis XX, and Henry V. The Kings reigns have all been of great success and the population of France is in great support of the Family. The current king Henry V, is the Great Great Great Great Great Grandson of Charles X and remains immensely popular. A string of marriages brought many countries closer with France, solidifying itself as the sole European Power. Due to the long reigns of Charles, the throne passed to his Great Great Grandson Louis XIX. The throne then passed to his son, Louis XX, and then his Grandson Henry V.

### United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway

The Charmaine's gained power in the United Kingdoms in 1810. Charles the elder was elected to the position of Crown Prince by King Carl XIII and II. Charles died in 1815, and the title of Heir Apparent passed down to his grandson, the future Charles X. 2 months later, Charles the younger was chosen as King of France so the title passed to the next eldest brother, Louis. In 1818 after the death of King Carl XIII and II, the throne passed to Louis and he reigned as King Gustav V. After his death in 1867, the throne passed to his son Carl XIV and III. After his death in 1875 it passed to his youngest son, Gustav VI who was 20 years old. He reigned until 1932, but stopped his reign in Norway after the Kingdom Split in 1905.

### Kingdom of Netherlands

The Charmaine's gained power in the Netherlands after the Rhine War, and the Treaty of Paris was signed. The Dutch King, William I betrayed the French and joined against them but still lost. Not wanting the family to stay in power, Charles put his brother Jean in charge. Jean reigned as Louis III from 1828 to 1850. His son Remy reigned as Louis IV until 1894. He only had a daughter so it passed to his younger brother Charles who reigned as William II for 3 months. After his short reign it passed to his son Louis V.

#### House of Charmaine-Holland

Louis V, Grandnephew to Charles X, founded the House of Charmaine-Holland. It was done due to the increasing anger that the Dutch people had so in attempts to separate from the French. He reigned until 1931. After he died the throne passed to his eldest son, Louis VI who abdicated 7 months later. It then passed to his 2 year old son William III before he became sick. After sickness engulfed the boy, his uncle crowned himself King as William IV. William was overthrown by his brother just 5 months later. His brother took the name Alexander I and arrested any remaining claimants to the throne. He reigned until 1967 when the throne passed to his Grandson Alexander II who is the current King.

### King-Protectors of Egypt

After the Egypt Compromise of 1837, Charles X took direct control of the Egyptian territory and reigned as Lord Protector. The British stated that they would stand against France if they directly controlled Egypt so Charles installed his second to youngest brother Henry in charge. Henry reigned as Henry I, King-Protector of Egypt from 1837 to 1851. His son Henry II took the throne and made Egypt the crown jewel colony of France. Henry constructed the Suez Canal which made the economy explode. Henry is remarked as the most successful King-Protector of Egypt and died in 1924. The throne passed to his son Alexander I who reigned for 2 months before his death. It passed to his brother Henry III who reigned until 1946 and is known as the "Silent King" due to him being shy, and not liking being out in public. He died with no children and the throne passed to his nephew Alexander II until 1970. The throne passed to his grandson Henry IV who is the current king.

### Kingdom of Portugal

The Charmaine's gained power in Portugal after Pierre de Charmaine, second son of Francis, youngest son of Louis, married Queen Marie II Portugal. The marriage was arranged by his uncle, Charles X in hopes that Portugal would become closer to France. Pierre married Maria on April 9th and was made Prince Consort. The couple had 11 children, before the death of Maria. Pierre greatly advanced the country along with his son Pedro V, who reigned from 1853-1861 before dying of cholera. The throne passed to his brother Luis who made Portugal fall behind much of western Europe. When Luis died in 1889, Luis' son Carlos took the throne. Carlos I reigned until his death in 1908. The throne then passed to his son Manuel II, who lost the throne to revolution which swept through Portugal forcing him to abdicate.

### Kingdom of Poland

The Polish Uprising began in 1859 fought a brave battle against the Russian Empire. Towards the end of 1860, Poland realized they would be wiped out if they didn't have foreign support. Poland reached out to France, who accepted under the condition that Prince Jacques, second son of Charles X got the Polish throne. The poles hesitantly agreed but after Jacques refused the throne it passed to his nephew, Alexander. France, along with Austrian and Prussian support began militarily and economically helping the Poles. In 1861 the treaty of Warsaw was signed and Alexander was installed as King of Poland under the name Kazimierz V. The 15 year old reigned until 1917, succeeded by his 21 year old Grandson Augustus IV. Augustus reigned until 1964. Having only had daughters, the throne then passed to his nephew, through his brother Louis, Kazimierz VI. The 27 year old reigned until 2009 when the throne passed to his son, Augustus V, the current King. [1]