Kaiser Billhem III

Kaiser Billhem III during a HRE Council Summit.

Kaiser Billhem III was the former ruler of the Holy Roman Empire for a brief eight years (1043-1051). Billhem was born to Maximilian Billhem II, the former governor of Hamburg. Billhem III campaigned vehemently for the removal of Emperor Henry III from office. Emperor Henry's credibility had been damaged greatly after the Franco-German Scandal of 1037. This scandal involved the government in Frankfart illegally arming French Rebels to overthrow King Louis II. At the time, France had been a valuable aid to the Holy Roman Empire, but Henry III had secured a deal with the rebels that if he helped them obtain power, France would become an official vassal of the HRE. Henry III would face severe backlash for his actions, with several German states seceding from the Empire. Billhem III would be appointed Kaiser of the Independent Germanic States, consisting of Hamburg, Nuremberg, and Staufen. After six years of civil war, the Independent Germanic States successfully took control of Frankfart, reunifying the divided HRE and naming Billhem III as Kaiser in 1043.

## Kaiser of the HRE

Kaiser Billhem was very successful in his first two years in office. By 1045, the HRE had successfully restored relations with France, was declared to have the highest GDP, and had gained land settlements in the Middle East. However, in 1046, Billhem was found to be having an affair with Princess Someone, daughter of King Someone of Somewhere. Billhem's wife, Princess Billhem, quickly left the Kaiser. Meanwhile, Princess Someone was "discovered dead" in a German forest about 3 months after the separation. There is no evidence that Billhem had any relation to her murder.

Several months after the divorce and murder, three mistresses claimed that Billhem had been seeing them all at the same time. Billhem denied this and threatened to have the three arrested for slander. Billhem was again bashed for this. Pope Gregory quickly condemned his actions and threatened excommunication if any future affairs came to light. Billhem went on to accusing the Pope of heresy, which further strained relationships between the HRE and Papal States. Billhem was then excommunicated by Summer 1047.

Despite all these scandals, the HRE economy was still successful. Production was booming, more factions requested trade rights, and German technology had been twenty years ahead of the rest of Europe. Many were impressed and the HRE decided it would be fine to let Billhem continue, until one last scandal would seal his fate.

## Papalgate

While the Holy Roman Empire was no longer a part of the Catholic Church, Billhem felt shame. By 1049, there were rumors claiming religious insurgents were attempting to place a pro-Church Kaiser into power, having Billhem executed. However, these were just rumors, and Billhem's council advised it would be best to ignore it. Billhem would not give up so easily. He privately organized an underground party of assassins. This was only known to have existed by Billhem himself. The plan was to execute Pope Gregory on August 19th, 1050, Billhem's birthday. Little did Billhem know, the son of Henry III, Henry IV, was secretly undercover in this secret assassin ring. While Henry IV did not support the Church himself, he would use any opportunity to restore the House of Henry back into the HRE government. Henry IV secretly leaked all documents and materials related to the plotted murder attempt. The German people were furious. It was now June 14, 1050 and the German public had called for the Kaiser to step down. Billhem denied all allegations and claimed it was his divine right to rule. Henry IV quickly obtained the support of various German politicians and governors to put him in power, effectively ousting Billhem. By October 1050, all German provinces and strongholds except Frankfart had declared themselves independent of his rule. Finally, on February 13, 1051, Kaiser Billhem III was nowhere to be found in the Frankfart Executive Palace. It was unknown if he had been kidnapped or if he had fled on his own terms. An interim member of the HRE council was put in power until a successor was formerly appointed. On July 1, 1051, Emperor Henry IV officially took office, fully restoring the House of Henry.