Hugh III

**Hugh III**, King of Angelona, of House Beaumont, born in Bourgenay in 1470, died 1527, was an Angelonian King from 1499 to his death in 1527.

## Early life

Hugh was born the eldest son of Francis I and Katherine of Tudor in 1470 in Bourgenay. Growing up he proved to be a fine horsemen and skilfull with a sword. At the age of 15 he accompanied his father to England and acted as Francis I's standard bearer.

## Military career

Hugh commanded the Angelonian army during the Granada War (1487-1492) and again during the Italian War (1494-1498). Hugh proved to be a highly efficient and successful military tactician and commander and was highly regarded by the Spanish and Italian's.

His exploits during the Granada War led Ferdinand II of Aragon to arrange the marriage of his daughter, Sophia of Aragon to Hugh in 1483.

## King of Angelona

After the death of Francis I in 1499, Hugh was crowned King. One of his first actions as King was to declare support for Venice in the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499-1503. Hugh dispatched his brother, Prince Edmund, to Cyprus with a fleet of 39 Angelonian ships.

In 1502, Hugh dispatched Nicholas de Saxony on a voyage to the New World, with a fleet of 12 ships. King Ferdinand of Aragon granted Angelona permission to colonize the island of Dominica, after the Spanish had been discouraged by the fierce resistance from the Carib population. Saxony arrived in Dominica on 18 September 1502 with 3,000 men and fought a fierce conflict with the Carib's, who were eventually beaten and subdued. Saxony established the settlement of Saint Joseph and sent 10 ships back to Angelona with plunder and slaves. The following year, Hugh dispatched a further 30 ships with settlers and supplies.

### Assassination attempt

In 1512, a Mamluk assassin was nearly successful in killing Hugh. Whilst attending a royal joust tournament, the would be killer managed to get rush past the royal guards and attack the King with a dagger before being hacked to death by the Kings bodyguards. Hugh suffered a deep wound to his neck and a stab would to the chest, but quick actions by the Randolph de Kaldine, Bishop of Scotney, almost certainly saved the king. After the attempt on Hugh's life, relations between Angelona and the Mamluk Sultanate reached a new low.

### Angelonian-Mamluk War

Hugh dispatched an envoy to Cairo in 1514 to demand answers, however the Angelonian ambassador, Sir Richard de Waltburg was killed by Manluk guards. In retaliation, Hugh ordered a blockade on Alexandria. For six months Angelonian ships prevented ships from entering or leaving Alexandria.

The Mamluks attacked Damietta in 1515, but the Mamluk losses were huge, thanks to the enormous number of cannons that the Damiettan's possessed. Hugh then sent Lord Arthur de Reinbourne with an army to attack Alexandria. In the December of 1515 Reinbourne fought a Mamluk army at the battle of Alexandria, in which both sides suffered large losses. Mamluk and Angelonian emissaries met in Alexandria in February 1516 where truce was agreed upon.

## Later life

In 1522 Hugh sent 1,000 men under the command of his son, Prince George, to Rhodes, where the Ottoman's were preparing to lay siege. The resulting 6 month siege led to the capture of Rhodes and the execution of Prince George, whose head was sent back to his father. Hugh feared that the Ottoman's would attack Angelona next, so sent his son, Prince Edward on a tour of Europe requesting help.

In December 1522, Pope Adrian VI issued a papal bull urging European monarchs to send Knights into service of the Order of Saint Francis. Over the following three years around 2,000 Knights took up the calling and travelled to Angelona to join the Order. Around a further 10,000 lowborn commoners also made the journey and went into service for the Order. As a result around 100 new fortifications or castles were built.

Hugh died in Bourgenay in 1527 and his eldest son, Richard II, is crowned King of Angelona.

## Children

* Richard II (1494-1581)
* Edward, Prince of Scotneyshire (1497-1572)
* George, Prince of Montfortshire (1500-1522)
* Elizabeth, Princess of Angelona (1512-1577)