Elisabeth I of Pracht

Elisabeth I (1574 - 1614) known as der Metzger (the Butcher) was a monarch of the House of Hochberg who ruled as Empress of Pracht from 1610 to 1614 following her own murder of the young Emperor, Frederick III.

She took the throne by force, being born on the second branch of House Hochberg which had been in turmoil with the first for many years. After many failed Coup d'Etats, she succeeded in killing the Emperor and his regent in an attack on Egmont Manor in March of 1610.

Her short reign of just four years was known for brutal oppression of the Prachtian people, mass execution and even the mass murder of half of the Hochberg family, to remove her opposition.

Upon her own murder in 1614, she was succeeded by her third cousin, Karl, who re-established Hochberg as the ruling house.

Reign of Louis II - Her Serene Highness, Princess Elisabeth Maria
Elisabeth I was born at the Schlosse von wahr Hochberg (Palace of Real Hochberg, in contrast with the already existing Palace of Hochberg) to Prince Charles Frederich and Princess Maria Elisabeth. Her parents were low in the Imperial Family, and to further compound their situation and undermine their position, they were from the second branch of the family which had been in conflict with the first branch for a few decades over a power struggle of legitimacy for the throne.

She was never expected to inherit the throne with her low position and with the fact that she was born on the supposed, "wrong" side of the family, she was banned from court as well as her family. She grew to despise the Emperor and her relatives from the house of Hochberg due to their poor treatment of her parents and the rest of her immediate family. She protested against the Emperor with his poor treatment, but nothing ever came from it. Her father had attempted to go to Egmont to speak with the Emperor but was slaughtered by the guards as he had tried to enter. This caused her to revile the Imperial Family and swear a vengeance for the future. She swore that she would do her father an honour, and seize the throne from the Royal Family for her own family.

After she finished her education, she began military training. She used this military training in the hopes of one day performing a Coup d'Etat against the Monarch. Her hatred grew for her relatives which each passing news she had received from the actions of the Royal Family or news from daily activities at Egmont. There were conquests around Austria, France and Poland. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire after a string of military defeats, the Empire was truly recognized by many. The former vassals of the Holy Roman Empire were taken into Imperial lands. Elisabeth still reviled Louis II, claiming that all he was for was parties and balls and that the true heroes of the conquests were the military generals. Eventually, Elisabeth took her action and poisoned Louis II at a dinner at Egmont in 1610.

Reign of Frederick III - Her Serene Highness, Princess Elisabeth Maria
Frederick III inherited the throne from Louis II in 1610. Elisabeth maintained her disdain for the Imperial Family all through the new Emperor's reign. She began to make many plots against them, though all of her ill-planned plots had failed to even harm a hair on the Emperor's head. Elisabeth was infuriated that her plots were not working. She'd make the Schlosse von wahr Hochberg into her hideout, while also founding a new rebel movement against the Imperial Family and the Empress after trumping up allegations against the Imperial Family with claims that the Regent was about to bring in new laws that would affect everyone (which the Emperor also approved, though in reality this was a lie), when in reality the regent had no plans to affect the subjects with any laws.

Elisabeth wrote to her deputy of her rebel movement once,

"The Emperor is a complete buffoon and his immediate family are inbred, insufferable, pompous, bigheaded snobs! Please do not think me a liar when I tell you, I stand by you, the people that form this great country. His Majesty cares not for any of you, for he plans to introduce new laws to make you all already poorer than you already are! Rise against the Buffoon of an Emperor and his regent that sit unlawfully on our throne! Are you willing to fight for me? Are you willing to fight for me to save the Empire which is your home?"

After the correspondence of Elisabeth and the rebels was discovered by Imperial Agents in 1609, Elisabeth knew that she had to act quickly to save herself. There were already plans for Elisabeth's capture, orchestrated by the Regent Maria. After two failed attempts to storm Egmont, she finally succeeded on March 18th. She'd burst through the gates of Egmont Manor with her rebel troops, slaughtering guards and noblemen in the process. They would proceed into the Manor, breaking windows and breaking the main doors down, which had been locked in fear of the attack. As she entered into the corridors, she ordered her men to slaughter anyone that was seen without question, in case they would be harbouring the Emperor or hurt any of the rebels. The manor was mostly destroyed, most of the grand furnishings from the manor were wrecked and destroyed. She had but one goal; find the Emperor and his regent. She sent everyone to focus on finding the Emperor. On the top attic-floor, she'd find the Emperor and the Regent in a small room. The Emperor was cowering in the corner, the Regent standing in front of him, shielding him from them. Elisabeth ordered the regent to step aside and she refused, asking for mercy. Elisabeth refused mercy and stabbed the regent, much to the fear, panic and terror of the young Emperor. The Regents body hung out of the window on a rope. She could hear footsteps coming closer, people having been alerted by the screams for help of the Emperor. She quickly had the Emperor tied up, had him beaten senselessly for a while until he finally fell into unconsciousness, allowing her to continue her plan. She and her men dragged the now unconscious Emperor through the manor, slaughtering anyone who would dare to get into her path. The Emperor would wake from unconsciousness once they'd be in the garden. She'd then senselessly order his torture for hours. After four hours of unnecessary torment for the Emperor, he was finally granted a small mercy, being given death. He was beheaded, his body being thrown and buried in a shallow grave in the woods by the gardens of Egmont.

Personal Reign - Her Most Imperial Majesty, the Empress
Elisabeth, after seizing the throne by force, faced much opposition to her reign which was declared null by the church and even refused to be acknowledged by the nobility. She was excommunicated by the Pope in 1611 for crimes against the religion and her oppression of the people and members of the Catholic Church. She was also declared guilty of executing members of the clergy, simply for saying a bad word or two about the Empress.

The Empress was an authoritarian, oppressing her people senselessly and heavily. She raised taxes, brought in more penalties and punishments. The streets of Brussels suddenly emptied, everyone was too afraid to leave their homes. Rebel movements sprung up quickly in opposition to the Empress (now dubbed the Butcher). She had executed a whopping 100,000 people in her four year reign. Executing at least 25,000 citizens per year of her reign.

Needless to say, it would not be long before the hated Empress would be assassinated. A mob stormed Egmont in December 1614. Upon looking out of the window and seeing the mob, she reportedly uttered "Well, doesn't this take me back to my fond memories. I was once that mob." Elisabeth met her fate without even a quiver, she reportedly even laughed before she was shot by a rebel. Empress Elisabeth would be remembered as a cruel and heartless ruler and being much hated by the Empire.

Titles and Styles

 * 19th May 1574 - 18th March 1610: Her Serene Highness, Princess Elisabeth Maria
 * 18th March 1610 - 20th December 1614: Her Most Imperial Majesty, the Empress