Charles III of Pracht

Charles III (1640 - 1699) was a ruling monarch of the House of Hochberg and ruled as Emperor of Pracht from 1670, after the death of his mother Isabelle II, to his own death in 1699.

He made little to no changes to government or military policy, main governing of the state was left in the hands of his Imperial Chancellors as he did not care for it all. Charles was by far a weak monarch, easily influenced by family or courtiers. He was succeeded by his grandson, Louis V.

Reign of Louis IV - Son Altesse Imperiale, le Petit Dauphin
Charles III was born at le Chateau du Egmont in Brussels on the 19th of December, 1640 to Isabelle, Madame la Dauphine (later Isabelle II) and her husband, Louis, Monsieur le Dauphin. Many courtiers gathered to watch this birth of a long awaited heir to the throne. His mother was never intended to become the Dauphine, her four elder siblings however had died before reaching the throne.

Charles was given the title of le Petit Dauphin as second-in-line to the throne behind his mother. His birth was widely celebrated as he was to be a future Emperor, with tributes across the Empire and celebrations at court. He had a pleasurable upbringing, he had everything he could want at the court of his grandfather, Louis IV. He had a decent relationship with his mother, but did not care for his fathers' high expectations of him or his constant scoldings whenever he would do something wrong.

He would have a good education, taking an interest in military strategy more than anything, never really caring for politics. Many worried about how the Empire would be governed during his reign and family would always be attempting to make Charles interested in politics, in vain. When Charles was 11, in 1651, Emperor Louis IV died and his mother became Empress.

Reign of Isabelle II - Son Altesse Imperiale, Monsieur le Dauphin
Upon the ascension of his mother, Charles was declared Dauphin and first in line to the Prachtian throne. He would come of age in 1656 and was quickly married off to Helene Marie de Battenberg. Charles would find her dull and unattractive to him, but knowing his duty to produce an heir, he would have three children with her, much to his discomfort. Rumours would come about at this time that Charles was predominantly homosexual, courtiers believing he had had many affairs with men. His reported favourite was the Comte de Clermont. His time as Dauphin was one of frivolity and excess, his mother purposefully excluded him from government, being unable to trust him enough to be able to share her power of governing with her son. The relationship between mother and son was greatly fractured at this point. He was loved by his courtiers, mainly because of the many things he bought and shared out with them. Many pamphlets made by members of the citizenry portray his frivolity, these pamphlets were indeed created in malice and intended to destroy his reputation among the citizens to incite rebellion. Although his reputation was slashed among common people, this never brought on a rebellion as wished by the pamphleteers.

After his largest purchase, being a large manor decorated lavishly (which the Empress did not approve), his allowance was slashed heavily and he was removed from court to be sent to the manor that he spent Imperial funds on. In 1673, Empress Isabella wrote a secret will, intended to remove Charles from the succession and give the throne to his son, Erich. Isabelle died on July 4th, leaving behind a chaotic succession with an integer period of no sovereign. Before Isabelle's secret will could be located, Charles had found and destroyed the document. With no proof to say otherwise, Charles was officially declared Emperor on July 17th, 1673.

Personal Rule - Sa Majeste Tres Catholique, l'Empereur
Charles was crowned Emperor on May 4th, 1674 in a lavish ceremony at Notre Dame de Paris, traditional crowning location of the monarchs,. Many days of festivities were put on, funded by money taken from the Imperial Treasury, much to the disdain of the Minister of Finance. There was a chaos of people running to to the palace to attempt to join in with the festivities and a slaughter followed. Many were trampled, some were killed by guards in the ensuing chaos. The estimated death toll was 4,500 people. The cost of the festivities and the compensation to the families of the victims cost the Imperial Treasury 2,000,000 Prachtian Marks. State Finances went into dismay, with funds being cut on everything. All of this was seen as a bad omen for his reign.

Charles' frivolity carried over to every detail of his life during his personal reign. Many of the etiquette customs such as the bedtime ceremony and the waking ceremony, abandoned by Isabelle II, were reintroduced by Charles. He also ordered the construction of many new landmarks and residences, within Brussels and throughout the Empire. He ordered the renovation of the aging Cathedral of St. Gudala's and St. Michael's, which he would never see completed as construction would be halted and restarted all the time. The Cathedral would still be unfinished later on, during the personal reign of his grandson, Louis V. The Finance Minister argued constantly with the Emperor, until, after one heated debate, the Minister was publicly disgraced and dismissed from court. Now, with no-one to stop him, he spent constantly.

Charles would never actually take up rule of the state into his own hands, not caring for government. Governing of the state was left to his two Imperial Chancellors, firstly the Comte d'Eu for the majority of his reign. The Comte would use the position to serve his family's interests. Towards the end of his life, he had amassed an enormous personal fortune, being the second richest man in the Empire. His other Imperial Chancellor was his own second son, Auguste Charles, from 1693 until the end of his reign. Auguste, in comparison to Charles, had a deep passion for politics and held this position even after Charles' death and through to the beginning of the reign of Louis V.

Death and Legacy
Charles III fell seriously ill with smallpox on January 14th, 1699. By January 12th, he asked for the last rites. He'd die just 2 days later, aged 59 at Egmont Palace, Brussels. He'd be remembered as a bad, inexperienced and weak monarch who left his country in dire straits and the treasury empty. He created an immediate problem for his successors, but thanks to the political experience of the regent Auguste Charles, the economy was brought back to a suitable level. There was a sense of relief amongst the Imperial Court for his death, but as all monarchs, he still needed a level of respectful mourning. His state funeral would be held on February 8th, 1699. He was then interred into the Imperial Crypt at the Cathedral of St. Gudala's and St. Michael's.

Issue

 * Louis Auguste, Monsieur le Dauphin (15th September 1657 - 18th November 1694)
 * Auguste Charles, Duc de Paris (12th April 1664 - Present)
 * Marie Claudette, Madame Imperiale (17th October 1670 - Present)

Titles and Styles
-19th December 1640 - 14th April 1651: Son Altesse Imperiale, le Duc de Luxembourg

-14th April 1651 - 17th July 1673: Son Altesse Imperiale, Monsieur le Dauphin

-17th July 1673 - 14th January 1699: Sa Majeste Tres Catholique, l'Empereur

Charles' official style was "Charles III, par la Grace de Dieu, Empereur des toutes les Pracht" or "Charles III, by the Grace of God, Emperor of all Pracht"

Honours

 * Grandmaster of the Order of St. Louis