Louis IV of Pracht

Louis IV (1583 - 1651), known as the Great, was a monarch of the House of Hochberg who ruled as Emperor of Pracht from 1614 to 1651 after overthrowing his third cousin, the much hated Elisabeth I.

His rule was one of strong military growth and stability within government, a contrast to the past two reigns of Elisabeth I and Auguste II, who made little to no progress. It was argued that Elisabeth had actually set Pracht back a century to a medieval time and that Louis had pulled Pracht back from the dead.

He was succeeded by his daughter, Isabelle Johanne.

Reign of Louis III - Son Altesse Imperiale, le Duc de Bretagne
Louis IV was born on the 18th of August, 1583 at the Chateau du Egmont in Brussels to Emperor Louis III and Empress-Consort Marie. There was little to no celebration for his birth as he was only the third child of the Emperor and was never expected to inherit the throne. He was given the title of Duc de Bretagne and put into the care of the Imperial Governess for his early childhood.

Louis had a difficult childhood, rarely seeing anything of his parents or even hearing of them. Instead, he grew up orientated around his governess and his elder sister, the second child. He and his sister were sent to live at the Chateau de Bretagne, where the quiet countrysides were deemed more favourable an atmosphere for them to grow up. They were sent with a governess, a tutor and a small staff of around 15, where they'd spend the rest of their childhoods. His own distance from his father would be reflected in his own distance from his children.

Louis would be devastated when, in 1596, his sister died. He felt lost without her, as she was the only person he had really spoken to for most of his childhood. In 1597, he was brought back to Egmont and re-introduced to the court, where he would reside during the rest of the reign of his father. In 1600, his brother, Monsieur le Dauphin, also died. This left Louis' nephew, Auguste, as the new Dauphin. Auguste was just two years old at the time.

In 1606, Louis would be part of the plot to oust the Marquis de Nice as Imperial Chancellor, a position he had been using to exploit state finances and the Emperor for his own personal gain. After uncovering documents and letters sent by the Marquis to distant family, Louis brought them to the Emperor and showed him the undeniable evidence. The Marquis was disgraced, stripped of his title, his estates, his possessions, his wealth, his honours and then sent to be imprisoned in the Fortress of Metz, where he lived the remaining 8 years of his life. After this victory against the Marquis, who he much despised, Louis then turned his focus to securing influence with the next Emperor by becoming his tutor. He became the tutor of Auguste, Monsieur le Dauphin and held this post until the death of Louis III in 1610, Auguste becoming Emperor with his own mother as regent.

Reign of Auguste II - Son Altesse Imperiale, le Duc de Bretagne
Louis remained at court upon the ascension of Auguste II, with Marie Caroline, his sister-in-law and widow of his brother becoming regent for the Empire during the new Emperor's minority. Louis was suspicious of the actions of Madame Elisabeth, a distant relative from the cadet branch of the house of Hochberg-Bourbon. Madame Elisabeth was seemingly working by night with rebel groups in the capital to drum up support for herself and to do down the Emperor and the regent in the eyes of many. It was around this time that he'd marry Clothilde Elise of Austria, whom he'd go on to have 5 children with.

Louis, at this point a General in the Army, used military agents to detect what Madame Elisabeth was doing. They reported back with the information and confirmation that he needed, that she was conspiring against the Emperor and his regent. Louis began to plan an offensive against Madame Elisabeth, but while the offensive was still in the planning stages, it was too late.

On 18th March, 1610, a rebel group lead by Madame Elisabeth arrived at Egmont while Louis was away with his forces at the fortress of Metz. The small squadron of Imperial Guard that were at the Chateau were unable to defend it alone. Louis received word as to what was happening at Metz, to which he attempted to return as quickly as possible but a messenger met him en route. He was told;

"Turn back now, Your Highness. The Empress orders that you are to stay away from the Capital at all costs, for if you enter Brussels; it may just be the last thing you do."

Infuriated, but understanding what he must do, Louis turned back with his forces and made his way to the Chateau d'Orleans, which he made into his stronghold. The Imperial Soldiers that he was leading joined him as part of his rebellion against Elisabeth.

Reign of Elisabeth - Son Altesse Serenissime, le Duc de Bretagne
Louis was allowed to retain his title of Duc de Bretagne, but with a change in style from Imperial Highness to Serene Highness. Louis began plotting under cover of darkness against the new Empress, with the soldiers he once commanded as a General in the Army joining him in his rebellion, none of them wanting to serve Elisabeth. Louis began planning against Elisabeth instantly. Each day he would hear news of the new horrors and chaos going on in the capital, with more innocent people being killed by order of the Empress each day. It was not only his rebellion that was brewing, others had started their own rebellions against Elisabeth which largely co-operated with Louis'.

There were three murder plots against Elisabeth, two of which failed and the third one was successful, resulting in Elisabeth's necessary death. The plots were;

The First Murder Plot
In October of 1611, while the Empress was away, Louis entered Brussels under cover of darkness and got into Egmont, the guards there switching their allegiance to him. As he entered, he attempted to poison the food supply but a series of unlucky coincidences ended in nobody eating the poisoned food and thus Elisabeth lived. The food that Louis had poisoned was due to be replaced the day after and was taken away before anyone could eat it. It then turned out that some of the poisoned food was left but it was not eaten by Elisabeth, but instead killed the Baron de Utrecht. The palace was put on high alert after this.

The Second Murder Plot
As the Empress was walking around the streets of Brussels, Louis had hired an attacker to kill the Empress. On the morning of August 24th, 1613, the attacker approached and attempted to stab Elisabeth, but missed and instead stabbed a guard. The attacker was detained and quickly executed without trial, as were many other victims of the wrath of Empress Elisabeth.

The Third Murder Plot and Death of Elisabeth
The third murder plot was more well thought out than the previous two. Louis, collaborating with three other rebel groups and with his own, would attack the Chateau du Egmont and either kill or force Elisabeth to abdicate the throne and become a nun. On the 20th of December, 1614, the four rebel groups marched into Brussels, well-armed and ready to fight. Many citizens, upon seeing the rebels, joined them. The citizens would be not as useful but would take anything they had in their homes to use as weapons. Six regiments of the army also sided with the rebellion, tired with the cruel rules of Elisabeth. The Imperial Guard then let them through the gates of Egmont, where inside the Empress was writing in her study. As they entered, they burst through the doors of the study and surrounded Elisabeth. She grabbed a sword and attempted to fight back, but was immediately shot by an armyman. Elisabeth was dead and those in the room heralded Louis as Emperor.

Coronation
Louis and Clothilde's coronation took place hastily after he took power on March 19th, 1615. The coronation was a long and traditional affair, being held in Notre Dame de Paris and attended by many thousands, including regular citizens, to foreign diplomats and even foreign monarchs and princes.

The coronation was presided over by Cardinal de Blois, Prince-Bishop of Brussels. The celebrations for the ceremony were huge, even with gifts being given out to common people in honour of the new monarch. Festivities went on for days, with festivals across the Empire, fireworks, cannon salutes from fortresses and much more. The ceremony was also attended by Louis' infant children, who were accompanied by their governess. It was remarked that Louis was the symbol of glory at the ceremony.

Reign
Louis' first issues were that Elisabeth had made many foreign enemies and created problems for Pracht in terms of Foreign Policy. Louis, along with his minister of Foreign Affairs, worked tediously to smooth over many of the tensions with neighbouring countries, including Spain, England, Navarre and even the Holy Roman Empire. Louis also had to re-establish Papal relations as Elisabeth had constant feuds with the Pope over topics of her morality and his interference with Prachtian politics. Louis sent diplomats to the Papal States to meet with the Pope, who excused Pracht of any mistakes made by Elisabeth. Louis also had to pay reparations to the families of citizens that had been unlawfully murdered under Elisabeth's reign. The Chancellery of Finance continued to make these payments until Louis' death in 1651. There was also the lingering issue of what to do with the House of Hochberg-Bourbon. In the end, it was stripped of many of its titles and the family was sent in disgrace to live away from Brussels. Hochberg-Bourbon became extinct in 1622.

Louis then had to build up the military. He formed several new regiments within the army and also boosted the Imperial Guard to a higher status with more privileges than regular soldiers. After a while, his army was built up and became one of the strongest in Europe, on the same level as the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was one of the most peaceful times in Prachtian history, in much contrast to Elisabeth I's reign.

Succession Crisis
In 1619, there was an outbreak of Tuberculosis which killed all four of Louis' children. There was thus a succession crisis with no heir apparent. In 1621, the Empress became pregnant again which due to age was judged an extremely risky affair. In 1622, the Empress gave birth to a daughter, who was later baptized Isabelle. The child survived, but the Empress did not. Complications with the birth killed the Empress two days afterward. The child was baptized Isabelle Johanne and became Madame la Dauphine. She was kept away from court purposefully to protect her.

Death
Louis IV was diagnosed with pneumonia in 1651. He left to live quietly in the south, where the air and climate was more favourable than Brussels. His condition would soon worsen however, and he'd be bedridden by 16th of September, 1651. On the 26th of September, he asked for the last rites. He'd die on the 29th of September, 1651. He'd be much mourned and the nation grieved. His daughter, Madame la Dauphine, was now Empress Isabelle II.

Legitimate Issue
With his wife, he had 5 legitimate children;
 * Charles Auguste, Monsieur le Dauphin (9th April 1611 - 12th January 1618)
 * Louis Charles, Duc de Brabant (18th August 1612 - 19th January 1618)
 * Louis Antoine, Comte de Nevers (24th January 1614 - 19th January 1618)
 * Marie Adelaide, Madame Premiere (19th May 1616 - 22nd January 1618)
 * Isabelle Johanne II, Empress of Pracht (4th October 1622 - 4th July 1673)

Illegitimate Issue
With his mistress, Madame d'Aunis, he had 3 illegitimate children;
 * Claude d'Aunis (19th October 1613 - 29th May 1654)
 * Louis d'Aunis (23rd February 1615 - 28th February 1615)
 * Marie d'Aunis (27th November 1617 - 1st February 1659)