Edward IX of Wessex (The Once and Never Kings)

King Edward IX (born: Edward Henry Edmund Robert Charles) is the current reigning King of Wessex. He is the eldest son of King Edmund VII (1943 - 2001) and his wife, Ellen of Kent (1955 - ).

Born on June 10, 1976, Edward was since birth raised to ruler. But the new Duke of Cornwall didn't seem either interested or concerned with his preparation. Instead, he opted to immerse himself in literature and music.

Many in his younger years, especially as he turned into a teenager, began having doubts as to his seriousness in his future role as monarch. Indeed several Lords publicly displayed their reservations, much to the disdain of Edwards father, King Edmund VII. It went so far that a motion was put forth in the House of Lords to remove Edward from the line of succession, and letting his younger sister, Elizabeth, become heir. The Lords also looked to have as weak a monarch as possible, in hopes of passing more powers to them.

It was only the personal testimony of King Edmund and Princess Elizabeth, the latter of which stated her refusal to accept the motion, that defeated the bill. Even still, Edward seemed unnerved by the bullet he had just dodged, and continued to read and listen to music.

Edward became King on January 5, 2001, after his father died of a stroke. Almost immediately, he shattered the idea that he was ill-prepared to be King. He first ended a long standing dispute between the Crown and Prime Minister Lord Whitelaw via outright dismissing Whitelaw, and nominating the Earl of Stockton, a childhood friend, to replace him. Edward and Stockton went about reforming the government, solidifying the powers of the Crown, while also increasing the powers of the House of Commons, which had been de facto subservient to the House of Lords.

He also began a military modernization and expansion program, especially the navy. His primary goal was to have Wessex be able to effectively counter the Dutch and Aragonese navies. Part of this was the building of large numbers of Témerres-type battleships, and today Wessex has one of the largest navies in Europe.

On the diplomatic side, he has continued the long-term Wessexian policy of courting states who hold reservations towards Aragon or the Holy Roman Empire. He personally signed a military alliance with both Castile and Poland, and negotiations are believed to be underway with Svealand for the same purpose.

Titles
The full titles of Edward IX are as follows:

Edward IX, by the Grace of God, King of Wessex, Prince of Wales, Duke of Dorset, Lord of Cornwall, Defender of the Faith