England (Knightfall)

The following page is under construction. Please do not edit or alter this article in any way while this template is active. All unauthorized edits may be reverted on the admin's discretion. Propose any changes to the talk page.

This Knightfall page is a Proposal. It has not been ratified and is therefore not yet a part of the Knightfall Timeline. You are welcome to correct errors and/or comment at the Talk Page. If you add this label to an article, please do not forget to make mention of it on the Main Discussion page for the Timeline.

England
Timeline: Knightfall

Flag Coat of Arms Location of England Main English possessions, colonies not seen Motto For King and Country
Anthem	"God Save the King"
Capital	London
Largest city	London
Language   official	English
others	Irish, French, Basque
Religion	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)
Demonym	English
Government	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
King
Royal house:	Romanov
Currency	Pound sterling

“

Words, as a Tartar's bow, do shoot back upon the understanding of the wisest, and mightily entangle and pervert the judgment.

”

England formerly denoted as the Empire of the West is a European nation formed in the 10th century after the unification of several Anglo-Saxon states. English history is divided into several periods named after the ruling house of the time (Norman period, Angevin period, Plantagenet period, and most recently the Romanov period). Its territories span from the British Isles to the European continent and to the New World. England became a major European power after the downfall of other nations during the Mongol invasions and is today a major naval power.

History

13th century

During the Mongol invasions of Europe, England did not participate until the Mongols met the coalition at Mainz. England joined primarily because of the Pope's promise to award Sicily to King Henry's second son Edmund. Even then England's participation was minimal to avoid further entanglement with continental affairs. English participation ended after the Second Baron's Revolt. However the Mongols of the Cross Khanate would not forget the English intervention.

England's modern intellectual culture began in the Mongol era as many of Catholic's Europe's greatest scholars, scientists and monks fled to the isles. Roger Bacon's friendship with the Monk and Scribe William of Rubrick prepared England for its scholastic future. Together they compiled records on science, philosophy, affairs of the day and dabbled with fiction writing.

Henry III died not long after and was succeeded by his son Edward. Edward would turn away from the devastation in Europe and focused more on the Isles in particular. He conquered Wales and made his son Edward the Prince of Wales. However, Edward was killed during his attempt to conquer Scotland in 1293.

Meanwhile, the Mongol era did catch up to the British Isles. In the aftermath of their Second Invasion of Europe, Mongols, and their German counterparts raided England's fisheries and struck at the coasts of East Anglia and Kent. Though not the devastation was not long lasting the raids did contribute to England's early emphasis on naval power. The Tartar channel, received its name sake from this time by farmers and mariners who were victims.

The Great Expedition to the west called by the Cross Khanate Khan formerly ended hostiles between England and the Khanate, England gave some tribute, and allowed the expedition to pass westwards in exchange for open trade and an end to the coastal raids. The Kingdom of England gained the distinction as being one of the few European Countries to not face wide spread destruction by a Mongolian or Turkic people.

14th century

The early reign of Edward II was marked by constant conflict with Scotland. However, the Second War for Scotland ended at Bannockburn. England would not invade Scotland again during the reigns of Edward II or Robert I of Scotland. The plague arrived in England during the last years of Edward II's reign. During this time, the Sicilian Plantagenets died out and the title was passed back to the English main line. Edward III, son of Edward II, thus inherited both English and Sicilian territories. He would give Sicily to his son John. He later died and was succeeded by his son Edward. Edward IV expanded the empire of his father in the continent, taking advantage of France as it fell apart. He conquered Aquitaine and gave his second son Richard the title of Prince of that region.

After the death of Edward IV, his second and third sons, Richard and Henry, rebelled against their eldest brother, Edward, now the King of England. Edward defeated his brothers at Tours in 1383. Richard was killed and Henry was exiled. As neither had children, Edward gave Aquitaine to his second son Edmund. However, Edmund died in 1391 of tuberculosis.

Edward V tried to conquer Scotland twice during his reign, first in 1388. The war lasted for three years before losing the Battle of Hawick to Alexander IV. Edward tried again in 1397, capturing Edinburgh and holding it for a year before losing it and the rest of Scotland in 1401.

15th century

The 15th century in England began with the end of the Fourth Anglo-Scottish War. The Prince of Wales had died during the war and the king was left without an heir. The King died in 1411 without surviving issue and was succeeded by his cousin, Edward, the Duke of York, with the Sicilian branch being passed over. Edward VI invaded Ireland in 1418 and united the island under England after six years of prolonged inter-clan war. The division of Ireland's native clans enabled Edward's vassals to position themselves as the overlords. The rest of his realm was plagued by conflict with his lords and rebellions in Ireland. He died in 1439 and was succeeded by his brother Richard.

The Burgundy Wars began during Richard II's war. In 1447, Burgundy invaded Aquitaine. England allied with the Holy Roman Emperor against Burgundy and was one of three major anti-Burgundian powers. However, the King died near the end of the war, and his son Richard was the commander of English forces at Metz, where the war was won.

Richard III died early in his reign, but not before allocating land between his sons. This would lead to the Plantagenet Wars between their descendants. His eldest son, Edward VII, inherited the traditional lands of England and Normandy. His second Henry was created Lord Protector of Ireland and the third, Richard, was given the restored title of Prince of Aquitaine.

Edward VII married his daughter to the future Robert IV of Scotland in an attempt to better relations with his northern neighbors. He also set up his second son Richard as the King of Navarre in the Second Castilian War in an effort to expand his reach. However, Aragon invaded and conquered Navarre after three years. The king died in 1502 and was succeeded by his son as Henry IV.

16th century

Henry IV was seen as a weak and ineffective ruler throughout his reign. As a child he was sickly and many expected his brother Richard to become king after their father died. Henry's reign was dominated by lesser lords and his wife's family. In 1519, Edward, the Prince of Aquitaine, declared open rebellion against the king. His cousin the Lord Protector of Ireland followed suit, although to establish Ireland as a separate nation.

Henry sought and received the aid of his brother in law, Robert IV of Scotland. The rebellion in Ireland was crushed quickly, but the war in Aquitaine lasted much longer. Henry's armies were led by Robert and the Duke of Clarence. Robert died at Poitiers, which led to Scotland's withdrawal from the war. However, the Prince of Aquitaine was captured by Richard, the Duke of York, at Bordeaux. He was held hostage until his son agreed to sign terms of surrender. The title of Prince was abolished and all of its claimants disinherited. The war, however, proved to many that Henry was unfit to rule. After the war, he was forced to abdicate in favor of his brother. His two sons were also forced to renounce their claims.

Reign of Richard IV

The reign of Richard IV is regarded as one of the greatest in English history. He started a period of economic prosperity by establishing colonies in Africa and by allying with Portugal, protecting one of Iberia's last Christian kingdoms against an expanding caliphate. During his rule, England backed the claim of the House of Nassau to the Luxembourgish throne. Richard also avoided conflict with Scotland entirely, unlike any previous king.

Richard was approached by the Prince of Muscovy, Ivan, to help him throw off the Mongol overlords and destroy the last remnants of the Mongols in Europe. Ivan had attempted to court Denmark before, but Denmark was not interested in jepordizing its ties

Richard funded and supported the Muscovite Rebellion, sending an expeditionary force. This established long-standing relations between England and Moscow.

Richard sent English explorers to the New World after its discovery in 15??.  The colony of New Kent was established along the coast of OTL New Jersey. A second, New Normandy, was established further north in OTL New Brunswick. English explorers also explored the King Richard River (Saint Lawrence River).

Reign of William III

Richard died in 1562 and was succeeded by his second son William (William III). He maintained the alliance with Moscow his father created and continued the exploration of the New World. The colony of New Sussex was established in the southern continent. It was during this time that the Sicilian Plantagenets (now called the House of Valois-Anjou) were ended by the rapidly expanding Greece. William abandoned the cause in the region and instead aided Greece in invading Khanstantinople. He also established colonies in the East Indies, but England was chased out by the rapidly expanding Viet Empire. England instead shifted its focus to the Middle East, specifically in Oman and Yemen, far from the reach of the Ilkhanate.

17th century

William III died in 1608 and was succeeded by his five year old grandson Henry. His rule was dominated by regents and his mother's family, the House of Borbon-Bragança. Often times Portugal benefited at the cost of England. However, the New World colonies thrived during this time, since they faced little opposition from the regency government, which focused much more on African and eastern territories. New Kent invaded and absorbed (colony of European nation) and later merged with New Normandy to form the Dominion of New England.

Time of Troubles

Henry V died in 1615 before reaching majority. Two of his relatives put forth their claims to the throne. The first was his cousin, the Muscovite Tsarevich Ivan (John) Romanov. John was the grandson of William III by his daughter Mary and her husband, Tsar Michael I of Muscovy. The second was James I Mackenzie, King of Scotland, and third cousin of Henry. James was, in fact, preferred by a majority of English nobles due to John's Russian father as well as the facts that he was Russian Orthodox and unmarried without heirs. James defeated John at the Battle of Alnwick and exiled him back to Muscovy.

For a time, James ruled all Scottish and English territories. However, he himself was killed when the Gordons and Hamiltons attempted to remove the Mackenzies from power in Scotland. James met them on the field and was killed by the leader of the Gordons, Malcolm, who claimed the title of king as Malcolm VI. The English refused to recognize him as their king and thus began the Time of Troubles, similar to Muscovy's Anarchy a decade earlier.

Throughout the Time of Troubles, England constantly faced the possibility of losing its territories on the continent and overseas. However, John returned in 1622, this time with his own sons John and William, whom he had given English names. He conquered the continental territories and invaded Ireland two years later. In 1625, he landed on the shores of Cornwall in the name of conquering England and claiming his birthright. He faced opposition from the Reds, led by Edward, Earl of Warwick, and the Yellows, led by Henry, Earl of Balfour. John conquered Cornwall and Wales after two years of war, causing the Reds and Yellows to form a temporary alliance against him. However, the Yellows left the alliance in 1629 after John was beaten back at Staffordshire. John defeated the Reds at the Second Battle of Worcestershire and killed the Earl of Warwick. The Yellows surrendered a few months later, and the Earl kept his land and titles.

However, even though the John had conquered England, Parliament refused to accept him as king unless he renounced his Orthodoxy and accepted Catholicism. He was also prevented from entering London until he accepted major constitutional reforms. John eventually agreed after failing to take London and created the first constitutional monarchy of Europe. The Time of Troubles officially ended in 1634 with the coronation of John as King John II.

Government

Kings of England

Henry III

Eleanor of Provence

Eleanor of Castile

Edward I

Edmund of Sicily

Robert I of Scotland

Isabella of France

Edward II

Henry III of Sicily

David II of Scotland

Philippa of Hainault

Edward III

Charles of Sicily

Robert II of Scotland

Joan of Kent

Edward IV

John of Sicily

Edmund of York

Robert III of Scotland

Joan of Navarre

Edward V

Richard of Aquitaine

Henry of Lancaster

Edward VI

Richard II

Alexander IV of Scotland

Edward, Prince of Wales

Edmund of Aquitaine

Richard III

Cecily Neville

Alexander V of Scotland

Edward VII

Henry, Lord Protector

Richard of Aquitaine

Robert IV of Scotland

Elizabeth, Queen of Scotland

Henry IV

Richard IV

Richard, Lord Protector

Edward of Aquitaine

Duncan III of Scotland

Margaret of Scotland

James Mackenzie

William III

Malcolm V of Scotland

James Mackenzie, 10th of Kintail

Mary of York

Edward, Prince of Wales

Isabella of Portugal

James I of Scotland

John II

Henry V

John, Prince of Wales

William, Duke of York

The style of the monarch are currently His Majesty by the Grace King of England, Duke of Normandy and Brittany, and Lord Protector of Ireland. The titles and styles of the heir include His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall and Captain of Calais.

Second sons of the monarch typically hold the titles of Prince of Aquitaine and Duke of York. Neither can be passed down or inherited, only given by the monarch.

Foreign Relations

England maintains positive relations with the Tsardom of Muscovy, the Kingdom of Portugal, and Denmark. Relations with Scotland have historically varied from peace to war depending on the ruling monarch. Currently Scotland and England are neither allies nor enemies but are not directly in conflict. It also has a strong rivalry with its main maritime rival, the Kingdom of Spain. Spain is among England's foremost challengers in the New World and Africa as well as  the Far East. The Spanish Armada is the most closely matched to the Royal Navy and only Spain could theoretically defeat England alone.