| Ellory I | |
|---|---|
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| Ellory I a few months before his death, 1996 | |
| 7th Emperor of the Cygnians | |
| Reign | 1943 — 1996 |
| Inauguration | 5 May 1947 |
| Predecessor | Theodore IV (as Emperor) Franklin Jonathan Heller (as Chancellor of the Republic) |
| Successor | Theodore V |
| Chancellors | Sir Edmund Herring Robert Menzies Harold Holt Gough Whitlam Malcolm Fraser Margaret Thatcher |
| Born | 8 October 1921 Augusta, The Capes Empire of Cygnia |
| Died | 4 December 1996 Collingham Coffeehouse, Swanstone, Cygnia |
| Burial | Federation Hall, Swanstone, Cygnia |
| Spouse | Victoria Geraldton |
| Issue | Theodore V Princess Louise, Duchess of Carnarvon Princess Abigail, Duchess of Broome |
| Full name | |
| Ellory Alexander William Theodore Victor Albert Louis | |
| House | House of Stuart-Campbell |
| Father | Theodore IV |
| Mother | Gertraud Wolfshiem |
| Religion | Church of Cygnia |
Ellory I in 1944
Ellory I in 1968
Ellory I (Ellory Alexander William Theodore Victor Albert Louis; 8 October 1921 — 4 December 1996) was Emperor of the Cygnians from 3 May 1932 until his death. He ascended the throne at the age of ten; his 64-year reign made him the longest-ruling Emperor in Cygnian history, although the early years of his reign were dominated by military dictatorship, and he played no part in government until the Cygnian Revolution in 1943. Ellory I is also known to be the first Cygnian Emperor to pay taxes to the Government.
Ellory I was the youngest son of Theodore IV. As the youngest of five children, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brothers, especially the oldest, Alexander. He attended Scotch College in Swanstone from when he was six, until the age of eleven. Throughout his early life Ellory was known as a shy, sensitive, but intelligent boy.
Prince Ellory was ten years old when his parents and both his older brothers were killed on 3 May 1932. Prince Ellory had been left with his governess as the rest of his family embarked on an imperial tour of India. On 3 May, the aircraft on which they were travelling crashed outside Calcutta, killing all on board. The sudden death of the majority of the Imperial Family left Ellory as Emperor. With no eligible member of the Imperial House willing to assume the position of regent, Franklin J. Heller, the Chief of the Army, proclaimed himself Regent-General. The political situation in Cygnia rapidly deteriorated; the government's transition to military dictatorship was complete after the 1932 federal election, in which Heller's Empire Party won a landslide majority. In March 1933, Ellory was effectively placed under house arrest. His guardians, fearing for his life, smuggled him out of Ellingham Palace, crossing the border into neighbouring Australie. From there, Ellory was moved to the countryside of Malaya, where he remained for the rest of his early life.
By the early 1940s, Cygnia was at war, and the country was struggling amid internal conflict: frequent protests and civil unrest against the government were squashed violently by the military, and an underground rebellion had begun to take shape. 20-year-old Ellory, inspired by the Rebellion, came out of hiding in mid-1942 and declared his support for the movement. Even during the Hellerist era, support for the monarchy was strong, and his re-emergence fuelled further rebellion. He accepted symbolic leadership of the Rebellion, and became one of the key players in the Revolution of April 1943. He later personally participated in the defence of Swanstone from Australien forces, and then became the Chief Executive of the Cygnian Provisional Government.
After the war in 1946, Ellory I was finally inaugurated. He refused to have a coronation, as was tradition. After he took the Imperial Oath, Ellory declared that he would "rule for the people." One of his first acts post-inauguration was to issue a Letters Patent changing his title to Emperor of the Cygnians.
Due to his childhood in Malaya, Ellory became a staunch supporter of decolonisation, and pressured his government to begin transitioning Cygnia's colonies to independence. Peaceful decolonisation was, however, interrupted when the Indian Civil War broke out in 1948. Under the Emperor's influence, Cygnia took the side of the Triple Alliance, and after eight years of war, Pakistan, Ceylon and Burma were granted independence.
Ellory remained on the throne for the next fifty years, becoming the longest-reigning Cygnian Emperor in history. Public support for him throughout his reign remained strong. Anniversaries such as his Silver Jubilee in 1957, his Golden Jubilee in 1982, and his Diamond Jubilee in 1992 were all events of great celebration, and his death on 4 December 1996 was one that inspired days of nationwide mourning. He was succeeded by his eldest son Theodore V. Ellory today remains one of the most popular of Cygnian monarchs, and is remembered as a freedom fighter and liberator, both at home and abroad.
Early life
Prince Ellory aged seven, 1928
Ellory was born in the city of Augusta, The Capes, during the reign of his grandfather Theodore III. His father was Prince William, Duke of Augusta (later Theodore IV), the eldest son of the Emperor. His mother was the Duchess of Augusta (later Empress Gertraud).
Reportedly, Ellory's name was inspired by the alder tree that stood outside the house in which the Augustas lived at the time. Despite its traditional use as a girl's name, the new baby was consequently baptised "Ellory Alexander William Theodore Victor Albert Louis" at St Mary Magdalene's Church in Augusta three months later. Within the family, he was known informally as "Ellie". His grandfather, Emperor Theodore III, did not like the first name the baby had been given, as it was "too feminine". Ellory was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his father and his older brothers, Alexander and Oliver.
Ellory was robust and energetic as a child, but was described as "somewhat sensitive and easily frightened". His parents favoured a hands-on approach to raising their children, and as a result he saw much more of his parents than other aristocratic children of the era. However, once his father became Emperor, he was increasingly left to the care of his governesses and other caretakers as his parents assumed more imperial duties. Ellory was enrolled at the Anglican Scotch College in Swanstone as a boarder in 1927, and then as a day boy in 1928, when his parents moved to Swanstone.
Emperor Theodore III died on 2 August 1928, and the Duke of Augusta succeeded him as Emperor Theodore IV. Prince Ellory moved up to third in line to the throne, after his two brothers.
Accession and coup d'etat
School portrait, Scotch College, 1932, shortly before the deaths of Prince Ellory's family. Ellory is the fifth boy from the left in the first row.
On 1 March 1932, the Emperor, Empress, and their two elder sons departed Swanstone for a two-month tour of Cygnian India. Ellory, who was deemed too young to travel, was left to the care of his governess, Margery Taggart, and his other carers. On 3 May, tragedy struck when, outside Calcutta, a mechanical failure resulted in the crash of the imperial plane, and the deaths of all on board, including the imperial party. The sudden deaths of the Emperor as well as Prince Alexander and Prince Oliver resulted in Ellory's immediate accession to the throne, and he became Ellory I. However, being only ten years old, Ellory was constitutionally barred from wielding the powers of the throne, and thus a regency was required.
This resulted in a power vacuum, as no eligible living members of the imperial family remained in Cygnia; the first eligible candidate for the regency was Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. With the House of Stuart-Campbell nearing extinction, the Chief of the Army, Franklin J. Heller, with the support of the armed forces, named himself Regent-General of Cygnia on 25 May 1932, assuming the constitutional duties of the monarch for the duration of Ellory's minority. The assumption of power was at first peaceful. However, after Heller began organising a pro-military Empire Party to stand for the elections in November, and then issuing decrees to relax electoral regulations, the government of Chancellor Joseph Lyons began to protest, and public opinion quickly turned against the regency. Nevertheless, the Empire Party secured a massive landslide in the election, mainly attributed to voter intimidation and electoral fraud.
With the coup complete, and power for the Hellerists secured, on 6 March 1933 the young Emperor was "for his personal safety" quarantined within Ellingham Palace, and was withdrawn from Scotch College. Instead, his education now fell to his caretakers. They began to suspect that the government was plotting to secretly eliminate the Emperor, and so with the assistance of loyalist sympathisers in the Army, Ellory was "dressed in commoner's garbs, and allowed to pass thru (sic) the gates of the Palace...and briskly escorted to a car to take us out of the city." Ultimately, Ellory and his guardians spent several days travelling east, eventually crossing the border into Australie. After reaching New Utrecht, the party boarded a plane bound for Malaya.
Exile
General Douglas MacArthur assisted Ellory greatly throughout the latter's exile.
Accompanied by Taggert and her team of carers, Ellory was settled into a house in the countryside of Penang, the purchase of which was financed by General Douglas MacArthur, one of Ellory's Army sympathisers. MacArthur continued to be a trustworthy ally, and who at the same time had Heller's confidence. This advantage made him one of Ellory's most important insiders.
Immediately after Ellory's escape, the loyalist soldiers who had assisted him kept his flight hidden from Heller. After a month, it became known to the government that Ellory had gone missing. His disappearance was painted in state media as a kidnapping, and "suspects", both military and civilian, were arrested and imprisoned. After two months, Heller announced over the radio that Ellory was presumed dead and that the House of Stuart-Campbell was extinct. Heller immediately named himself "Regent-General for life".
Ellory throughout his exile kept a low profile. His carers stopped styling his hair to give him a less aristocratic appearance. Fortunately for Ellory, being the youngest of Theodore IV's sons meant that he had very little time in the public eye, which helped him to remain anonymous. He also changed his name; to everyone he met during his time in Malaya he was "Elias Mills".
To maintain some semblance of normality for Ellory, Taggert had him enrolled at the local boys' school in Penang. In his first year, Ellory was one of five Caucasian boys in his class, and was otherwise surrounded by Chinese and Malays. Through his experience with his peers at school, Ellory became an intermediate speaker of the local Hokkien dialect spoken by the Chinese in Penang. At school, Ellory was an average student, graduating with his O-Levels in 1938.
Ellory and Taggert formed an extremely close bond during their exile in Malaya, and the Emperor in later years described her fondly as a "surrogate mother of sorts...a strong woman who was always there for me, especially when I needed her most".
Rebellion and Revolution
Reign
Titles and honours
| Royal Family of Cygnia |
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Notable deceased members
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| V • T • E |
- 8 October 1921 — 2 August 1928: His Imperial Highness Prince Ellory of Augusta
- 2 August 1928 — 3 May 1932: His Imperial Highness The Prince Ellory
- 3 May 1932 — 10 May 1947: His Imperial Majesty The Emperor of Cygnia
- 10 May 1947 — 4 December 1996: His Imperial Majesty The Emperor of the Cygnians
His full title was His Imperial Majesty Ellory the First, by the Grace of the People and the Constitution, Emperor of the Cygnians, Commander-in-Chief of the Cygnian Imperial Armed Forces Head of the House of Stuart-Campbell, Defender of Faith
- In Latin: ELLORIUS I, POPULI ET CONSTITUTII GRATIA IMPERATOR CYGNORUM DUCTOR MILITUM IMPERIALE PRINCEPS DOMUS STUARTUS-CAMPBELLUS FIDEI DEFENSOR
On coins, where the Latin title was present, PRINCEPS DOMUS STUARTUS-CAMPBELLUS and DUCTOR MILITUM IMPERIALE was omitted to conserve space. Ellory I was the first Emperor to be known as "Defender of Faith" rather than "Defender of the Faith". He chose to remove "the" in 1975 to stress the equal importance of his non-Church of Cygnia subjects. He was also the first Emperor to use the style By the Grace of the People and the Constitution, renouncing his "divine right to rule" and instead asserting that he reigned in accordance with the will of the people and the constitution.
References
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