James I of Prittlewell
| James I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| His Majesty King James I of Prittlewell | |||||
| King of Prittlewell | |||||
| Reign | 3 October 2013 - present | ||||
| Coronation | 8 November 2013 | ||||
| Prime Minister | See List | ||||
| Predecessor | Timothy I | ||||
| Heir Presumptive | Therese, Duchess of Annandale | ||||
| Crown Prince of Prittlewell | |||||
| Tenure | 9 June 2001 – 3 October 2013 | ||||
| 4th Prime Minister of Prittlewell | |||||
| In office 23 December 2007 – 26 September 2013 | |||||
| Monarch | Timothy I | ||||
| Deputy | Alexandra Laherty | ||||
| Succeeded by | Patricia Copes | ||||
| Leader of the Liberal Party | |||||
| In office 2 October 2007 – 25 September 2013 | |||||
| Deputy | Alexandra Laherty | ||||
| Preceded by | The Duke of Kingston | ||||
| Succeeded by | Alexandra Laherty | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | |||||
| In office 2 October 2007 – 23 December 2007 | |||||
| Monarch | Timothy I | ||||
| Deputy | Alexandra Laherty | ||||
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Kingston | ||||
| Born | 8 September 2000 | ||||
| |||||
| House | Rapp (2000 - 2018) Hesse-Dieburg (2018-present) | ||||
| Father | John Rapp, 1st Duke of Kingston | ||||
| Mother | Princess Alexandra of Prittlewell | ||||
| Religion | Church of England | ||||
| Monarchical styles of King James I | |
| |
| Reference style | His Majesty |
|---|---|
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Sir |
James I, King of Prittlewell (born 8 September 2000) is the second Monarch of Prittlewell. He has held the position since his grandfather, King Timothy I's abdication on 3 October 2013. Since ascending to the throne, the role of the monarchy has grown significantly as instability within the Prittlewellian parliament continued to rise. On 2 May 2018, King James became the first Prittlewellian monarch to dismiss the elected government. Since his ascension, the popularity of the monarchy has increased - with The King holding an approval rating of 89%. His Majesty is also a patron of the arts, as he is an amateur actor, playwright, writer and director.
Early life
King James was born on 8 September 2000 at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga, Australia. He is the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Kingston, the latter being the younger daughter of Prittlewell's founding monarch, Timothy I. Due to the Succession Act (1995), the heir apparent to the throne is the eldest male descendent of the sovereign. The King has two daughters, so he decreed that his eldest grandson would be his heir. Prince James adopted the style of Prince James of Kingston until his naming ceremony on 9 June 2001 where he became Crown Prince. In 2005, aged 5, he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. In 2006, the Crown Prince commenced his education at Tudor House School in nearby Moss Vale where he attended until the end of 2008.
Early Political Career
From a young age, the Crown Prince became involved in Prittlewellian politics, joining the centre-right Liberal Party aged 5. In January 2006, Crown Prince James was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly, becoming Shadow Minister for the Interior. In December 2006, he became Deputy Leader of the Opposition when his father, The Duke of Kingston assumed the party leadership. On 2 October 2007 he successfully challenged his father for the leadership of the Liberal Party, becoming Leader of the Opposition. He led the party to a landslide victory at the snap election in December 2007, becoming the country's fourth and youngest Prime Minister on 23 December. At the time, the 2007 election was the biggest landslide in Prittlewellian history, however it was surpassed by Sir Tony James' victory on 25 May 2018.
Premiership (2007 - 13)
The Crown Prince's government spent its first few months undoing the economic policies of the Copes Progressive Government (2002–2007). The 2008 - 09 budget was unveiled in July 2008 to a positive reception from the people. In September 2008, whilst in the United States on official business, the Global Financial Crisis began. To combat the economic uncertainty, The Crown Prince imposed a set of austerity measures. The government's popularity decreased significantly with voters and in March 2009 rumours began to spread of his Deputy, Alexandra Laherty's leadership intentions; in response a Snap election was announced for 11 April. Most pundits predicted a hung parliament (as had happened in 2006) however the Crown Prince surprised everyone by winning with a reduced majority. Another unpopular budget in July, resulted in Laherty unsuccessfully challenging for the Liberal leadership. By late 2010, the government's popularity increased and a third term seemed inevitable. On 31 December 2010, The Broadbeach Leadership agreement was signed, promising to hand the leadership over to Laherty if the government was returned at the polls. The Government won re-election on 22 April 2011, with an increased majority. In March 2012, King Timothy was admitted to hospital and shortly thereafter, Parliament passed the Regency Act. In order to carry out his duties as Prince - Regent, the Crown Prince took leave of the Prime Ministership. In November 2012, the King was in full health and Prince James returned to his position as Prime Minister. On 16 January 2013, supporters of Laherty called for a spill motion due to the fact that the 2010 Leadership Agreement hadn't been carried out. The Crown Prince announced a leadership ballot, which he subsequently won unopposed. To ease tensions within the government he announced that an election would be held by January 2014 and he would not be leading the Liberal Party to the election. In July 2013, his government delivered its fourth consecutive budget surplus. On 6 September 2013, two days shy of the Crown Prince's thirteenth birthday, King Timothy announced his intention to abdicate by new year. On 22 September 2013, the date of abdication was announced for 3 October and James subsequently announced his resignation from parliament and as Prime Minister. On 25 September 2013, Alexandra Laherty was elected unopposed as Leader of the Liberal Party and was sworn in by the outgoing king the following day.
Reign
King Timothy I abdicated on 3 October 2013. Despite speculation that the new king would choose a new regnal name (either Timothy II or William I) he announced that he would keep his name, reigning as King James I. In his first televised broadcast on 4 October 2013, His Majesty announced that he would be amending the 1995 Succession Act which prohibited females from ascending to the throne if a male heir exists. He also promised to be more of a reformer than his grandfather stating that he would use his vast powers to protect the nations interests. The coronation was held on 8 November 2013. In September 2013, the approval rating of the monarchy was 51% by November it was 85%. The 2014 Election resulted in the first hung parliament in eight years and to resolve the deadlock, King James commissioned a Liberal minority government in coalition with the Country Party. In early August 2014, the King's brother (a member of parliament) was found guilty of treason by the Prittlewellian High Court. Despite his brother and the government's requests, the King refused to grant a royal pardon. A full pardon was eventually granted on 3 August 2018, nearly four years later. In June 2015, King James visited Europe; his first overseas visit as King. In April 2017, His Majesty became the first Prittlewellian monarch to visit Africa; visiting South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana. On 25 April 2017, King James announced a referendum on the question of a Prittlewellian Republic, promising to abstain from campaigning. The 'No' Campaign won the referendum with 52% of the vote. Analysts suggest that if His Majesty had played an active role in the campaign, the number of No voters would have increased significantly. Despite His Majesty, The King's high popularity, instability within Prittlewell's parliament has increased signifcantly. Since October 2013 there have been fourteen Prime Ministers, compared to to five in the preceding 22 years. On 2 May 2018, King James dismissed the Labour Government following the loss of its majority and prolonged in-fighting. On 4 July 2018, the King announced the creation of a new royal house, the House of Hesse - Dieburg; named after the German state and town where the Rapp family originated. It was also announced that the constitution would be amended to recognise the Royal family as the successors to the former Landgraves and Grand Dukes of Hesse, thus regnal numbers will be altered to take this into account. On 1 January 2019, James took the additional title of Grand Duke of Dieburg. On 5 January 2019 a referendum on whether to adopt a new constitution was held. 71.85% voted in favour and as a result, the increased role of the monarchy was enshrined in law.
Manifest Destiny
Upon assuming office in 2013, The King has been committed to ensuring "Prittlewellian Greatness". In July 2016, Prittlewell's original territories were sold by the former king, Timothy I and his wife. This caused great controversy with King James declaring the sale "The greatest betrayal in our nation's history." The following year, His Majesty reached an agreement with the new owners of North Prittlewell. The Kingston Agreement returned sovereignty over the territory to Prittlewell however, unlike other provinces, North Prittlewell was given a greater deal of autonomy. On 27 August 2018, the Palace announced that the King would speak to the nation at 1:00 PM to announce his doctrine 'Manifest Destiny'. On 3 October 2018, the fifth anniversary of his ascension, His Majesty announced that a new constitution will be authored with a referendum to be held on 5 January 2019. The referendum overwhelmingly passed and parliament approved the constitution unanimously on 22 January 2019. In his annual Foundation Day address on 12 November 2018, His Majesty announced his intention to establish an official inquiry into the sale of the original territories. On 5 December 2018, the Inquiry was officially established with Former Prime Minister and incumbent Lord Chancellor, Molly O'Meagher appointed as the Special Counsel.
Political and Religious views
Although a former leader of the Prittlewellian Liberal Party, Since assuming office, King James has been an independent. His policies and views, however have been consistently conservative. In June 2018, The King (as an Australian) joined the governing Liberal Party and associates himself with the party's right faction. The King is a noted Eurosceptic and was a strong supporter of Brexit. His Majesty did not endorse Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential election, however he has since praised many of the Trump Administration's policies, particularly on Taxes and Immigration. On 23 July 2018, The King announced the Civil Protection Act, which would ban BDSM and other 'disturbing behaviours'. King James is an Anglican and has introduced many reforms to integrate the Christian faith with the constitution and the acts of succession.
Titles and Styles
- 8 September 2000 - 9 June 2001: His Royal Highness, Prince James of Kingston
- 9 June 2001 - 3 October 2013: His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince
- 3 October 2013 – present: His Majesty, The King