Amalia of Knootcap
| Amalia of Knootcap | ||||||||
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| Preceded by: Maurice of Knootcap |
Steward of Knootoss 1862-1867 |
Succeeded by: Johan Rudolf Vogels |
Amalia of Knootcap will always be known as a young woman, her fragile build, snow-white face and long black hair standing in stark contrast with her father and grandfather. She became the Lady Protector (the female equivalent of a Steward) after her fathers death but mostly stayed in Huis ten Bosch Palace when in Knootoss and never interfered with politics, instead leaving everything to the ministers and the Staten-Generaal. Amalia travelled a lot, attending all the Royal balls and ceremonies. During the Winter ball in Hofburg she met Andrew from the Royal House of Priestus, the eldest son and heir-apparent to the Iesus Christi King. The two fell in love, and had a secret affair where they spent all seasons of the year in the Royal Palace in St Augustine.
She gave her full support to laws to reversing the anti-Catholic measures of Maurice, under the sway of her Iesus lover. In 1866 she announced her intention to marry Andrew and, to this end, convert to Catholicism. This would unite the crown of Iesus with the fate of Knootoss. Despite concerns by Prime Minister Vogels and the nation she ignored offers to marry a duke from protestant Reichskamphen and wedded Andrew in a majestic ceremony in Iesus Christi – without a representation of the Knootian government or the Staten. This horrified the protestant part of nation, which expressed its feelings in the newspapers and the Staten-Generaal along with other protestant nations.
After the wedding, Amalia visited Knootoss one more time. When her ship arrived in the harbour of Amsterdam she and her guards where overcome by an angry mob of Amsterdam workers. On Dam square, she was decapitated with a blunt axe. Her last words are said to have been: “Please God, pity me and my people.”
Her death sparked the Knootian war of succession, and in the end it was resolved that no new Steward would be appointed in the Republic and that Knootoss would remain independent with power being with the Staten-Generaal. The Iesus Royal family was officially handed the crown and the other ceremonial items of the House of Knootcap as Amalia’s inheritance in exchange for a pledge not to use them to claim sovereignty over the land. The position of Prime Minister was unified with that of Head of State
