Ian VII of Iansisle

His Imperial Majesty High King Ian VII of the Iansislean Grand Empire of the Shield and King Ian X of Shadoran was the fourth child born to HIH Ian, the Prince of Shadoran and HH Princess Anne-Marie of Noropia, the second male, and the second to survive, along with his much older sister Jessica, past his first birthday. Ian was born on 16 May 1887 and ascended to the throne on 2 November 1900.

Early Life and the Regency

Ian was doted upon by both his father and his grandfather, both of whom considered his birth a miracle after two still-born children. Praise and love was heaped upon Ian, often to the exclusion of his older sister. Jessica, who had at first loved the idea of a baby brother, soon grew to resent his popularity with her parents and withdrew into her studies.

Ian became the Prince of Shadoran in 1895 when HIM High King Ian V died and his father ascended to the throne. However, at this time, the eight year old heir to the throne began to exhibit signs of disease (now thought to have been a form of mononucleosis because enlarged lymph glands were among the symptoms exhibited) which sapped his strength and left him vulnerable to other diseases. While the Iansislean and European doctors called by Ian’s anxious father could diagnose the minor colds and fevers he would contract, none could reason why the heir should continue to become sick at such a rate or why he never seemed to fully recover. High King Ian VI died in late 1900, heartbroken that he had not been able to help his beloved son.

As Ian VII was only thirteen when his father died, he could not wield the full royal prerogative. Ian VI’s will specified that the Princess Jessica should act as Ian’s regent; however, a parliamentary faction under the Duke of Dorchet assumed control of Ian’s body and used the boy King to further their own agenda in Iansisle. However, Dorchet’s plot failed when Ian’s ailing immune system finally collapsed before a rough winter and a case of dysentery. Dorchet was stripped of his title by Jessica upon her assumption of the throne and exiled to Healdsburg. Ian VII would go down in history as one of the shortest-sitting monarchs in Iansislean history, from 2 November 1900 until 19 January 1901.