Richael ab Harmon
On the 23rd of Quintilis, 282 a child was born to then Prince Iain ab Harmon and his bride Iolaide le Fontaine of Tubor. Standing as godfather was Jaccus op Svanfjeld, the personal bard to the then Queen and present Dowager, Caterana ab Harmon. Several years later, the face of the dynasty was to change when Iain's elder brother passed away and Iain himself become the Crown Prince and Richael his heir thereafter. Her upbringing was rather a secluded one, with Iain keeping Richael from much public interaction with the nobility or the populace at large. This changed upon her fifteenth birthday when she was taken under the wing of Dame Paynifier Ahalin, the Grand Master of the Knights in Lithmore. Her study and training shifted then, from a usual courtly education to swordplay, leadership and military tactics. At about this time, she began to be seen more and more about the city- always under close watch from careful minders, but beginning to interact with the citizens of Lithmore and to build a rapport.
Celebrating her En Passant in the year 298 was a bittersweet affair as it coincided with the continuing plague within Lithmore and the loss of one of her brothers to said plague. Her other, younger brother Pieter suffered from it too, and still survives although he is said to be bookish and weak and even more sequestered by their father than Richael was in her own youth.
At this stage, the future for the then Crown Princess could be seen in some circles as a little undecided, it remained to be seen how well Lithmore would respond to the prospect of its first female ruler. This possibility was only made as a side-effect of King Bran the Great's ruling the Decree of Sodality, and blood had been shed over the matter in the past.
In her early years as a woman, Richael developed a reputation of being approachable and friendly to people from most walks of life, a fact that caused several eyebrows amongst other nobility. During this time, her military training with the Knights Lithmorran was often interrupted by the burdens of rulership that King Iain played upon her shoulders to see how well she would hold up under the weight. She seemed to have been doing well, making wise decisions and gaining the love and respect of many of her people.
However, in 303, King Iain II began to grow steadily sicker, and was soon bed bound as illness began to take it's toll on what had been a very fit body and mind. On Februarius 16, SC 303, King Iain II nulled the Decree of Sodality, and thereafter announced that Richael's younger brother, Pieter, would inherit the throne. Richael withdrew from the public eye, and her whereabouts became the subject of rumor and speculation.
The King's death and burial in early SC 304 gave way to Pieter's coronation, but his reign was short lived under the regency of Bishop Narim ab Dekarti. The actions of Richael's disinheritance and the thought of being ruled by the grasping Regent sparked the seeds of rebellion, with people the realm over declaring for Richael and for the restoration of the decree of Sodality.
She didn't respond or take action at first, as the realm began to fall apart she sought shelter in Farin and remained there for some time. But, on one famous day in the city of Montford in Farin, she stood before the assembled nobility and declared that she would fight to restore Lithmore to the vision of Bran the Great, her grandfather. Along with this, she declared her betrothal to Duke Cameron of Farin, thereby bringing the most militarily-strong Duchy behind her cause. Within three months of this date, she sat in the throne of her forefathers, as Lithmore's first Queen by birth.
Half a year after her ascendancy to the throne, the marriage between the Queen and Duke Cameron de Montford was held on Quintilis 6, 305, with the Duke becoming the Consort of the Realm. Richael has been seen less in the public eye as when she was the Crown Princess, busy shoring up a realm still divided by the continuing tremors left by the civil war. She has been remarkably forgiving, and many former Regency men have maintained their positions; although there is still an apparent mild tendency to favor those that were loyal to her. This has also seen a strengthening of the Tubori and Farin factions at the court at the expense of the Vavardi and Vandagans; both of whom sided with the Regency.
Near the end of 306, and to coincide with the Yule celebrations, it was announced that the Queen and her Consort were expecting their first child and future heir to the throne, finally putting to rest the doubts of many.
