King Arthur III of Lovia

King Arthur III
Name	King Arthur III
Full name	Arthur Francis Noble III, King Arthur III of Lovia
Sex	Male
Born	September 23, 1919, Noble City
Deceased	August 20, 2007, Noble City
Home	Noble City
Functions	King of Lovia
Languages	English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, German, Esperanto, Oceana, Portugese, Arabic
Religious stance	Atheist
Ruling Monarch
Reign	1957-2007
Predecessor	King Lucas I of Lovia
Successor	King Dimitri I of Lovia

King Arthur III of Lovia, born Arthur Francis Noble III (1919 - 2007, Noble City), was the fifth ruling monarch of Lovia. He succeeded his brother King Lucas after he was deposed during the famines of the 1950s. King Arthur III ruled the country until he died on August 20, 2007. He was the longest reigning monarch Lovia had, reigning for fifty years before he died at the age of 88.

King Arthur never married and had no legitimate sons. The crown was legally passed on to King Dimitri I of Lovia, the former king's nephew.

A very versatile man, Arthur III was a sculpter, poet, horserider, fencer and a writer. He was a true polyglot speaking multiple languages fluently and reportedly an avid reader. He was therefore nicknamed "the Eternal Student".

Personal life

Arthur III as a young prince in 1937

Arthur III was born as the second son of his legendary mother, the famous Queen Lucy. His education was taken extremely seriously by his mother the queen, who at first home schooled her two youngest sons and then send them to a prestigious school outside Lovia, in Great Britain. When Arthur was 18 years old he was sent off to a military academy, and he left the academy four years later as a captain, best of his class. Despite his success, he did not like the military and went to the university of Noble City were he did equally well. After graduating there within three years time, he lived at the court of his grandfather King Arthur II of Lovia who taught his young namesake many lessons about statesmanship and being a monarch and the responsibilities that came with the position. The two would often play chess, joined by brother Lucas. In 1941, Arthur became the mayor of Noble City, a position he kept for nine years until 1950.

King Arthur II of Lovia playing chess with his namesake grandson Arthur (later Arthur III)

Arthur took the throne as Arthur III after the abdication of his older brother, and ruled Lovia until his death at the age of 88 in 2007. The king had many suitors during his life, many women who desired to become the queen of Lovia. The king, however, refused to marry any of these women, whom his family had selected for him. Instead, he choose his own partner, despite his families objections. He never married her however, and thus had no legal children who had right to succeed him. By this mistress Veronica Bradly-Lashawn (1932-1994) he had twin sons George and Philip Bradly-Lashawn (1975). Arthur loved his sons dearly, but tried to keep them away from the press so they could live a peaceful life. His sons are not in the line of succession and had no ambitions whatsoever to take over the throne. When Veronica died of stomach cancer in 1994, Arthur was utterly heartbroken and refused to speak to anyone for almost a month, mourning her death. It caused a scandal in the press. After that, the king wore black clothes for almost ten years - he said it was because: 'I am a widower to the wife I could never have, a widower to the love of my life they did not allow me to marry". When his son Philip married in 1998, Arthur came to the wedding as a proud father, despite the objections of his family.

Reign

Veronica and her sister as painted by the king in 1959; painting was one of the many interests of his majesty the king

In 1957 Arthur's older brother abdicated from the throne. At the age of 38, Arthur became the king and was named Arthur III of Lovia. His reign would be the longest Lovia ever saw, lasting for over fifty years. The king was perfectly happy with his life as 'the eternal student', and had hoped his brother would stay king instead of him. When he called to rule Lovia, though, the King understood it was his destiny and his duty to make sure his country would do well. He took the crown and the responsibilities that came with it extremely serious. King Arthur III was known for his large language knowledge, and also for his knowledge in general. He studied a lot and was a highly educated man who studied for most of his life. He was probably the most intellectual Lovian monarch. He came forward as a member of the private Waltz Appreciation Club. Under his reign, the Lovian economy did well and Arthur also did much for Lovian culture, being a big fan of the theather and ballet. Being a great fencer, Arthur also helped to raise funds for the LFF when it was founded in 1999 by his son.

In 1958 he was presented with the Corinthian State Limousine by Corinthian, a car he used and the Royal family of Lovia use on very special occasion.

The big yellow chicken, a Bradly-Lashawn family symbol, was painted by Arthur III

The relationship of Arthur with his mother and younger brother was tense; his mother Lucy did not get along with her middle son for some reason. He also had a difficult relation to his youngest brother, yet he loved his nephew Prince Dimitri and had a very close friendship with his oldest brother. In 2006 the king got ill; after a fall from his favorite horse, a fierce black stallion named Bucephalus the elderly king broke his hip. The king was told to stay in bed, and his condition quickly worsened. Surrounded by his sons, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, the old king was awaiting his death. Always a strong man, the king had lost the will to live after the death of his beloved Veronica. On his deathbed, the king announced his nephew as his heir, since he knew his sons would never be accepted by the royal family as his heirs, let alone by the Lovian public.

He was awarded the Order of Valdemar of Strasland in 1960.

Interests

The grave of Bucephalus, the King's loyal horse, featuring a sculpture the king made before his death of his horse

The king has always remained a very humble man. He never bragged about any of his many achievements and the mere thougt of arrogance was a horror to him. A hard worker, the king lead a very busy life. When he got older however, he started doing more things for himself. A keen reader the king read at least one novel a week, but if he liked one book exceptionally much he would read trough the entire night just to know how the story would end. Later in life the king would also pick up sculpting; he made statues of farm animals and pets (his horse Bucephalus being a much used subject), and also of family members and friends he liked particulary much. He also loved poetry, and was said to have been a fine poet. None of the king's poetry was ever published during his lifetime, however, because he thought it was not good enough. According to son George, the kings poems were of 'sheer brilliance', but he never dared to let many people read them. Despite the kings insecurity about his poetry skills, George published some of his father's poems in 2010 in a book titled 'Royal Poems: the brilliant writings of our most humble king'. The book was well received by the Lovian public, calling it a 'brilliant piece of art'. According to his closest friends, the king would have been much happier as an artist then he ever was as a king. His biggest wish was to dedicate his life to poetry and sculpting, but sadly this never became a reality. The affairs of state were of more importance and left the king little spare time. He would wake every day at 6.30 sharp and would not go to bed until around 23.30, if not later. To keep the monarch alert he was proscribed many pills but he rarely took them; 'a fine cup of strong Brazilian black coffee is all I need to stay awake all day', as his Royal Majesty would say. A true polyglot, the king spoke many languages: English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, German, Esperanto, Oceana, Portugese and Arabic. He spoke each language fluently and usually even got the accent right, which suprised many foreign diplomats when they met with the king.

Adventures

Sometimes the king could be eccentric. He had the image of a rather lonely man, a man who was forced to choose between a quiet, idyllic family life and the affairs of state. Twice in his life, the king left his royal palace in Noble City and went to the mountains 'to think'. The king went sailing in 1964 with his brother Lucas (the former king and his best friend and dearest brother) when they stranded on a small, abandoned island in the Carribean. They were forced to stay there for three weeks; Lucas loved the peaceful life on the island, but Arthur was destined to get off the island and build a raft. With this raft, using his robes tied together as a sail, the king and his brother managed to leave the island and sailed on the see until a cruiseship discovered the raft and picked them up. The heroic escape from the wilderness caused a national sensation. In 1993 a book was written about the tropical adventure of Arthur and Lucas by a well known Lovian author, titled: 'Royal Brothers Stranded: A Tropical Adventure'. In the 1970's, Arthur developed an interest in aviation, but wasn't very good at flying; he survived a near-fatal crash with a plane in 1976. At that moment he decided it was over with 'the wild years' and the king no longer embarked on any adventures. Quite a storyteller, he would tell friends and relatives of the many adventures the king had been on, usually by the fireplace while drinking a good glass of his homemade whine (from the royal winery in Hurbanova). He also wrote long letters to his brother Lucas; the king disliked the telephone because as he said; 'nothing can beat the style of a letter written by hand at candlelight'.

Last years

The King's dining room in his countryside farmhouse where he spent his last years

Arthur III inspecting the horses at the royal stables

In 2003 the king decided to grant himself some rest. He moved from the palace to a house on the countryside, a farm he called 'The King's Stable'. Here he rode his prizewinning stallion Bucephalus twice a week, through the woods and to lakes were he went fishing with family and friends. The king turned out to be a fine fisher, and also decided to give hunting a try. Quickly the king discovered that hunting was nothing for him; his kind nature made it hard for him to shoot a defenseless bird from the sky; he could hardly kill a fly after a Buddhist friend of him explained to the king it could be the reincarnation of your own mother (despite being atheist, Arthur respected the opinion of his religious friends and often took their advice if he found it meaningful). The king would take his sons and grandsons fishing, and often took his young nephew Dimitri along with them. Some fresh country air would do the boy good, as the king explained his parents. With his daughter-in-law Malia the king would also climb mountains (only going halfway up and then going down again because of his age). In his later years the king began writing his memoirs while living the life of a well-to-do farmer on his farm and frequently holding family gatherings and diners. He was very active breeding horses and selling and buying cattle, and went to farming conventions and meetings. The king ate much and while the country life did him good, him sometimes overate and gained much weight.

Death

On August 19, 2007, disaster struck as the King fell from his horse and broke his hip. He said he did not fear death, because he had a clean conscience and had achieved all the goals he had set for himself. The King said that his only wish was that he could have lived a few years longer to give his nephew more time to prepare for the throne and the great responsibilities that came along with it. The king, always a large man, weighed over 300 pounds when he died early the next day, August 20. Surgeries to save his life failed, and the king refused to be taken to the hospital as he wanted to die at home. His friends and the rest of the royal family came to visit and comfort him before his death.

Family

With his mistress Veronica Bradly-Lashawn, Arthur III of Lovia had the following children:

Philip Bradly-Lashawn, married since 1998 to Malia Vensterdorp , has:

• Arthur George Bradly-Lashawn (1999)

• Karen Elisabeth Bradly-Lashawn (2002)
• Lily Helen Bradly-Lashawn (2005)
• John Marcus Bradly-Lashawn (2007)
• Vanessa Joy Bradly-Lashawn (2008)
• Meryl Anne Bradly-Lashawn (2010)

George Bradly-Lashawn, married since 2000 to Christina Ramsley, has:

• Joseph Bradly-Ramsley (2001)
• Isabella Bradly-Ramsley (2003)
• George Albert Bradly-Ramsley (2008)

Ancestry

Arthur III's ancestors in three generations

King Arthur III, HRH King of Lovia	Father: King Joseph HRH King of Lovia	Paternal Grandfather: Prince Philippe Count of Flanders	Paternal Great-grandfather: King Leopold I King of the Belgians
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Queen Louise-Marie Queen of the Belgians
		Paternal Grandmother: Princess Marie Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen	Paternal Great-grandfather: Prince Karl III Anton Prince of Hohenzollern
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Princess Josephine Princess of Baden
	Mother: Queen Lucy I HRH Queen of Lovia	Maternal Grandfather: King Arthur II HRH King of Lovia	Maternal Great-grandfather: King Arthur I HRH King of Lovia
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Queen Anne HRH Queen of Lovia
		Maternal Grandmother: Queen Amelia HRH Queen of Lovia	Maternal Great-grandfather: George Francis Hoover
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Lucinda Bernstein Hoover

• Note: Lavender colored boxes: Ruling Monarch of Lovia
• Note: Cornsilk colored boxes: civilian

See also

• Prince Dimitri
• Royal family

	The Royal Family of Lovia
	Kings and queens: King Arthur I x Queen Anne - King Arthur II x Queen Amelia - Queen Lucy I x King Joseph - King Lucas I x Queen Elisabeth - King Arthur III - King Dimitri I x Queen Mary Elisabeth - King Sebastian I x Queen Louise
	Living princes and princesses: Prince Alexander - Princess Alice - Prince Arthur - Princess Elisabeth - Prince Joseph - Princess Lucy-Anne - Princess Sylvia (wd) - Princess Helena x Anthony Mortensen
	Deceased princes and princesses: Prince Noah x Princess Manon - Prince Theodore - Prince Thomas x Princess Sarah
	Other articles: Great Royal Palace - Jacobian branch of the royal family - King's Gardens - King's Landmark - Line of succession - Member of the Congress by Right - Old Royal Palace - Palati Daidalo - Robert Noble - Royal Family - Royal Standard - Ruling monarch