Gwendolyn of the Resurgent Dream
Gwendolyn Rose Katherine Stuart is the Queen of the Resurgent Dream as well as the Queen of Caldas and of the various Caldan Dominions.
Gwendolyn was educated at St. Joan's School and Concordia University and holds an H.B.A. in the liberal arts.Her father, Peredur, was the Grand Duke of Tarana and her grandfather was King Francis. Peredur served in the Second Ambaran War under the name "Peredur Jones". He was killed in action on 24 February 2005, predeceasing his father. Charles III died of natural causes on 31 July of the same year and Gwendolyn's older brother, Owain became King. Owain reigned for only five years before he died in the terrorist attack on Solomon. A grieving Gwendolyn acceded to the throne.
Gwendolyn married Peter, Prince of Kuldiga in early 2005. They do not yet have any children.
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Early Life
Gwendolyn was born in Dunevon, Tasat. Her parents were Peredur and Ygraine, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Tarana. She was the second of three children and the first of two daughters. She was baptised by Daind Cardinal Landeck, Archbishop of Dunevon. Her godparents were Adal Madler, then Duke of Magel, and his wife, Jessica. As a male-line grandchild of the Sovereign, she was styled Her Royal Highness with the title Princess Gwendolyn of Tarana.
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess raised their children with the assistance of a nurse, Elinor Middleton, and a governess, Marianne Earnshaw. Gwendolyn has remained close to both women her entire life. Her parents were very affectionate. Her father doted on her when he was home. However, his career in the Royal Caldan Army often kept him away.
Gwendolyn's was the first generation of Caldan royalty to receive a formal education. Before her generation, princesses were schooled only by a governess and princes were schooled by a governess at a young age and then by a tutor as they grew older. At the age of 14, Gwendolyn was sent to study at St. Joan's School. She studied the same basic subjects studied by other secondary school students as well as heraldry, classics and religion. For languages, Gwendolyn studied French and Latin. For music, she studied the violin. Her only athletic interest was equestrianism.
Gwendolyn attended Concordia University. She is the only one of her siblings to have done so. King Owain attended the Royal Army College and Princess Morgan attended St. Peter University. Gwendolyn earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts in the liberal arts. She had a grade point average of 8.1, a fairly good, but not excellent, average according to the Caldan scoring system.
Gwendolyn, while never becoming embroiled in serious scandal, had a reputation for superficiality for most of her time in University. She loved fashion, riding and dancing and, once or twice, was reported to have had substantially too much to drink. After her father's death, Gwendolyn underwent a spiritual crisis during which she sought the counsel of Father William Moore. Moore helped her to work her way through her grief and she emerged a more mature, thoughtful and devout young woman.
Heiress Presumptive
At her birth, Gwendolyn was entitled to the Her Royal Highness Princess Gwendolyn of Tarana. She was third in the line of succession after her father, Peredur, Grand Duke of Tarana, and her brother, Owain, Duke of Tarana. Although her birth attracted public attention, she was not expected to become Queen. Her brother was healthy. After her father died in the Second Ambaran War and her grandfather, King Charles III passed away soon after, Owain became King and Gwendolyn became the heiress presumptive with the style Her Royal Highness The Princess Gwendolyn.
After an appropriate period of mourning for her father, Gwendolyn became active in maintaining the Resurgent Dream's relations with foreign nations, particularly other monarchies. She visited Pantocratoria and Excalbia. It was during this visit that she first met her eventual husband, Peter, Prince of Kuldiga.
Second Ambaran War
Gwendolyn made many public addresses during the Second Ambaran War. Her mourning was turned into a symbol of the price the nation was paying in Marlund. Her first solo appearance after coming out of mourning was with the Edina Highlanders regiment, of which she had been appointed colonel-in-chief. Gwendolyn did not herself serve in uniform. Hers was the first generation of female royalty since 1900 not to serve in uniform during war time. Ironically, the greater inclusion of women in military life generally made it more difficult for princesses to serve, as princes almost universally did. The expectations of female officers in the 21st century was less consistent with the mores and public image of the royal family than the old Women's Auxiliary Army Corps had been.
Gwendolyn made her first visit to Ambara in 2006, delivering a public address from Jagiella. She visited Marlund for the first time in 2007 and was taken on a tour of all the horrors the people of Marlund had been forced to endure under the old regime. Allegedly, Gwendolyn had wept. Arguably, this response was more dignified than that of her brother who reputedly vomited.
Marriage
In 2004, Gwendolyn met Peter, Prince of Kuldiga, during her State visit to the Excalbia. Although the marriage was not arranged, the royal family was generally well-disposed to the match which was expected to strengthen ties with Excalbia. However, there was some controversy about Peter's past relationships with Princess Helen of Pantocratoria and Sarah Leung. The couple were wed in Tarana on 28 April 2005. The ceremony took place in the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica with Henry Cardinal Proctor, Archbishop of Tarana. In attendance were numerous chiefs of state and government, including the Sovereigns of Pantocratoria, Excalbia, Marlund, the Dominion, Euroslavia, Sakkra, Scolopendra, Weyr, Lavenrunz and Tartarus, as well as the Prime Minister of Knootoss. After Gwendolyn acceded to the throne, Peter became Prince Consort and was created Duke of Pomorum.
Thus far, the marriage of Gwendolyn and Peter is generally regarded as a happy one. Gwendolyn was particularly supportive of her husband during the constitutional crisis in Excalbia created by the Emperor's stroke in 2006. Gwendolyn famously insisted on accompanying her husband throughout, even though he himself objected for her safety's sake.
Reign
King Owain was killed in the terrorist atomic bomb attack on the city of Solomon. An emotional Queen Gwendolyn addressed the Caldan people less than an hour later. However, Prime Minister Sarah Sacker and her Government could not determine a course of action. Abt, Pantocratoria and Xirnium all intervened militarily as terrorists attempted to seize control of Alekthos. The Sacker Government collapsed immediately afterward, an election was called and Rhodri Jones came to power.
Gwendolyn's accession did not result in a change of name for the royal house of the Resurgent Dream. The royal house continues to be called the House of Tasat. The coronation took place in Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. Most of the ceremony was televised although the anointing and communion were not.
In 2011, the Queen has made many appearances to honour the Caldan troops committed in the Iesus Christi Civil War, including services to honour the fallen, welcome troops home, see troops off and inspect units. The Queen has also visited the wounded in hospitals.
Public Perception and Character
Gwendolyn enjoys riding and chess. She has also become a fan of baseball and of Excalbian popular music since her marriage. The Queen is also known for her poetry. A collection was published in 2009 with all proceeds going to charity..
Gwendolyn has continued a long tradition of royal patronage of charities, universities and colonel-in-chief of 56 regiments. Gwendolyn is the president of 86 charities, the chancellor of six universities and the colonel-in-chief of seven regiments. Most famously, she heads the Northern Star Education Fund which provides assistance for children with special learning needs. Many of the Fund's moneys go to help former slaves in Marlund who were until recently denied an education catch up with other children their age. Gwendolyn is also issued in rural and environmental issues. She has been personally involved in promoting sustainable farming in the Resurgent Dream, instituting changes in how agriculturally productive Crown lands are managed. Bright Glade is an organic farm, dairy and apiary located on Crown lands. The royal household gets many of its fruits, vegetables and dairy products from Bright Glade.
Gwendolyn, a Roman Catholic is involved with various religious organisations in the Resurgent Dream. She worships at Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica. Gwendolyn has also visited the Great Mosque of Tarana, Christ Church Cathedral, Adath Shalom and several dozens other churches, mosques, synagogues and temples in the Resurgent Dream. Christmas and Hanukkah are marked at Grenville Palace. The Queen makes public addresses on Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali and Eid al-Adha. The Queen is also a patron of the Caldan Council of Christians and Jews, the Council for Muslim-Jewish Dialogue, the Christian-Muslim Relations Council, the Caldan Council of Churches and the Christian Unity Association. A number of controversies have arisen regarding Gwendolyn's association with religious groups. The Queen was criticised by feminist groups for wearing a headscarf in the Great Mosque of Tarana. She has also been criticised for rarely refraining from involvement with secular groups. Gwendolyn has three times rejected invitations to address the Humanist Association of the Resurgent Dream, an organisation twice addressed by King Owain and once by Princess Morgan.
The Queen has also been criticised from within the Catholic Church for her appearance at a banquet honouring Father William Moore and Reverend Roscoe Lowell for their work with the Christian Unity Association. Moore's remarks at the banquet, implicitly endorsed by the Queen, were accused of indifferentism and the Queen came under some criticism from within the Catholic community not merely for her presence at the banquet but for her long relationship with Moore.
Finances
The Queen's net worth is unclear because commentators cannot agree on which real and personal property should be counted as hers. Excluding public property, the real and personal property arguably belonging to the Queen includes property held by the Crown in perpetuity, property held by the Sovereign in trust, property held in trust for the Sovereign in various museums and historical sites, property held by the House of Tasat and property held by Gwendolyn personally, some of which is entailed or subject to other conditions of ownership. Collectively, these properties represent a portfolio worth £346 billion. The Queen's unrestricted private property constitutes only £3 billion of this.
