Edvard III of Arendaal

Edvard III of Arendaal ("Edvard the Sullen") (1574 - 1623) was the King of Arendaal and Emperor of the North between 1604 and 1623. He was the son of Empress Adeliza I of Arendaal and Prince Robert of Franken. Although his reign was a prosperous age, witnessing peace and the growth of the KNH trading company, he pales in historical memory compared to his illustrious mother and the resplendent majesty of her court.

Edvard was seen as a sullen and distant figure by many of his courtiers. Perhaps the most objective facts to be ascer tained of his personality are that he was a demure, soft-spoken man and not an unable administrator. After his accession in Arendaal, his peaceful and scholarly attitude strikingly contrasted with the bellicose and flirtatious behaviour of his mother, Adeliza.

His style of rule was more modest than that of Queen Adeliza, stressing the virtues of quiet domestic life rather than courtly magnificence. He hosted far fewer lavish celebrations, masques and processions which had characterized the reign of his mother, and would again flourish during the reigns of his son Sven IV and his descendants.

Both his marriages are acknowledged as havens of domestic bliss. With his first wife, Princess Antoinette of Lorraine, he attracted criticism for his tendency to retire to the country with his wife away from court life. The marriage was an important one, however, since it was the first time that an Emperor of the North married a Catholic.

Although he mourned Antoinette upon her death, a similar pattern continued with his second wife, Catrina of Warre. Edvard's shy nature and his habit of spending months away from Emyn Arnen with his family alienated him somewhat from the public.

Edvard III used the title "Prince of the House of Lundmark" (his father, Robert of Franken, had been named Prince of Lundmark when he married the Aren Queen) instead of "choosing" to belong to the Royal House of Norregaard, the Royal House of his mother.

According to Aren tradition, the children of Queen regents generally tended to 'choose' to belong to the Royal House of their mother, but when they decided otherwise, their house was named for the Aren territory given to their fathers. Historians have taken this to be one of the ways in which Edvard sought to distinguish his own reign from that of his formidable mother.

Marriage, Family and Children
Edvard III of Arendaal, King of Arendaal and Emperor of the North first married Princess Antoinette of Lorraine in 1595. Their children included:
 * Sven IV of Arendaal (1599 - 1643) - who succeeded his father as ruler of Arendaal in 1623
 * Adela of Arendaal, Duchess of Treviso (1601 - 1646) - Consort of Duke Ciro II and Duke Valentino II

After Antoinette's death in 1605, Edvard married Princess Catrina of Warre a year later. Their children included:
 * Leonor of Arendaal, Queen of Batavie (b. 1607) - Consort of the King of Batavië

Siblings

 * Karolina of Arendaal, Queen of Montelimar - sister. Consort of King Robert I of Montelimar
 * Alienore of Arendaal, Princess of Havenshire - sister. Consort of Edwin I of Havenshire

Other Royal Relations

 * Maria Rikissa of Franken, Queen of Arendaal - daughter-in-law
 * Elisabet of Arendaal, Queen of Eiffelland - aunt. Consort of King Ludwig VI of Eiffelland
 * Magnus II of Arendaal - grandson
 * Helene of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire - granddaughter. Consort of Horace XII of the Talemantine Empire
 * Diane of Arendaal, Queen of Anglyn - granddaughter. Consort of Cedric X of Anglyn

Ancestors
's ancestors in four generations:

*Emperor Heinrich VI's mother was Madeleine of Arendaal, Holy Germanic Empress