Diana I of Belmont

Diana I (Diana Marie-Julliette; born 29 July 1961) is the | Queen Regnant of the Kingdom of Belmont and the Four Realms; the realms being The Principality of Montaigne, The Duchy of Couserans, The Protectorate of Tréguier and The Dominion of Visidame. Having ascended to the throne in 1981, Diana became the first female monarch of Belmont and also the youngest since 1421. The reign of Queen Diana (1981 - present), has seen a period of economic, industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military progress within the Kingdom.

Diana ascended the throne at a time when Belmont was already an established | constitutional monarchy, having become one in 1896, but her three decade long reign has also seen a strengthening of the monarch's powers, with Diana exerting immense influence upon all Premiers since her ascension to the throne. Diana's reign has also seen Belmont continue its rise as an economic power and its economy being part of the five biggest economies of the world.

Diana is, like the rest of the Royal Family of Belmont, of mainly French descent, the daughter of Prince Albert of Montaigne and Princess Emmeline of Montaigne, and grand-daughter of her predecessor Francis XII. Diana married her husband, HRH Prince Edmund, Duke of Saint-Lô, in February 1981, whom she met in 1979 while studying in Franken, the marriage has produced five children; including Prince Nicolas of Montaigne, the heir to the Belmontien throne.

Early Life
Diana was born at the Château de Charbonne in Paris on 29 July 1961 to Prince Albert Charles and his wife Therése. At the time of her birth her grandfather, Francis XII, was on the throne but his two older sons; Prince Henri of Montaigne and Prince Robert, Duke of Datezette, were without heirs. The princess was christened on 21 August 1961 at the Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur by the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Tauran. Her godparents were. The princess was named Diana after her maternal great-grandmother and Marie-Julliette after her paternal great-grandmother - King Francis XII's mother - Queen Marie-Juliette.

For the first few years of her life, Diana and her family lived a quiet, secluded life in an 18th Century château and the glare of the media remained away from the family. Only a few pictures exist from that time taken mainly by the Photographer of the Royal Family. But the family faced an immense change in 1968 when the heir to the throne, Prince Henri of Montaigne, died under mysterious circumstances and the second in line, Prince Robert, gave up his succession rights in favor of his younger brother, Diana's father, Prince Albert.

Now as L'Famille de Prince, following tradition, her parents moved the family from their quiet, suburban estate to the Château de Florians, the official residence of the Prince of Montaigne. The change in status affected the young princess and her siblings who were ill prepared for the immense public interest in them. With the succession laws having been changed in 1962 to absolute primogeniture, Diana had become the second in line to the throne and her grandfather, Francis XII, in consultation with her parents had her enrolled in the prestigious Bentley Institute in 1970.

By the time she graduated in 1977, Diana had become fluent in Arabic, German & English and had begun courses on political science and international relations, which she would continue on with during her tour of Europe, visiting the key learning centers of Europe.

Heiress to the Throne
In November 1977, while completing her last semester at the Bentley Institute, Diana's father and heir to the throne, Prince Albert died. Having been his favorite, Prince Albert's death devastated Francis XII. After the funeral of the Prince, Diana was proclaimed Madame Royale by her grandfather. At the beginning of the next year, on orders from Francis XII, Diana left the Château de Florians, her home for the last 10 years, and moved into the Château de Charbonne, the official residence of the King. The move to the Charbonne was completed by March 1978. Throughout 1978, King Francis XII, Queen Joséphine and Princess Therése, her mother, planned a tour for the heir. It was hoped that the tour would groom the young princess and allow her to be able to pick a suitable husband from the nobility of Europe's most respected houses. Though originally unhappy about the idea, Diana went through with it when some of her demands were met. Diana, throughout that year, was involved with several charities, such as; The Blue Cross of Belmont, Helping Hands and The Resenais Fund. She had the distinction of being awarded the Cross of St. Joseph by King Francis XII for her humanitarian and philanthropic actions.

Tour of Europe


With the preparations complete, the Princess embarked on her tour on 21 January 1979. The tour was expected to last from 1979 to 1983 and would have Diana in the most prestigious and historic of universities across Europe. The Princess would attend several universities during the period for short amounts of time. The Royal Entourage for the four year long endeavor included: 3 mentors, 5 chefs, 27 security personnel, 38 domestic staff and 4 drivers. Though the tour ended prematurely, Diana had, by the end of the tour, attended the following:


 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/MontFlag-1.png
 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/80px-Wieserreich.png Royal University of Swabia
 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/wuer0018.gif Heinrich Sebastian University
 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/SmallFlagMain.png Radcliffe College
 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/Flag_of_Guiana-1.png University of New Amsterdam
 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/montnewflag.gif L'Université de Cognac

Engagement
While attending Heinrich Sebastian University, Princess Diana was introduced to Prince Edmund, the nephew of the current King of Franken, Alfred IV. According to those in the Royal Entourage, both royals began dating secretly in early 1980. Others close to both during the time had to say that, the usually shy and reserved Diana started opening up and Edmund started sobering, both had a positive effect on the other and their closeness was encouraged by, both, Montaigne and Knýtling Royal Houses, but for the sake of the young royals' privacy, both houses decided to remain silent on the matter.

By mid 1980, both royals informed their families that they intended to marry. In Paris, the news was welcomed by King Francis XII whose health, by that point, begun to deteriorate. Hoping to see the heir married and settled within his lifetime, he immediately assented to the proposal. In November of that year, the Château de Charbonne announced that Diana was engaged to Edmund and their wedding ceremony would take place in February of the coming year.

Wedding
On 15 February 1981, Princess Diana and Prince Edmund married each-other in a traditional Catholic ceremony at the Cathédrale du Sacré-Cœur in Paris. The ceremony was attended by Royals and Heads of State and Government from across the world and, additionally, almost 500,000 Belmontiens gathered outside the cathedral to greet the new married couple. Upon leaving the cathedral, the stagecoach of the couple went through Paris' main boulevard and thousands lined the streets. The couple, later, would appear on the Balcony of the Charbonne with members of the Royal Family.

Princess Diana's engagement ring, bought by Prince Edmund's father, cost ƒ45,000, had a total of 14 diamonds and one large blue sapphire. Diana's wedding ceremony, and subsequent parties and state dinners, cost the Royal Family of Belmont an estimated ƒ32,450,000. The couple went on to the honeymoon in the resort town of Nantes on the Lac Vernier coast. The ceremony was broadcast live across the world. The distribution rights were kept in the hands of the couple and went on to generate ƒ198.8 million.

Accession and Early Reign
On 5 March 1981, Francis XII died from congestive heart failure and Diana became Queen. Drafts of all the official documents (proclamation, oaths of allegiance, etc.) prepared on the first day of her reign described her as Queen Diana Marie-Julliette, but at her first Privy Council meeting she signed the register as Diana; thus, although she was expected to reign as Diana Marie-Julliette, the last two names were withdrawn at her own wish. Her coronation took place on 27 April 1981, thus officially ascending to the throne as Queen of Belmont and all its Realms.

At the time of her accession, the Conservateurs had been in power for just over a year. The party had strong monarchist elements within its highest ranks, including the then Premier, Charles Bernard Vizellette. Throughout the 1980s, slowly, Diana managed to exploit the Vizellette government's pro-monarchist views to force Parliament to give crucial powers back to the Crown. By 1988, Diana had regained all the powers of the monarch given up to the Parliament in 1897, pushing the role of the sovereign back to the center of politics in Belmont.

Foreign Policy
From the onset of her reign, Diana has taken an active role in Belmont's foreign policy, demanding daily reports from the Foreign Office and her direct permission to undertake key initiatives, thus becoming the first monarch to be so involved since the mid 1860s. Since 1991, officials of the Foreign Office - the bureaucratic departments of the Foreign Ministry - have been appointed by Diana.

All governments since her ascendance to the throne have consulted her on key foreign policy decisions and all foreign policy related matters must go through her office and bear her seal of approval. Though she has become less stringent in recent years in exerting control over the foreign policy of the kingdom.

Domestic Politics
Many times in her thirty year long reign, serious disputes have erupted in Parliament which has caused Diana to intervene and take the matter into her own hands. The first instance of her stepping in to stabilize the situation was in 1983, where she averted a vote of no-confidence against Premier Vizellette. The second instance was in 1995, due to election disagreements. In the future when she did intervene, the situation was not as serious than the two instances mentioned previously. Several times disputes amongst the provinces have been sorted out only by the the Crown and Diana has played a key role in provincial autonomy debates and has supported granting greater freedom to the Realms.

Apart from resolving parliamentary disputes, as Queen, Diana has allowed the various governments relative freedom in domestic matters and has maintained an advisory role with the government.

Public perception and character
Since her childhood, Diana has been popular with the public. She is one of the most popular Belmontien individuals, at times, ranking above many popular celebrities. Her popularity is attributed to several reasons; her commitment to philanthropy, style and elegance and her easy-going and informal attitude.

Finances
The Queen's personal wealth is estimated at a staggering $89.3 billion and the wealth of the House of Montaigne, of which she is the head, is estimated at $850 billion. The wealth of The Monarchy of Belmont is largely earned from their ownership of 80% of Thasisse Holdings and 30,000,000 acres of land. The House of Montaigne, collectively, also owns 15% of the Port of Marseilles. The Queen is also in ownership of all Crown lands in Belmont, which earn her and the monarchy an additional $988 million.

Religion
Like the rest of her family, Diana is a Catholic. As Queen of Belmont, she serves as a patron of the Church of Belmont, the Belmontien branch of Catholic Church. She takes part in several ceremonies of the Church and takes religious advice from the Archbishop of Paris, the highest official of Catholicism in Belmont.

Titles and styles

 * 29 July 1961 – 17 May 1968: Her Royal Highness Princess Diana Marie-Julliette of Cascon
 * 17 May 1968 - 1 December 1976: Her Royal Highness Princess Diana of Montaigne
 * 1 December 1976 - 5 March 1981: Her Royal Highness The Princess Diana, Madame Royale
 * 5 March 1981 - present: Her Majesty The Queen of Belmont

As Queen, her full style and title are:


 * Her Majesty Diana the First, By the Grace of God Almighty, Queen Regnant of Belmont and its Realms, Grand Duchess of Couserans, Lord Protector of Tréguier, Sovereign-General of Visidame, Defender of the Faiths, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Maître de l'Famille Montaigne, Duchess of Saint-Lô.

Honours

 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/BelmontNew88.png Belmont: Sovereign of the Most Noble & Ancient Order of the Fleur-de-Lis
 * http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k480/imadaqu93/Belmont%202/Wikia/MontaigneFlagcopy.png Montaigne: Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Athéne

Foreign Honours
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