BREAKING NEWS: His Highness, King Wilbert XI has passed away!
March 12, 2019 | Gvardio de Monteto | 08:17
According to servants in the Castrio Castle, His Highness King Wilbert XI, who had been struggling with heart problems for years at that point, suffered a heart attack in the middle of the night, and passed away before anyone could notice. His body was discovered at 7:30 when a servant came in to wake him up in preparation for his duties. The possibility of assassination has not been excluded, according to the initial reports.
His Highness King Wilbert XI ascended to the throne in 1955 after radical elements attacked Castrio Castle and managed to kill Wilbert X. He started a crackdown on all radical elements shortly after his crowning, and thousands of terrorists were arrested during his reign, making Arideo much safer in the eyes of the citizenry. During the Insurgency of 1986-1987, Wilbert XI lead the Loyalist forces with skill and decisiveness, ending the unrest in just a couple of months and thoroughly crushing the radicals.
The funeral for the late King will be held on March 20, and Her Highness Crown Princess Amadelia II will ascend to the throne on March 18. When a La Gardisto reporter asked about her feelings on the death of her father, she only said "I have many things to say of my late father; Some great things, some things I would never say in his presence, but I have none I wish to be known publicly as of right now. I will state my full thoughts on the matter on the date of my coronation."
Crown Princess Amadelia II is the only child of Wilbert XI, and as such, the succession is expected to be smooth.
The Mad King is Dead!
By: Adam Sandwick, Chief Editor & Reporter08:36 12/03-19Wilbert XI, King of Arideo, is dead! He passed during the night after a fatal heart attack, and although La Gardisto won't say it out loud, the authorities suspect assassination. Of course, if you've followed the news at all over the last few years, his death will come as no surprise; He had already been suffering heart problems for years, but refused heart surgery because "I live and die in the service of Arideo alone", which is another way of saying he was afraid the heart surgery would go wrong. No doubt the assassination motif may come into play later down the line, if the desire to take down Winst grows too tempting.
Wilbert XI, you may remember, was responsible for the brutal crackdown on dissenters both before and after the Second Civil War, which saw thousands of people locked up for no reason in the name of "national security", none of which have been released since because rather than admit he overreacted, Wilbert XI cracked down further on dissenters, throwing an extra couple of hundred people in jail for questioning him.
Amadelia II, the successor to the throne, has gone under the radar for most of her life (she surfaced for the Sunburn celebrations, which went poorly for everyone involved); Wether this is intentional or not is unclear. As such, if the Mad King's death will mean a radical overhaul in foreign policy or not remains to be seen, but more likely than not, Arideo will not change course in any significant manner.
According to our informants in GdM, opinions are mixed; Hardcore nationalists grieve the death of Wilbert XI, but how they feel about Amadelia II is unclear, whilst other groups we have been in contact with have not yet decided on a stance.
We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.