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Lára
Maria Anna of Saxony
Lára
Queen of Vinland
Reign 3rd March, 1790 - 7th September, 1819
Predecessor Eyfinna II
Successor Svenný I
Born 5th October, 1773
Austurfjordinn, Alkafuglaeyjar
Died 7th September, 1819
Ingolfursey, Vinland
Spouse Sveyn, Earl of Vornhaid,

Reynir Gissur Hannesson,
Prince Georges of Auvergne

Issue Olafur Sveynsson

Thorey Sveynsdottír
Svenný I Georgesdottír
Gudridr Georgesdottír
Georges Georgesson
Brynjolf Georgesson
Ragnheidur Georgesdottír

Full name
Lára Steinnun Vala Svenný Eiriksdottír Einarsdottír
House Eiriksdottír
Father Einar Vigfusson, Earl of Alkafuglaeyjar
Mother Gudridur Arngrímursdottír

On 3rd March, 1790 Eyfinna II died suddenly leaving the Althing in a quandary. Her own three children had all died before her and so too had her most likely successor, her niece Princess Jakobina who had died in France. In addition two potential claimants were married to German princes and were discounted as they had no wish to be potentially ruled as a far flung province of Berg or Saxe-Jena. This left the Althing with the pick of three of Eyfinna's distant cousins, two girls barely out of the cradle, or Princess Lára of Alkafuglaeyjar. Though popular opinion may have been either of the two infant cousins, the earls could not help notice the Althing was struggling with its own reform. They and the chief ministers needed an older candidate who, armed with legitimacy and the backing of the upper chamber, would be able to bring Vinland into the 19th century. So they turned to Lára.

Alkafuglaeyjar had become bored of Vinland's distance (in both a physical and political sense) and proclaimed their autonomy in 1712, ruling itself with its own Althing and electing its own rulers. It still deferred to Vinland however and Vinland lacked the will to stamp its authority on its uneconomically important colony. Lára, 17 years old in 1790, had been elected Princess of the islands two years previously after the death of her aunt. The ruling earls of the islands were descended from Snaedis III but the general economic state of the islands meant the family was virtually indistinguishable from any other Alkafuglaeyjarsk farming family. The old grand earls' manor was now the Thinghus with a small 'apartment' for the ruling princesses. The actual role of Princess was more like the Speaker role of Vinland, simply keeping the Thing's debates running smoothly, it came with no extra power or salary. But in the relatively tight-knit Alkafuglaeyjarsk community tempers often ran high so Lára had developed a good sense of diplomacy and political nous.

It took a month for a diplomat to reach Austurfjordinn and present Lára with the news that she was now Queen of Vinland. During the final weeks of her supervision the Alkafuglaeyjarsk Althing quickly redefined its relationship to Vinland. Now it officially recognised Vinland's overlordship, as long as it could keep an autonomous Thing. It would be another six weeks before she reached Northern Leifia, stopping briefly to meet the Portuguese ambassador in Verao and the Álengsk ambassador in Nahigavik.

Fears that she would replicate Eyfinna II's rule and be a well-meaning but unconvincing politician were quickly dispelled as Lára threw herself into rule with gusto. Previous monarchs had preferred the large cities of the Hafsvaedaland, only visiting Isafjordhur to open that year's session of the Althing but having been briefed of the challenges Vinland faced Lára considered it madness for the monarch to only hear of news second-hand and a week late. Barely pausing to be crowned in Fjallasay she moved her court to Isafjordhur and 'installed herself' in the Althing, making sure the Speakers kept on message, patiently steering much needed through reforms while an almost bewildering number of governments and ministers came and went.

Under her stewardship the Althing rid itself of the so-called 'Rotten Counties' where virtually no one lived, balancing them with the growing Hafsvaedaland cities. Various agricultural and industrial reforms were instituted as well, improving the lot of Vinland's growing lower classes who were increasingly leaving the countryside to live in cities. Various versions of her impassioned speeches to an often corrupt and self-interested Althing circulated during the most bitter 'Ithnadura Utorfín' (Industrial Workers Acts) debates of 1804. She would also shift the Althing from its old building to a new Hall with separated debating chambers for the Lower and Upper houses (whereas previously the Upper house literally sat overlooking the Lower and would occasionally drown out meaningful debate with heckles), a shift which made debates less chaotic and sped up legislation considerably.

Once they realised she was not a dictatorial monarch in the mold of Freydis III, not about to go behind their backs like Thorey VII and studiously neutral on most subjects, the Althing members mostly came on board with her agenda and saw her as 'a steady hand on the rudder' leading to her nickname of Stýramedr (coxswain). Ultimately they viewed her as dull but endearing. In wider society she was often portrayed as a naive 'southerner', thanks to her accent and 'foreign' ways and relative lack of culture. Her education in Alkafuglaeyjar had been basic at best; the islands had been left out of the 'Vinlandic Golden Age', and were filled with 'farmers not thinkers' who dwelt on practical matters. She was mostly indifferent to art, though enjoyed theatre, supposedly the more lowbrow the better. The often savage nature of the Vinlandic press at the time rarely bothered her however, and she often fought attempts to curb press freedom or censorship of any kind.

She disliked the hustle and bustle of Fjallasay, or the slowly industrialising Eikland cities, preferring the quieter islands of the Atlantic coast. She had modest estates built or modified on Kyreyja, Vinland and Ingolfursey with the latter being regarded as the finest example of 'Williamine' style architecture in Leifia. She was a prolific letter writer (even if she did write in Icelandic rather than formal Vinlandic), hungry for knowledge of the world. The governor of Fort Adyar in India complained that he spent more time deciphering and answering her letters than actually handling trade.

Her final years as queen were marked by the start of the Leifian Crisis, an extended period of unrest caused by several years of poor harvests and collapsing finances. Vinland, with its imports from the Leifian plains, was insulated from the initial shocks which would cause much unrest and even revolutionary talk in Álengiamark and elsewhere but Lára was much alarmed by the developments at home and in Europe (where her husband's home country of Auvergne was under threat) and almost agreed to the creation of a secret police to infiltrate and quell dissent. She backed down however, worried that it would only create a witch hunt scenario and create dissent where there was none before.

She died at home on Ingolfursey in 1819 at the age of 46 and was succeeded by her eldest daughter Svenný.

Family[]

Lára was married three times:

1) Sveyn, Earl of Vornhaid - (m. 1790) a hastely arranged marriage to the recently widowed Earl, essentially put together by the royal court to help ease Lára into Vinlandic society. Almost 20 years older than Lára, he would die, after three years of marriage, falling from his horse. They had two children:

  • Olafur (b. 1791) - heir to Vornhaid
  • Thorey (b.1792) - died of tuberculosis in 1800

2) Reynir Gissur Hannesson - a minor nobleman. Reynir died from pneumonia after swimming in the Breidurass some eight months into their marriage. They had no children.

3) Prince Georges - the third son of the King of Auvergne, was the love of Lára's life. They had five children:

  • Svenný I (b. 1797)
  • Gudridr (b. 1797)
  • Georges (b. 1799)
  • Brynjolf (b.1802)
  • Ragnheidur (b.1803)
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