Reza Elizaveta of Turov
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Reza Elizaveta Sergeievna (30th of the Amber Cold, 1565 – 17th of Sun's Smile, 1600), also known as Theresa Elizabeth of Turov, was the first Queen-Consort of Haense as the wife of King Andrew II of Haense. It is incorrectly believed by many that the wife of the first Hansetian king, Elizabeth of Metterden, was the first Queen-Consort of Haense, but such is untrue, due to Elizabeth dying years before Peter Barbanov was elevated to the status of king.
As the first Hansetian queen, Reza attempted to emulate the grandeur of Orenian empresses, a move that proved to be wildly unpopular in her time, but would later lead to the glorification of her character centuries later.
The Hansetian capital city of Reza was named after her.
Early years
Theresa was born at Carnatia, then a duchy ran by her grandfather, Jan Kovachev under the Emperor just prior to the fall of Vailor. Though a Raevir, Theresa received an excellent, yet rigid education befitting a granddaughter of an Orenian duke.
After the Kovachevs, her very own kinsmen had rallied the most soldiers for King Peter’s cause, they were offered Peter’s son, then Andrew II of Haense’s hand in marriage. Her kinsmen, loyal to their duke and willing to serve, agreed to such terms, and Theresa and Andrew were to be wed when they both reached a marriageable age.
Shortly after Theresa’s betrothal, she was kept away from many, save for her family and of course, Andrew. Due to this, she was never able to enjoy her childhood and had a strained relationship with her siblings that would never be mended, even into adulthood.
Marriage
Theresa was married to King Andrew II of Haense sometime in 1583. She wore a velvet white gown, a veil made of chiffon, a pearl headdress and a cloth of gold underskirt. Many Hansetians did not react to Theresa’s costly attire well, a certain Johan Ladislaus de Morvelyn, an Aeldinic nobleman, even called Theresa 'spendthrift'. Johan’s account of her wedding was not the only backlash Theresa received for her choice of attire. It is even said that at her wedding, prior to the ceremony the priest spoke of prying women and women who stray from the mold Julia, the mild-mannered wife of Horen created.
Queen-Consort of Haense
For three years, Theresa was Queen-consort of Haense. In these three years, Theresa was met with fierce opposition from many at the royal court of Haense.
A couple months after her wedding to Andrew, Theresa decided to try and take a more active role in politics. She went to Johannesburg, then the capital of the Holy Orenian Empire and met with Julia of Furnestock, then the Empress-consort of Oren as the wife of Emperor John III. The two became fast friends and the pair even organized a ball together, at the suggestion of Theresa, they named it ‘The Unity Ball’ and said that the meaning behind it was to maintain a friendly relationship between the Southern and Northern nobility. Some praised Theresa for trying to better relations between Haense and the rest of Oren, but the majority of the Northern nobility were isolationists at the time, and saw no problem with their relations with Oren. Even though many Haensetic officials were openly against it, the ball still happened. It is said that the only Haensetic people there were Theresa, King Andrew II of Haense, the Kovachevs and a handful of royal guardsmen. Theresa’s siblings-in-law did not even bother to show up. It is accounted by many there that night that the ball was a failure, and that Julia publicly scolded Theresa in front of everyone in attendance.
Soon after this event, Theresa tried to have Charles Siguine, her brother-in-law married off to Princess Charlotte of Alstion, the daughter of Emperor John III, as to spite him for not coming to the ball, nothing came of such plans.
Months after the ball had occurred, Theresa gave birth to twins, Marius I of Haense and Catherine Alexandria. After Theresa had provided Haense with a heir, many hoped motherhood would change her, such hopes were dashed seeing as shortly after she had given birth to Marius she had started to wear crowns reminiscent of the Crown of Haense, a subtle, yet extremely unpopular move. No one could openly debate if she had, or did not have the right to outfit herself in a kingly crown.
Around the time Andrew first rebelled, Theresa had given birth to her last child, Otto Henry. While she was bedridden, and Otto was still a newborn, someone had snuck into the royal residence of the King of Haense and stole her two eldest children, Marius and Catherine. The people of Haense blamed Theresa for the abduction of their Crown Prince, and many of her enemies at court said she was entertaining the Princess Charlotte Sophia of Alstion, then the Princess Imperial of the Holy Orenian Empire the very night of the abduction. Such rumors were false, seeing as Theresa was recovering from childbirth.
Queen-Mother
Theresa became Queen-dowager of Haense on the 2nd of the Deep Cold, 1586, the day of Andrew’s death. Prior to Andrew’s rebellion and execution, Theresa enjoyed going to the imperial court at Johannesburg, but being the wife of the man who assassinated John Augustus she was not welcome at the court of his brother, Philip I, Holy Orenian Emperor. Theresa was unofficially exiled from Johannesburg.
As Marius grew older, it is clear that Theresa’s relationship with him was strained, especially after he was coronated and took a wife, Adelaide-Isabella of Metterden. Theresa and Marius had an argument in the stables of Carnatia one evening, that resulted in Marius storming off, and leaving Theresa behind. To this day, no one knows what the two argued about.
It is unclear if Theresa had a good relationship or not with her other two children, Catherine and Otto. Many at the court of Ottosgrad said that Otto for the most part ignored his mother, and that Catherine found herself in the company of one of her aunts, Princess Tatiana of Haense.
Death
Days after Marius had publicly embarrassed Theresa during a church service after calling her ‘depressed’, Theresa suffered a stroke and died a month prior to the birth of her grandson, Peter, Grand Prince of the Raev.
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marius I of Haense | 12th of Malin’s Welcome, 1584 | Alive | Adelaide-Isabella of Metterden | King of Haense, Eldest son of Andrew and Theresa |
| Princess Catherine of Haense | 12th of Malin’s Welcome, 1584 | Alive | Sergei II Kovachev | Twin to Marius |
| Prince Otto of Haense | 27th of the Deep Cold, 1586 | Alive | Unwed | Second son of Andrew and Theresa |
