Wilhelmina of Cathalon

This page contains information about a character that has been or is still played by a member of the LotC community. Please keep this in mind as you proceed reading.

Wilhelmina of Cathalon Duchess-consort of Helena Tenure 13th of the Amber Cold, 1787 - 10th of the Sun’s Smile, 1814 Predecessor: Anne I, Holy Orenian Empress Successor: N/A Duchess-consort of Furnestock Tenure 13th the Amber Cold, 1787 - 10th of the Sun's Smile, 1814 Predecessor: Magdalena of Man Successor: Anastasia of Kositz Born: 2nd of Sigismund’s End, 1760 Spouse: John VIII (divorced in 1814) House: Helvets Father: Robert I, Duke of Cathalon Mother: Letizia of Virdain

Wilhelmina of Cathalon (2nd of Sigismund’s End, 1760 - N/A), additionally known as Wilhelmina Beatrix, and monikered “the Wild“, was the only daughter of Robert Castor, Duke of Cathalon, and his Savoyardic consort, Letizia of Virdain. The Helvets-born woman was known as the would-be Empress-consort of the Holy Orenian Empire as wife to John VIII.

Contemporaries described her as short and slender, graceful, red of hair, with long eyelashes and a “divine” gleam in her eyes. There was kindness and gentleness in her expression, but she was also proud and judicious. The Kaedreni was famed for her quick tongue and considerable wit, often butting heads with Imperial officials due to their differing ideals. She resented the Orenian government for their apparent dislike of her, and her Imperial husband for being a homosexual, resulting in the instability of her position, and their subsequent divorce after thirty-four years of marriage.

A mere two days after she was freed from matrimony in 1814, the death of her former husband's father, Emperor Joseph, was proclaimed, and, naturally, John was declared Holy Orenian Emperor promptly after. Following the aforementioned Joseph's conveniently timed death (reportedly of old age), rumors swirled about the Empire that the aged sovereign had died long before Wilhelmina and John's divorce was finalized, and the Novellen clan was accused of delaying an announcement on his passing, in order to bar Wilhelmina from holding the title of empress-consort.

Family and Childhood

Wilhelmina Beatrix was born to Robert Castor Helvets and his wife, Letizia Marie d’Aryn, on the 2nd of Sigismund’s End, 1760, accompanied by a twin brother, Peter Helton Helvets. The future Duke of Cathalon was rather pleased and felt satisfied with his swiftly completed family. Robert was notoriously flighty, and considered his duties completed at the birth of a son. Such happy notions were not to last, and Letizia- who was known to be a heavy drinker and indulged in a great many unsavory pleasures- succumbed to blood loss the morning after. Robert, wrought by grief, returned to sea swiftly thereafter. Four years later, he returned from his sabbatical to find the poor Peter Helton sickly with consumption, dying three weeks after his father’s return. Exasperated by this failure, the young Wilhelmina was shunned by her father and accused of sucking the life out of her weak brother and mother, indirectly causing their deaths, whereafter she was sent abroad for foreign education.

After nearly a decade passed, Wilhelmina finally persuaded her father to allow her to return to the mainland. She was greeted with a lackluster homecoming but found fast friends in her cousins, Lorena Annabelle and Theodora Angelica, as well as an Auvergnian courtier by the name of Charles du Chatres. Wilhelmina, having spent much of her developmental years among foreign company, spoke almost exclusively Waldenian. Her cousins made quick work of her nonetheless. With the aid of a slew of Kaedreni tutors, they educated the sweet-faced Helvetii in the tongues of Common and High Imperial alike. Much to her chagrin, however, this left her with a slight accent that would not abate no matter how hard she worked to expel it.

Titles, Styles, and Honors

Titles and Styles

• 2nd of Sigismund’s End, 1760 - 12th the First Seed, 1780: Her Ladyship, Wilhelmina of Cathalon
• 12th the First Seed, 1780 - 13th the Amber Cold, 1787: Her Imperial Highness, The Duchess-consort of Furnestock
• 13th the Amber Cold, 1787 - 10th of the Sun’s Smile, 1814: Her Imperial Highness, The Duchess-consort of Helena and Furnestock
• 10th of the Sun’s Smile, 1814 - Present: Her Ladyship, Wilhelmina of Cathalon

Issue

Name	Birth	Death	Marriage	Notes
Lucius Maximinus Helane	1798	N/A	Princess Georgiana Beatrix of Aldersberg	Only child of Augustus Helane and Wilhelmina. Originally baseborn, however his father would have Lucius legitimized shortly after he was born.
Kazimir Nikolai Ostrovich-Helvets	1802	N/A	Unwed	Illegitimate child of Ostromir I, Count of Dobrov and Wilhelmina.
Josefina Magdalena Barrow	9th of the Deep Cold, 1810	N/A	Rainier Timothée FitzPeter	Firstborn illegitimate daughter of Prince Franz, Duke of Schattenburg and Wilhelmina. She is Yasmina's twin sister.
Yasmina Franziska Barrow	9th of the Deep Cold, 1810	N/A	Unwed	Secondborn illegitimate daughter of Prince Franz, Duke of Schattenburg and Wilhelmina. She is Josefina's twin sister.
Adalina Sabine Barrow	11th of the Sun’s Smile, 1818	Missing since 1819, presumed deceased	Unwed	Thirdborn illegitimate daughter of Prince Franz, Duke of Schattenburg and Wilhelmina.