Johannes I of the Banat
 | This page has been superseded and is obsolete or decanonized, and it is retained primarily for historical interest or will be reworked to fit the current canon. |
- Replaced with Johannes von der Bellen
| Johannes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of the The Banat, Protector of all Banatians, Warden of the Theiß | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Heir apparent | Prince David, Duke of Baczka | ||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Reign | November 1, 1990–present | ||||||||
| Coronation | November 1, 1990 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Alexander II | ||||||||
| Consort | Princess Marie, Duchess of Neusatz | ||||||||
| Issue | Prince David, Duke of Baczka, Georg von der Bellen | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Royal family | House of von der Bellen | ||||||||
| Father | Alexander II | ||||||||
| Mother | Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Neusatz | ||||||||
| Religion | Lutheran Congregation of the Banat | ||||||||
Johannes Georg Karl Konrad von der Bellen (born 18 January 1944), stylized as Johannes I of the Banat is the fourth and reigning Prince of the Banat and Head of the Princely Armed Forces. He ascended on the throne on November 1, 1990, during the restoration of the monarchy, 24 years after his father, Alexander II. Johannes is the longest-reigning monarch of the Banat, not counting the exile years of his father, and his reign was the most stable in the country's history.
Johannes was born at the Occidental Palace as the first child of Prince Alexander II and Princess Elizabeth and is the grandson of the first Banatian monarch Alexander I, a Baltic German noble who led white troops in Pskov during the Russian Revolution. He is the current head of the House of von der Bellen, an influential family in the Banat and Sierra. He has completed his education in Sierra and was a special guest of the House of Columbia under Louis III. Entering politics, Johannes joined the Royalist Party of Sierra, and became a leading political figure in the Royalist Party. Eventually, a young Johannes was appointed Senator of the Gold Coast by Louis III, drawing some controversy due to his status as a foreign monarch in title. As a moderate yet effective royalist, he chaired the German Sierran Committee and the Foreign Intelligence Committee in the K.S. Senate and was one of the most important politicians for relations with German-speaking countries such as Superior, Germany and Austria, even surviving an assassination attempt in 1983.
In 1991, after the Banatian Revolution, Johannes was invited to retake the throne and restore the Banatian monarchy, which he did. An ally of Sierra and a decisive leader, he kept the country together during the Balkan Wars and survived another assassination attempt in 1993. His reign in the 2000s saw the Banat's accession to the EU, the adoption of the Euro as its currency, and large economical development due to Johannes' ties to Sierra. The king currently resides in Temeschburg, and is expected to stay in power until his death.
Biography
Early life and senatorial career
Crown Prince Johannes was born in Porciúncula, Sierra, to Prince Alexander II of the Banat and his wife, Elizabeth Csekonics at 02:23 AM on January 18th, 1944. He was their first child. He was born in the Occidental Palace's Nursery Room.
Johannes was baptized in the Porciúncula Protestant Cathedral, with his godparents being Johan II of Mariana and his wife, Maria Benedita de Braganza. The Prince is of Baltic German and Russian descent through his father and of Hungarian descent through his mother. He has a younger brother, Prince Konstantin, and a younger sister, Princess Diana, who were born in 1950 and 1946, respectively.
Johannes and his siblings grew up in Sierra, being guests of the Kings Louis II and Louis III of Sierra. After the assassination of Banatian Chancellor-in-exile Sever Bocu in 1953, Prince Alexander II decided to move the Princely Household and the Banatian government-in-exile to Mariana. However, Prince Johannes was allowed to continue his studies in Sierra, living in a guest wing of the Occidental Palace, only visiting his parents in the summers.
After graduating from Santa Monica High School, Johannes proceeded to study at the Mulholland University, living in a villa in Malibu, just outside Porciúncula, studying political sciences and history. However, on August 19th, 1966, his father Alexander II dies in the family's villa outside Ciutadella, Mariana. As per his father's wishes, the funeral of Alexander II was held at the Lighthouse of Cape Cavalleria on Menorca, his tombstone facing northeast towards the Banat.
As the new head of the royal household, Johannes moved back the royal household to a larger compound in Porciúncula, but continuing to live in the villa in Malibu. His siblings returned from Mariana as well, with Konstantin continuing his studies at Santa Monica High School and Diana pursuing an acting career in Hollywood.
After finishing a doctorate in political sciences, Johannes entered Sierran politics and became a prominent member of the Royalist Party. As a resident of the Gold Coast and Chairman of the German-Sierran Cultural Association, he became a Senator in the Gold Coast Senate and held incredible sway in the Royalist community. In 1978, he was appointed Senator of the Gold Coast for the parliament of all of Sierra by King Louis III, a move which deeply angered Democratic-Republicans in the Gold Coast.
At the urge of his government-in-exile, he married the royal Marie van Draak of Mariana, as to strengthen bonds between the two families and further the succession. However, the match was not just out of political gain, as the two were good friends since Marie's childhood. They married in 1976 and had a child in the same year, Crown Prince David. Their second child would come in 1979, Prince Georg.
In 1983, after a visit in Mondsichelhafen, Shasta for cultural purposes, Johannes was attacked and almost assassinated by radical Republicanist Vincent De Groet, who was arrested due to the failed assassination. Due to several wounds, he had to go through recovery, receiving extensive neural damage on his right hand, which still hasn't recovered fully until today. He subsequently continued his political career, taking part in the peace accords to solve the Troubles in the Styxie, a move interpreted as courageous and brave by fellow Royalists, who note the assassination attempt on his life at the hands of a Styxer.
Restoring of the Banatian Monarchy
In 1990, after the Banatian Revolution which toppled dictator Marianna Schmidt in the Banat, Prince Johannes, accompanied by his wife Marie, his children and his siblings, travelled to celebrate Christmas in the Banat, where they were greeted by an astonishing number of supporters. After a brief referendum, Johannes was crowned Prince of the Banat, and the Principality was reinstated. He resigned his position as a Gold Coast senator and assumed the throne, where he lead his country into the volatile political situation in neighboring Yugoslavia. His actions against the Yugoslav regime were praised by the West. In 1996, invited as a neutral observer, Prince Johannes observed the transfer of power in Palawan and Cuyo from Sierra to Hani.
After the reported invasion of the Baczka region of the Banat in 1992, the Prince authorized an incursion into the Serbian-held Vukovar area. The move was highly controversial at the time, due to the reputed Banatian neutrality, but the action taken was justified as a protection of Banatian sovereignity due to these incursions into Banat territory by Serbian paramilitary. The Prince survived a second assassination attempt by Serbian nationalist Jovan Ivanovic in Neussatz on the 2nd of February, 1993.