Eadgyð II
| Eadgyð II | |
|---|---|
 Portrait (1843) | |
| Queen of Tretrid | |
| Tenure | April 27, 1802 – December 14, 1860 |
| Predecessor | Bada II |
| Successor | Eadmund IV |
| Born | May 21, 1780 Celano, Kingdom of Seccera |
| Died | December 14, 1860 (aged 76) Cynebury, Tretrid |
| Issue | |
| House | Cenhelm |
| Father | Bada II |
| Religion | Gothiric Ulvriktruar |
Eadgyð II, also known as Eadgyð the Ship-Bearer, was Queen of Tretrid from April 27, 1802 until her death in 1860. Her reign saw Tretrid undergo massive societal, political, industrial, and military change, and as a whole constitutes the 'Edithine era' in Tretridian history.
Eadgyð was the first daughter of King Bada II. After the assassination of her older brother Prince Osmund by a Gustafic zealot in 1796, Eadgyð II became heir apparent to Tretrid after Bada II proclaimed the Pragmatic Sanction of 1796, which served to split the succession of the Cenhelming monarchy between Eadgyð II, then aged 16, and her 15-year-old brother Prince Ælfræd, who became the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Seccera. Eadgyð quickly distinguished herself as a vigorous and competent administrator despite her young age and became the effective regent of Tretrid in 1799 due to her father's declining health. She also corresponded heavily with political thinkers, most notably Heanric Wilhelmesunu, throughout West Novaris and worldwide as Crown Princess, where her letters have shown a keen interest in the purposes and structures of government along with a growing affinity for liberalism.
When she inherited the throne after her father's death in 1802, Eadgyð II found herself on the throne of a monarchy wracked with profound instability as the result of the expenses of fighting the Ulvriktruar Wars of Religion. She instituted governmental reforms upon taking the throne and assembled a team of political allies to determine how best to restabilize the government. The result of this was the 1804 Charter of Privileges, which codified many systems of government and radically reformed others and effectively turned Tretrid into a constitutional monarchy. The Charter of Privileges, along with what would become the even more radical Declaration of Rights and Obligations in 1805, sparked the Charter War as much of West Novaris reacted to what they feared to be a liberal wave sparked by Tretrid.
After the Charter War, Eadgyð stepped back from the roles of government that the Charter largely reserved for the Witenagemot and assumed a role she described as the 'guarantor of the constitution,' though she continued to manage Tretrid's foreign and military policies. Under her leadership, Tretrid became an imperial power with a worldwide military and economic reach. She spearheaded a massive shipbuilding program to challenge Lapinumbian naval supremacy, which would eventually lead to the Tretridio-Lapinumbian War after her death. She also led Tretrid through the Volscine-Celanoran War and the Northern Containment War, where the rapidly growing and modernizing Tretridian navy would play major roles. She would also lead Tretrid into the first years of the Secceran Crown War.
Eadgyð II died in 1860 and was the last monarch of the agnatic line of the House of Cenhelm. She was succeeded by her son Eadmund IV of the House of Cenhelm-Žavosl.