Willem IV of Laeland

Willem (Willem Alfred; 3 January 1927 – 4 April 2017) has been the King regnant of the Kingdom of Laeland since 2 May 1977, when his father, Willem III, abdicated.

Willem passed away on 4 April 2017, aged 90, after a reign of nearly 40 years. He was the oldest-reigning and longest-reigning monarch in Laeish history. His reign was characterised by the rapid development and modernisation of Laeland's economy, society and politics.

Early life and education
Willem IV was born HRH Prince Willem Alfred of Laeland on 3 January 1927 at Noordeinde Palace in Den Haag, Laeland. He was the only son, and eldest child, of Willem, Prince of Liège and his wife Evelien, Princess of Liège. Willem Alfred's four godparents were King Willem I, Queen Elisabet of Laeland, Juriaan Wiebinga and Anna Wiebinga. Willem Alfred's only other sibling, his younger sister Princess Amelia, was born in 1931. To distinguish him from other people in the past named "Prince Willem", as a child he was always called Willem Alfred.

Public education
The then Prince Willem Alfred was the first Royal to not be educated entirely at home. From 1932 until 1938, Willem attended the Oosterhuis Nursery and Private Primary School. From the age of 11 in 1938 he attended the prestigious Prince Frédéric Gymnasium (high school) in Korterhoven. Upon turning 18 on 3 January 1945, Willem Alfred became entitled under the Constitution of Laeland, to assume the Royal Prerogative and become a member of the Council of State (Raad van State in Laeish). Willem Alfred also graduated from Prince Frédéric Gymnasium in May 1945. Following on from the example of Willem Alfred, all younger generations have been enrolled and educated in the same private school system.

In September 1945, Prince Willem Alfred enrolled in Leiden University where he studied economics, law, history and languages. He graduated with full honours in 1948.

Military service
In 1948, after completing university, Willem Alfred began attending the Royal Military Academy (Koninklijke Militaire Academie) at Breda, Laeland. There he trained to be an officer in the Garderegiment Fuseliers Koning Leopold regiment. He graduated the academy as a Second Lieutenant and immediately began serving with the Laeland Royal Army (Koninklijke Landmacht). Throughout his attendance at the academy Prince Willem Alfred was known as "Officer Cadet de Leeuw" (his family name being de Leeuw).

Prince Willem's service with the LKL ended in 1962, when he was aged 35. His 14 years of service was longer than that of any other Royal, and he had attained the rank of Brigadier (Brigade-Generaal in Laeish).

Prince of Liège
Willem Alfred became Prince of Liège (Laeish: Prins van Luik) in 1938, aged 11, when his father became King. As Prince of Liège, Willem Alfred was a member of the Council of State, the highest council to the Laeish government. As part of his Royal duties, he held commissions in the Royal Navy (Koninklijke Marine) as a Commodore and in the Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht) as an Air Commodore.

From time to time, and on behalf of his father the King, the Prince of Liège would carry out various other representative duties.

Willem Alfred held the title Prince of Liège longer than any other person since the title entered into the Laeish Royal family in 1859. He held the title for a total of 39 years 139 days from 1938, when he was 11, to 1977 when his father's abdication in 1977, when Willem was 50.

Marriage and family
Willem Alfred continued his father's break with tradition, and refused to marry any member of foreign nobility. Instead, Willem Alfred married a Laeish 'commoner', Margriet Andries, on 7 April 1952 in Den Haag, the capital city of Laeland. Before marrying the Prince of Liège (and later King) Margriet had worked as a nurse.

Willem Alfred and Margriet had five children:

King of Laeland
On 2 May 1977, aged 50 years and 199 days old, Willem became King of Laeland when his father, Willem II, abdicated. Willem, like his father, is widely viewed as a moderniser of the monarchy. He approaches his role as King with informality but a high degree of professionalism. The monarchy under Willem remains popular, but in recent years some journalists and media companies have published "tabloid" stories, especially surrounding Willem's son Willem de Leeuw and his private life. Willem has often been quoted as privately criticising the "vulgarity" of the press intrusion into his son's life. However, most remain kind to the King and state that his family troubles simply show "he is one of us".

As King, Willem wields substantially more power than other reigning monarchs in Auralia. In domestic matters, he has little political say, and since 1994, the King has no longer held veto power over domestic laws. However, in international affairs, the King has more latitude.

Silver Jubilee
On 2 May 2002, Willem marked the Silver Jubilee (25th anniversary) of his accession. Events took place throughout Laeland and the King embarked on a five day tour of the country. Parties were held throughout the nation, culminating in several Jubilee Days in Laeland during May. One such party in Leeuwarden (the King's ancestral home) was surprised when the King arrived there without warning. Commemorative stamps were also issued. Several public locations and spaces were named in honour of the jubilee. A statue of the King on horseback in military regalia was unveiled in Den Haag.

Politics
As a constitutional monarch, Willem has not expressed his personal political opinions in a public forum, unlike his grandfather. Upon the landslide election of the socialist Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) in 1979, Laeish newspaper De Opreop quoted Willem (indirectly) as saying, "Thank God for that!" Media and Members of Parliament on the right criticised the King, but many more chose to criticise the newspaper for publishing such. The incedent was deflated when the Prime Minister of the day, Pieter Klooster, said during an interview, "Whatever feelings the King had towards the PvdA, he never showed them, not to me, not in public or private."

Since that time, Willem is rarely quoted directly in the press, since the King has never given an interview to either the press or other media outlets.

Religion
Willem was baptised in, and personally worships within, the Protestant Church in Laeland (Laeish: Protestantse Kerk in Laeland), and regularly attends services. Frequently, the King will add a personal note about his faith in the annual Royal New Year Message (Koninklijke Nieuwjaarse Bericht) broadcast to the nation.

Abdication
It is unknown whether Willem will follow in the footsteps of his father and abdicate. When he abdicated in 1977, Willem III was 74 years old. At the age of 82, Willem is currently the oldest reigning Laeish monarch. Those close to him have stated that the King has never seriously thought about abdication, but has considered it.

In November 2008 is was reported by the Laeland Independent Television (Laelandse Onafhankelijke Televisie, LOTV) that the King was planning to abdicate before the age of 85. This was subsequently denied by the Government Information Service (Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst). Ultimately, Willem reigned until his death and became the first monarch to die in office since his grandfather in 1938.

Health decline and death
Willem's health declined gradually and from 2014, he ultimately withdrew from almost all public duties, leading to rumours of abdication. This resulted in his heiress-apparent, Princess Margriet, taking over almost all of his duties. After continued memory and motor problems, the King was diagnosed with Lewy-body dementia and the palace announced the King would effectively all but abdicate. A rapid decline in health in 2016 saw the King hospitalised at the Militair Hospitaal in Noordeinde. His daughter, the Princess of Liège, immediately succeeded as Queen.

Willem died shortly after 22:00 on 4 April 2017 with his family by his side. The palace did not confirm the news until the following morning, though the news had been leaked to national media shortly before midnight. However, laws regarding state secrecy prevented national news from publicising or publishing the news. International news had no such restrictions.

The Prime Minister announced the traditional 10 day state of mourning for the nation. The state funeral of Willem, which was one of the most watched televised events in Laeish history, took place on 18 April 2017 and was attended by the Royal Family, members of the government, parliamentarians, and dignitaries from home and abroad. It was estimated up to 250,000 people lined the streets to watch the funeral cortège pass.

Personal wealth
Willem's personal fortune has been the subject of speculation for many years in Laeland. Various media outlets have estimated the amount to be between 400 and 500 million Laeish gulden, (between 97 and 122 million Auralian dollars) although this is purely speculative. The Laeish Royal Collection (Laelandse Koninklijke Collectie) is worth an approximate 34 billion gulden (8.3 billion Auralian dollars); however, it is held in trust for Willem's successors and the country as are two of the King's three official residencies.

Noordeinde Palace and Boswachterswoning House near Groningen are privately owned by the King, having inherited them from his father on his death. The King is the propetier of two farms, one in Flevoland and the largest in Noord-Holland. Together these farmlands provided the King a private income of 22.5 million gulden (5.5 million Auralian dollars) from April 2006 to April 2007. The King's third private residence was Zeejacht House near Haarlem, which he donated to the Laeish National Trust (Laelandse Nationalevertrouwen) in 2005 on condition he may still reside there. Although the official reason given for this was, "to curtail maintainance burdens on the State", some interpreted the move as a subtle disapproval of the tax changes to property that were then being considered.

Controversially, the King also owns stakes in the largest oil producer in Laeland, Gold Oil. His shares are publicly listed as being worth 5 billion gulden (1.2 billion Auralian dollars), all of which he gives to the Laeland treasury. In exchange for this the King is given a state salary for any and all duties he performs on behalf of the state.

Under the Laeish constitution, the monarch, their spouse, their heir and their heir's spouse, all receive budgets from the government, the other members of the Royal family do not. Currently only the King and the Princess of Liège receive a salary, as Willem's wife, Queen Margriet died in 1995, and the Princess of Liège's husband is privately employed and therefore rarely carries out state duties.

Titles and Styles
King Willem is officially titled
 * His Majesty Willem the fourth, by the Grace of God, of Laeland and his other territories King

In Laeish:
 * Zijne Majesteit Willem de vierde, door Gods Genade, van Laeland en zijne andere gebieden Koning

The "other territories" originally refered to those provinces that recognised Leopold I as their head of state, but were not then part of Laeland. Since that time, all those places have since been incorporated into Laeland and no longer constitute "other territories".

Custom dictates that when addressing the King of Laeland, you first use the term "Your Majesty" (Laeish: Uwe Majesteit) and thereafter use the term "Sir" (Laeish: Meneer). However, Willem is known for his informal approach to his office and often requests people simply refer to him as "Sir".

Past titles

 * 3 January 1927 - 14 December 1938: His Royal Highness The Prince Willem Alfred of Liège
 * 14 December 1938 - 2 May 1977: His Royal Highness Willem Alfred, Prince of Liège
 * 2 May 1977 - : His Majesty The King

Honours
Willem is the Grand Master of the Order of the Lion (De Leeuwsorde), the highest Order of Merit in Laeland. He is also the head of several other orders of merit in Laeland, and a member of several orders of merit in other nations around Auralia.

Arms

 * Main article: Royal Arms of Laeland

As the Monarch, Willem uses the Greater Coat of Arms of the Realm, (or "Grote Rijkswapen"). The components of the coat of arms were regulated by Frederik I in a Royal decree 21 October 1882. Every monarch since has used the same coat of arms.

Ancestry

 * See also: List of monarchs of Laeland

Willem is directly related to every monarch who has preceded him. He is descended from Leopold I, the first King of Laeland, through Leopold's granddaughter, Queen Elisabeth of Laeland. Her marriage to Prince Frédéric of Liège is the reason for the Royal family's name change from Vriesma to de Leeuw.

The current Royal house, the House of de Leeuw, is agnatically a cadet branch of the House of the House of Liège, one of Auralia's oldest Royal families. Since 1814, the House of Liège have not been heads of state to any region or nation. The majority of the House currently reside in Laeland.

Prime Ministers of Laeland during the King's reign
Since 1977, when Willem acceded to the throne, he has presided over six governments. The first elections with Willem as King, took place in May 1979. The Partij van de Werknemers won a landslide taking 79 of the 150 seats of the lower house of Parliament.