Filippo III of Fidenza

Filippo III Antonio (9th April 1657 - 12th December 1714), known as the Prudent, was a monarch of the House of Visconti who reigned as King of Fidenza and Milan from the death of his elder brother, King Emmanuele II, in 1678 until his own death in 1714. His reign was a period of social upheaval between the 17th and 18th Centuries, as well as a great period of reform and cultural development in Fidenza.

He was born the fourteenth child of King Francesco V, yet through many tragedies in the House of Visconti he found himself as King of Fidenza. He was known to be weak minded and easily manipulated, yet his reign was a period of great growth and prosperity for the Kingdom. The economy prospered during the reign of Filippo III, and trade profit doubled. It was also through his Kingdom's military strength that the House of Visconti was installed to the throne of Spain.

Birth
Filippo Antonio was born on April 9th, 1657 to King Francesco V and his wife, the Queen Lamberta. He was the couple's fourth child, yet King Francesco's fourteenth. The King's first wife, Archduchess Maria Carlotta of Austria, had produced him no living heirs and as such he remarried upon her death. By the time of his birth, his father was aged 58. He had an elder brother, Emmanuele Vittorio (who became Emmanuele II), and one elder sister by the time of his birth. He also had two elder half-sisters, both already adults and married off. The birth was celebrated by the nation, as King Francesco finally had another healthy son. He was baptised the same day as his birth, at the Palace Chapel in Rome.

Childhood
Prince Filippo was given a modest upbringing, and was named Count of Mantua by his father. He was brought up alongside his elder brother, Emmanuele, who was warm and loving toward his new brother. His elder half sisters chose to visit following his birth, the eldest of which being fourty at the time of Filippo's birth. These elder half sisters, the Queen of Spain and the Duchess of Apulia, were said to have reacted tenderly toward their new brother. The Duchess commented, "Strange, isn't it? How closely we're related yet how far apart we are", pronouncing the age gap between the Prince and his sisters.

He had a happy and pleasurable childhood at the court of Francesco V. His mother, Queen Lamberta, was a kind and loving woman who doted on her youngest son. He spent much of his time with her, contrary to court protocol. He was given the same tutors and governesses as his elder brother Emmanuele, and received an excellent education on military strategy, rulership and courtesy. From a young age, his tutors noted his weak mind and indolent nature. His governor Amadeo Barberini, the Prince of Palestrina, commented; ''"The young Prince does not possess a prowess like his brother does. He is timid and gentle, shows little enthusiasm for military matters, and is incredibly easy to manipulate". ''The King was incredibly disappointed with his son, who was so unlike himself that there was almost no resemblance apart from in appearance. Filippo grew to be intelligent and well-read, and enjoyed pursuits such as music, history and languages. He would learn French, Spanish, English and even some Latin alongside his main language of Italian. In some ways, he surpassed his elder brother in sharpness of mind yet was incapable of putting his intelligence to good use.

Adolescence
Filippo grew strong for his age, and he grew taller than most of his contemporaries. Disinterested in martial ability and physical pursuits, however, Filippo became deeply interested in scholarship and study. He would often scour the libraries of Rome for any old tomes or passages he could find and would do his best to interpret or translate them. The Crown Cardinal, the Cardinal of Milan, would become an unofficial tutor of the young Prince, as he chose to spend much of his time helping him with his scholarly pursuits. His father was continually disappointed with his son's direction in life, as Francesco V was not particularly interested in reading or learning. He had his forte on the battlefield, and held a disdain for the fact that Filippo had not followed the same path. He confronted his son when he was thirteen, and forbade Filippo from following a clerical path. As the second-in-line for the throne, and the dynastic weakness of House Visconti, Francesco V hastily began scouring Europe for worthy matches. He would, however, be mostly unsuccessful.

Reign of King Emmanuele II and Marriage
King Francesco V, the Soldier-King of Fidenza, died at the age of 73 as a result of injuries from battle outside Basel, Switzerland. By this time, Filippo was aged 16. Bells rang out in Rome, Milan, Napoli and all other major cities in mourning for the Soldier-King. His elder brother, Emmanuele, became known to the Kingdom as Emmanuele II Vittorio, King of Fidenza and Milan. This made Filippo heir presumptive to the throne as the King was yet unwed. He appeared alongside his brother on the balcony of the Palazzo Reale as the crowds of Roman citizens gathered outside to see their new King. A great cheer ascended from the crowds as they appeared, a moment Filippo would later describe as; ''"The day childhood ended". ''With his knowledge, he became a trusted advisor and friend to his brother. His brother made him Marquis of Montferrat shortly after his ascension, and Filippo became an important figure at the court. Although he became the court favourite to his brother, he was never ambitious enough to exploit the position for benefit. His humility and devotion to duty kept him from exploiting the King's trust. Filippo soon fell in love with the young Countess of Palermo, Francesca Giovanna di Palermo. She was three years his senior, yet they were both infatuated with each other. Soon afterward, Filippo went to the King to ask for permission to marry Francesca. The King was reluctant, yet respected his brother's wishes. They were married in a minor ceremony at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, in a ceremony conducted by the Cardinal Verona. There was, however, opposition to the match at court. The religious and traditional court which still lingered from the traditional reign of Francesco V was opposed to the idea of the heir presumptive choosing his own match. They also disliked the idea of a fuss being made over Filippo's match, while the King was as yet unwed. Many members of the House of Visconti had refused to attend the wedding, showing their opposition to the match. Despite the opposition, King Emmanuele II did attend the ceremony. Now wed, Filippo set upon building a large and wholesome family, to ensure a peaceful continuation of the House of Visconti and a large Royal Family to prevent any succession crises. This period was the time Filippo considered the best in his life.

His happiness, however, would not last. Francesca suffered through an extremely difficult pregnancy throughout late 1674. She was bedridden for much of the pregnancy, and eventually on the 17th of January 1675 she delivered a one month premature son at the Palazzo Reale. The midwives were at first confident that the child could survive, though the crowded and stuffy birthing chamber created huge issues for the Princess. She passed out numerous times, and despite Filippo and Emmanuele II's efforts, the room became too frenzied to effectively clear. The small chamber was so packed with courtiers that it became impossible to move around. Guards were eventually forced to enter to clear the room. By the time the room was cleared and air was flowing again, it was too late. Francesca was dying, and an incredibly sickly son was barely being kept alive by the efforts of the midwives. Francesca died in the early afternoon of the 17th, and their young son would die during the early hours of the 18th. Following these tragedies, Filippo took time away from public life and mourned quietly. Nonetheless, he still had a duty, and Emmanuele II persuaded him to take a new wife later that year. He was married to the young Isabelle Marie of France, daughter of King Louis XIV. They would go on to have twelve children together, one of whom would become Pope.

Death of Emmanuele II and Ascension
King Emmanuele II died in 1678 following a hunting accident, in which a stray bullet hit him and sent him flying from his horse. He died almost instantly. At first, the succession seemed clean. Emmanuele II had left no issue, and so Filippo would succeed him as Filippo III Antonio. The problem arose, however, when a few weeks later Emmanuele II's widow, Maria, was found to be pregnant. The discovery split the court into two factions, those supporting the right of Filippo III to the throne and those supporting the unborn child of Emmanuele II, regardless of gender. This mostly arose due to the amount of enemies Filippo had built up at court, due to envy over his position as the King's favourite. Others believed that the right of the former King's child was the most honourable thing to do, and expected Filippo to renounce the throne in the child's favour. Filippo, however, would not do this. He believed that if he was to renounce the throne, the nobles would scheme and plot and change the Kingdom however they wished. That was, after all, the motivation for many of the nobles to support the unborn child.

Filippo was always easily influenced. During the crisis, he came under the influence of Francesco Giuseppe, Duke of Calabria, who became his first prominent court favourite. He also appointed Calabria to the position of Royal Chancellor, at the same time disenfranchising his previous Chancellor, the loyal Lamberto d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. The death of the immensely popular Emmanuele II shook the nation in more ways than one, and this new sweeping change under his successor let to agitation. A group, calling themselves the "King Emmanuele Loyalists" rose up in Modena, determined to overthrow King Filippo and place Emmanuele's as yet unborn child on the throne, with a regency established. It soon became apparent that the "King Emmanuele Loyalists" were being funded by noble parties, as the amount of equipment they had was strange for a peasant mob. Filippo began becoming suspicious of his court, for fear that one who expressed public loyalty was behind closed doors plotting his downfall.

Succession Crisis
The indecisive Filippo spent hours pondering the issue of succession. He wished no harm to come to the child of his beloved brother, yet still he saw the risk in handing off the crown to an infant and allowing the nobles to take control to mould and destroy the Kingdom as they saw fit. He knew that many Fidenzan nobles would enjoy a return to the days when Italy was divided, and dukes were their own sovereigns. He knew they longed back to a time when there was no King to pay taxes to. While the King dithered, Calabria worked in the shadows to remove the issues. Soon, rumours of murder and blackmail began to trickle through the court, though later the spreaders of these rumours would disappear too. Calabria insisted, with the approval of Filippo, that Emmanuele II's widow should be kept under house arrest at the Palazzo Barberini in order to prevent another attempt at flight from her. She had grown restless and paranoid since her husband's death, as well as the posthumous discovery of her pregnancy.

Despite assuming effective absolute rule of the Kingdom, Calabria was nothing if not a Visconti loyalist.

[WIP]