Oscar V

Oscar V, originally Oscar Thórsvir and commonly known as Oscar the Great or the Peoples' Monarch, was the King of Anföra between February 27, 1848, upon the death of his father, Richard IV of Anföra, at the battle and April 11, 1943, the day of his death.

Oscar V was born in Stockholm, on June 1, 1836, during times of upheaval in the Unglish Empire and Anföran Stockholm. Anföra, known as Huldanföra (Anforan Swedish for Free Anfora, or Good Anfora) during its time under occupation and commonly until at least the Great Wars of the 1860s, was increasingly opposed to attacks on its language, culture and remaining sovereignty by the old Emperor Sebastian II. When martial law was imposed in 1845 on occupied Anforan territories, Oscar's father, the then-King Richard IV, led a revolt against them, with Oscar moved to Berlin so that he could be taught. There, he learnt several languages (Anforan Swedish, Saxon, Unglish, Latin and English).

During February 1848, the Unglish had realised that an increasingly threatening revolution was about to occur in Berlin, with the movement of the Crown Prince and the increased military presence in Berlin itself. This led to the new Emperor, Maximilian I, leading a charge straight at the defences of Berlin. Richard IV had no choice but to distract, with the rest of his army mostly unarmed, and successfully defended the city singlehandedly, taking down 39 Unglish soldiers - but losing his own life. This meant that Oscar V was appointed, just 12 years of age, as King - without his father. Even according to his own accounts and quotes, this had a marked effect on the new King, having lost his father at such a tender age.

Oscar V became a figurehead of children across the country who had lost their parents - and the regency, mostly led by the widow and the King Mother Elizabeth, did its best to increase morale by showing the young King grow up during the Wars of Independence. Within a few years, and with Oscar mature enough to make serious decisions ("By the time that the Unglish were subjugated, I was most certainly old enough to lead the country" - Oscar V, in a 1930s interview), he decided that the Anforan army would not retreat to traditional borders - a decision that would later prove pivotal in forcing Maximilian's hand on numerous occasions. On February 27, 1851, the third anniversary of his father's death, Ungland surrendered, and Oscar again denied the Unglish Empire anything south of the advance known as the "1855 Line".

After the Great Wars and later the Anforo-Russian Wars - during a period Oscar himself referred to as a "dark period in our country's mostly bright history" - Oscar had grown into an elder statesman prematurely, already seen as a figure of Anfora's eternal struggle for freedom and for supremacy over Ungland in particular, which remained "a thorn in my side", by the late 1860s. By the age of 50, Oscar V had become an immensely popular monarch, thanks to his eloquence and experiences as well as the story of his father - whom he accredited for giving him "any skills I possess in leading the country". He is credited as the primary reason that the monarchy still exists to this day, and is often known today as Oscar the Great.

He died in 1943, aged 106 years of age, of natural causes, his final words being a reply to his grandson and sons, saying "I have every faith that the people of Anfora will forever remember the energy, passion, solidarity and reserve my people had, and the sacrifices they gave for the nation in tough times and in good times, and I have every faith that they will continue to possess it when it becomes essential to life and the country itself - and I am, in death, forever be grateful for what they have given me in life."