Victor Loses Faith of Windenburgian People
Recent popularity polls conducted in Windenburg show that the majority of the people hate Victor as their monarch!
(Long post, sorry)
Popularity polls are held all the time in many different monarchies across the globe. They're conducted by independant groups and news organizations as a way the gauge how the public is feeling about a particular public figure at any given time- especially royal ones that we don't get to vote for. Well, a recent poll was conducted in Windenburg that managed to ask over 50% of Windenburg's 80 million citizens, and the results don't look good...for Victor.
Only 1% of the citizens polled said they actually loved Victor as their monarch! No monarch in the history of Windenburg has ever scored so low! Of course, what does that mean for a representative we the people have no control over, no way to vote them out? Well, the questions were phrased like this:
"How do you feel about Emperor Victor as your Monarch? Love, Hate, or Indifferent to?"
"How do you feel about the Windenburgian Royal Family, excluding Victor and his two most recent wives, focusing on the original family of Queen Agathe, Prince Jonas, Prince Eugene, and Princess Emma? Love, Hate, or Indifferent to?"
Only 1% of those polled said they loved having Victor as their monarch, whereas 89% of those polled said they still loved the royal family, excluding Victor. That's a huge gap in popularity!
74% of citzens polled said they hated Victor, where only 5% said they hated the rest of the Royal Family.
And finally, 25% said they were indifferent to Victor, and only 6% said they were indifferent to the rest of the royal family.
What a huge blow for Victor!
(Queen Agathe, Victor's first wife, the highest ranking of all the Windenburgian Royals)
Citizens were also asked follow up interview questions after completeing the polls, and there may be hope for the monarchy yet!
Windenburgians were asked if they could vote to change the system, would they vote for a complete end of the monarchy in Windenburg, or would they vote to oust Victor and replace him with another member of the royal family? 92% of those polled said they were replace Victor with another member of the Royal family if they could, instead of completely erasing monarchy in Windenburg.
(Prince Eugene, next in line for his grandfather's throne, sits at number 3 in the polls, behind his grandmother, Queen Agathe, and surprisingly his uncle, Prince Jonas)
Finally- those who were polled against Victor were asked what the major deciding factors were for their vote. The answers won't surprise you.
(Left: The late Crown Princess Martha remained steadfastly at the #1 spot of popular royals until her passing. Right: Martha and her husband, Albert, Duke Windslar, holding their younngest child, Princess Edaline)
Number one on the voters minds that turned them against Emperor Victor, was his supposed treatment of his daughter and heir- Crown Princess Martha. Rumors have been flying that it was Victor who demanded the Crown Princess continue to try to have more children (sons) even after her doctors advised against it after her difficult pregnancy with Princess Emma. The people (and allegedly Queen Agathe) blame the Emperor for the death of the Crown Princess, who used to be the #1 favorite polled member of the royal family. Though there's no proof for it, rumors can be dangerous...
(Left: Victor marries Lady Adelheid, a young woman more than 40 years his junior. Right: Victor marries long-time mistress, Ms. Isabella Bray, legitimizing their two sons)
The number two reason citizens hate Victor is his Polygamy- or more acurately- his discarding of his first wife, Queen Agathe, for younger wives or those who could give him more sons. Queen Agathe, who has comfortably sat at the #2 spot in the polls for most of her marriage to Victor, has a huge following of support in Windenburg. After the passing of her daughter, Crown Princess Martha, Agathe has easily moved up to the #1 spot for her dedication to her children and grandchildren, her numerous charitable donations, and her devotion to the Church of Windenburg. Victor's seeming abandonment of her in Sulani after Martha's death has only fueled the people's devotion to her more. They believe she has been wronged, and deserves justice.
(Top: Liberation of Tartosa, where Prince Jonas was taken prisoner by the Simsdom Empire. Middle: Liberation of Sulani, where Queen Agathe, Duke Albert, Princess Edaline, Prince Eugene, and Princess Mathilda were captured by the Simsdom Empire. Bottom: Victor's "new" family- a daughter with Empress Adelheid, and two sons with Queen Isabella)
The third reason is that Victor has seemingly abandoned his "first" family- the family had by his first wife, Queen Agathe. The people's loyalty to Agathe spills over into her offspring, and they also feel betrayed by Victor. For a man who claims to put family first above all else, family and tradition, the second his family is taken by the Simsdom Empire as PoW, he just moves on to newer models- namely, Princess Margarette from Empress Adelheid, and Princes Antony and Austin from Queen Isabella. What does he need the old family for, when he has new ones, new sons, that aren't in captivity by the Simsdom Empire? The people wonder if Victor has any loyalty at all...
(Prince Antony donating 1 million dollars to the Simsdom War Effort, pictured with Tsarina Ekaterina and Crown Princess Ophelia)
The final straw was an event that only occured this week- one of Victor's newest members of the family, Prince Antony, was seen very publicly donating a huge sum of money to the Simsdom Imperial War Effort, and giving a speech about fighting against tyrrany and oppression that was clearly about Victor. Those who were polled wonder about, not just Victor's loyalty to his family, but his family's loyalty to him. If Victor can take an illegitimate son with no title, and raise him up to a prince, putting him in the line of succession ahead of his "natural born" son, Prince Jonas, and still that son chooses to side with Victor's enemy? What does that say about Victor and how he treats his family? Is he just a cruel as the rumors say?
(Princess Emma, who Victor had shipped off to Newcrest to live with the usurpers there)
After everything, it's no wonder the people have lost faith in their monarch. He seems to do whatever he pleases whenever he pleases, with no regard for anyone besides himself. Victor needs to act fast to regain their trust and respect or the people may end this war themselves... with a guillotine!