Lord Phillip Rochester
Lord Phillip Rochester was born in 1551 to parents Lord Phillip and Lady Helen Rochester during the reign of King Edgar III. As a child, he was gregarious and outgoing, but enjoyed hard work and long hours spent toiling patiently at his studies or practicing his swordsmanship. Well-schooled in the classics as well as modern politics and history, Phillip's entire education was designed to prepare him to assume the duties of his father, Lord Phillip I, Duke of Andover. Fluent in three languages by the age of ten, Phillip often sat and conversed volubly with his tutor, Gregor Kinde, an aged scholar whose penchant for mustard toast and dead languages was unparalleled by anyone else in Phillip's young life.
Unlike his older sister, Elizabeth whose vivacious temper often got her into trouble with her elders, Phillip found approbation in his steady demeanor and inquisitive nature. Beloved by the people of Andover who prized their young lord as fair and practical, Phillip II held the promise of becoming a strong and capable Duke who would rule with strength of mind and spirit. However, Phillip was never to become Duke of Andover. Just as he came of age in 1575, the first land reforms were proposed and quickly passed by the third parliament in an effort to satisfy King Edgar III's thirst for absolute power as he sought to contain powerful families and solidify his own interests. As Edgar III dissolved powerful duchies and redrew existing fiefs, he created the Archduchy of Warwick to confer on his second son, the popular playboy Prince Harold and required all nobles to sign the Articles of Succession to legitimate the newly created title. These were troubling and difficult times: nobles who refused to sign the Articles of Succession were brutally tortured before being brought to trial and publicly beheaded. When presented with the Articles to sign, Phillip's father chose to make the difficult, but prudent decision to live, and to ensure the lives of his two children--Phillip and his sister, Elizabeth. In essence, this meant that Phillip would retain the title of Duke, but would agree to relinquish his rights to the Duchy of Andover in perpetuity. As a further seal of the crown's approval, Phillip would be graciously allowed to inherit his father's lesser titles, including the March of Rosechester and the counties of Sedgwick and Deaton, both of which would remain heritable. Though Phillip well understood the consequences for refusal to sign the Articles of Succession, he was embittered by his father's decision which he believed to be witless and cowardly. Having witnessed the public executions of Roger Teverson, third Duke of Burgundy, along with his compatriots William Royce, second Earl of Dorchester, and Thomas Sewell, fourth Earl of Marchand, Phillip resolved to regain his fortunes, and return the Duchy of Andover to the rightful Rochester line.
It was not an easy task, and certainly no one expected Lord Phillip to succeed in his quest to retake the Duchy of Andover. Shortly after signing the Articles of Succession, Phillip was called to court and was curtly informed that he would be wed to Lady Katherine Goldwater, his mother's second cousin, a woman he found to be boring and domestic, whose trivial concerns went no further than the pattern of her drapes or the cut of her dress.
Unlike his older sister, Elizabeth whose vivacious temper often got her into trouble with her elders, Phillip found approbation in his steady demeanor and inquisitive nature. Beloved by the people of Andover who prized their young lord as fair and practical, Phillip II held the promise of becoming a strong and capable Duke who would rule with strength of mind and spirit. However, Phillip was never to become Duke of Andover. Just as he came of age in 1575, the first land reforms were proposed and quickly passed by the third parliament in an effort to satisfy King Edgar III's thirst for absolute power as he sought to contain powerful families and solidify his own interests. As Edgar III dissolved powerful duchies and redrew existing fiefs, he created the Archduchy of Warwick to confer on his second son, the popular playboy Prince Harold and required all nobles to sign the Articles of Succession to legitimate the newly created title. These were troubling and difficult times: nobles who refused to sign the Articles of Succession were brutally tortured before being brought to trial and publicly beheaded. When presented with the Articles to sign, Phillip's father chose to make the difficult, but prudent decision to live, and to ensure the lives of his two children--Phillip and his sister, Elizabeth. In essence, this meant that Phillip would retain the title of Duke, but would agree to relinquish his rights to the Duchy of Andover in perpetuity. As a further seal of the crown's approval, Phillip would be graciously allowed to inherit his father's lesser titles, including the March of Rosechester and the counties of Sedgwick and Deaton, both of which would remain heritable. Though Phillip well understood the consequences for refusal to sign the Articles of Succession, he was embittered by his father's decision which he believed to be witless and cowardly. Having witnessed the public executions of Roger Teverson, third Duke of Burgundy, along with his compatriots William Royce, second Earl of Dorchester, and Thomas Sewell, fourth Earl of Marchand, Phillip resolved to regain his fortunes, and return the Duchy of Andover to the rightful Rochester line.
It was not an easy task, and certainly no one expected Lord Phillip to succeed in his quest to retake the Duchy of Andover. Shortly after signing the Articles of Succession, Phillip was called to court and was curtly informed that he would be wed to Lady Katherine Goldwater, his mother's second cousin, a woman he found to be boring and domestic, whose trivial concerns went no further than the pattern of her drapes or the cut of her dress.