Nero married Britannicus' sister Octavia, who first had to be legally transferred to another family to obviate charges of incest. By this time it became clear that Nero was the unambiguous designate. His step-brother became more politically active following his marriage to Octavia: he exempted the people of Ilium from all public burdens arguing that Rome was descended from Troy through Aeneas (the founder of the Julian line), procured funds for the colony of Bononia (modern Bologna, Italy) which had been devastated by fire, and the people of Rhodes had their freedom restored. Meanwhile, Britannicus himself was kept in reserve in case Nero died, with deaths of princes being recent (such as Tiberius Gemellus). Though Nero was clearly the heir-designate, he was not named princeps designate to avoid hurting both Republican sentiment and the Augustan compromise of a principate that lay between monarchy and magistracy. Death of his father, Claudius Suetonius reports that Claudius wished Rome to have a "real Caesar", and Britannicus enjoyed support from Claudius' loyal and influential freedman, Narcissus. There are possible signs of support for Britannicus seen on coins from Moesia and North Africa, placing Britannicus' head and title on the obverse side. Claudius became aware of his wife's actions and began preparing for the end of her power. His father wished to bestow upon him the toga, and to declare Britannicus as his heir. According to Suetonius, when Claudius mentioned his intention to give Britannicus the toga of manhood he said, "That the Roman people may at last have a genuine Caesar." The actions Claudius took to preserve his rule in the short-term were not easily undone as Britannicus approached manhood. In late 54, Britannicus was within 6 months of reaching manhood by Roman tradition, and had matured early. According to the historian Suetonius, Claudius began to mention divorcing Agrippina and dismissing Nero now that he was no longer needed. Despite his many conflicts with Agrippina and demanding her ouster, Agrippina was still administering the empire as the very powerful and influential daughter of Germanicus and Roman Empress. Claudius commended both his son and adopted son to the Senate as equals in his last Senate address. Suetonius reports that Claudius now admonished his son to grow up quickly, implying that everything would be righted when he assumed the toga virilis. On 13 October 54, Claudius died, either by natural causes or poison. In the accounts