throne, becoming King in 1992. After nearly twenty-five years on the throne, he experiences a midlife crisis (owing to his lack of agency both in becoming and being King, his unhappy marriage and a monotonous series of trivial public engagements) and intends to abdicate during his Silver Jubilee. Queen Katarina (played by Sally Phillips) stymies his plan by clandestinely leaking it to the press, wishing to remain Queen. After Alastair, the Prince of Wales, comes out as gay and creates a succession crisis (since no one other than the homophobic Duke of Cumberland would willingly become monarch), Henry IX retains the throne. However, almost immediately, his secret relationship with the royal florist is uncovered by the tabloid press. Her Majesty's American by Steve White Maurice I: The only son of William III and Mary II, he becomes king at the age of thirteen in 1702, born one year after the Glorious Revolution. His birth and reign ensures that British monarchs would concurrently hold the title of Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. William V: His reign saw the outbreak of the First American Rebellion in 1775 with rapprochement bringing about the creation of the Viceroyalty of North America in 1781. Maurice II: Mentioned as being king sometime during the early-nineteenth century. William VII: Adopts the titles Emperor of North America and Emperor of India following the Second American Rebellion and the Great Mutiny respectively. Elizabeth IV: The namesake of a Regal Lines interstellar passenger liner. House of Cards In the British political satire To Play the King, the second book (and TV series) in the House of Cards trilogy by Michael Dobbs, an unnamed King takes the throne. Critical of the Conservative government's social policies, he goes up against the utterly ruthless and unscrupulous Prime Minister Francis Urquhart as an unofficial leader of the opposition but is ultimately undone and forced to abdicate. The novel diverges in many ways from the TV series and carries the suggestion that after abdicating the ex-King would go into politics and seek to be elected Prime Minister. At the end of To Play The King, the King's son is crowned and during The Final Cut is depicted performing monarchical duties. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons William XXIII of the Kingdom of Windsor-in-Exile Also called "Sad King Billy" King on Asquith, a planet traditionally held by his kingdom Sells Asquith in order to settle on the