Prince Richard Kroshbon

Prince Richard of Austria (Richard Shipbreaker Kroshbon; 3 August 1723) is the brother to King Alexander I, and husband of Maria Theresa Bluefeather I. He was formerly Prince of Geneva and heir presumptive to the Swiss throne. He is also the younger brother of the current reigning King, Alexander, and son of the former King William the Great. Alongside his royal titles, he also served as both Acting Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior in the Swiss Cabinet. In a way, he had been seen as a sort of Deputy Prime Minister, and has, in the later months of 1750, seemingly taken over many of the responsibilities given to the Prime Minister, in light of the illness and weakened state of Lord Jozef Kohleschmied.

Early Life
Richard Kroshbon was born the 3rd of August 1723, as the first child of Lord Tyler Kroshbon and his newly-wed wife, Lady Lisa Seawinds-Raidfox. At this time of his birth, he was the second son of Lord Kroshbon, and was brought up to serve a military position. His father was the Head of the House of Kroshbon, a very influential noble house that had roots in Italy, and had previously held power in Britain, Ukraine, and France. His mother, Lisa, was the sister of esteemed British general and lord, John Raidfox, which allowed his father a prominent ally.

In 1731, at the age of eight, he accompanied his father and uncle, Rayne, to the Swiss Kanton of Bern, and was present when the lords of Bern bent the knee to King Rayne, and subsequently remained in Bern while his father and uncle conquered the remaining Kantons through both diplomacy and war.

Richard was created a Prince of Switzerland upon his uncle's acension to the throne, and would grow to become a noted swordfighter and fencer. He attended the University of Zurich at the behest of his father, and graduated in 1746. He served alongside his father in multiple campaigns over the years, and became a feared fighter.

Reign of King David
After his father's death, and under the reign of King David, Richard received the title of Lord, and lived at the ancestral Kroshbon family seat of Pripyat, as according to his father's will. He inherited a large fortune, and spent his time following the death of his father, both perfecting the art of fencing, as well as managing the Kroshbon Banking and Trade Institution, his grandfather's company.

He did not come to prominence until David had been ousted by Jon Scotsman of Prussia and Richard's half brother, Alexander. He was summoned to Koniz Castle in late 1748, a year after Alexander had taken the throne for himself, where he was appointed Prince of Geneva and the Crown Prince of Switzerland.

Acting Premiership
For more than a year, Richard played little more than a minor role in Swiss governance, and was mostly left to continue what he had been doing since 1746. However, in early 1750, prior to the Second Annual Elections, King Alexander issued a decree which handed much authority and power to the Prince of Geneva, to the point where it was considered a sort of minister-without-portfolio and held a position on the Cabinet. Richard was involved in Jon Kroshbon's cabinet for several months and would ultimately go on to become the second most influential official in Switzerland at Jon's resignation, only after Prince Samuel Clemente, the Minister of State and de facto Prime Minister.

With Prince Samuel's betrayal of Switzerland and the sparking of the June Crisis, Richard became the de facto Prime Minister and second in command of the Swiss Government, after King Alexander. He was a driving force behind the reestablishment of the Armed Guard. He would later go on to select the new Crown Officers alongside King Alexander in the Cabinet Reshuffle of August 1750.

He would stand in for the King as Prince-Regent several times for the King in the Fall of 1750, serving the realm to the best of his ability. He would eventually be sidelined from the succession in 1750, when Prince Ryan Kroshbon, the recently adopted son and heir to King Alexander was created the Prince of Geneva. Richard was made the Count of Valais following his replacement.

Titles and Styles
Richard used the official style of "Richard the First, By the Grace of God, Prince of Geneva and Lord of Pripyat. Heir to the Throne of Switzerland, Venice, Genoa, and Lucca" as crown prince. He would later be styled, "Prince Richard Kroshbon, Count of Valais" after being replaced in 1750.
 * 3 August 1723 - 13 April 1731: Mr. Richard Shipbreaker Kroshbon
 * 13 April 1731 - 17 August 1746: His Highness, Prince Richard Kroshbon
 * 17 August 1746 - 3 December 1748: Lord Richard Kroshbon
 * 3 December 1748 - 27 December 1750: His Royal Highness, the Prince of Geneva
 * 27 December 1750 - present: His Highness, Prince Richard Kroshbon, Count of Valais

He used the short style of "Your Highness", as all other members of the Royal family, besides the King and Crown Prince.

Honors and Arms

 * Member of the Order of St. Nicholas of Flue
 * Knighted by King Matthew II