Originally Posted by
Henry
Dear Electors,
It is with great sadness that I write to you at this time. My father, our Emperor, Heinrich has passed away peacefully. Our Empire mourns his loss.
It is no secret that I did not agree with everything my father did. And it is a source of great sadness to me that he should depart with us unreconciled. But history will record him as having made the first steps towards re-asserting the power and the predominance of our Empire after it fell so far during the Investiture Crisis. At our low point, we numbered only six provinces. Now, we have nineteen. I think those two numbers tell more about my father's achievements than any long-winded eulogy from me could do.
With my inaugaration as Emperor, there are a number of administrative matters that need to be clarified.
Firstly, with my absence on Crusade, there is the question of who will chair the Diet. I propose to create the office of a Diet Speaker who will keep order. He will speak and act only on procedural matters. Any substantive matters of policy or advice, I will convey only by letter to the Diet. I would ask you to accord the Diet Speaker the respect and authority befitting his post, just as you would to me if I were to Chair the Diet in person.
Secondly, it will be known to you already that my successor will be Jobst von Salza. It is an open secret that my father groomed the late Sigismund the Chivalrous to be the next inline after me. At the time, this choice puzzled some of us, just as some of my father's other decisions puzzled some of us. However, yet again, history bore out my father's judgement and showed Sigismund to be an exemplary figure. And here, I mean no disrespect to my brother, Duke Leopold or my own fine son, Hans. In turn, Sigismund adopted Jobst von Salza as his successor. Alas, Sigismund was too good for this world but we must honour his wishes and recognise Jobst von Salva as the new Prince and heir to the throne. Prince Jobst will deputise whenever the Diet Speaker is sick or otherwise unable to attend to his duties.
Thirdly, with my inauguration, the post of Duke of Swabia falls open. With some regret, I must leave my stead in Staufen and relocate my household in Rome. I have also thought of who should rule the Duchy of Swabia. I confess, Electors, that I believe combining the office of Duke and Prince may be to the detriment of both. Whoever holds both offices faces a conflict of interest - vigorously pursue the interests of Swabia or act with restraint so as to avoid facing enemies in other Houses when he becomes Emperor. Consequently, even though Prince Jobst is clearly the most qualified man for the post of Duke of Swabia, I have decided not to assign the title to him.
I have also considered passing on the title to my son, Hans, who has recently come of age. However, although Hans is a fine young man, he is still young and moreover is coming with me on crusade; his destiny, I believe lies in the Holy Land. Swabia, I feel, needs a man back home in the Empire to help defend her against the French invasion. Consequently, I look instead at my son in law, Ulrich von Hummel. As all Swabians know, Ulrich has worked behind the scenes for the Duchy, facillitating our private meetings. Some even say he is the reincarnation of Sigismund, although now in a darker, more dreadful and vengeful form. I recognise Ulrich is largely untested. Therefore, I am appointing him only the Steward of Swabia. Before he can be Duke, I task him with this duty - reclaim Metz from the French! If he can do this, and hold all Swabia's other territories, I will promote him from Steward to Duke. If he fails to do this by the next Diet, I may reconsider his position as Steward.
I hope that the Diet will understand and respect the above decisions, which I sincerely believe will be for the good of the Empire.
Yours
Henry
Re: Imperial Diet II
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