Treachery of royalty

It is generally acknowledged that the death of King Byrne III was not as straight forward as it was reported at the time. The young king was found brutally stabbed to death in his chamber by guards who after mobilising the militia conducted a thorough search of the royal compound where they found the assassin.

It is reported that the day before his trial, the assassin was killed by a guard who through grief could contain his feelings no longer. I will hope to show that there were other factors in the murder of King Byrne III.

To start, we must look at Queen Biyrene I. After the death of her husband King Byrne II she took control of the Kingdom until her son, King Byrne III came of age. It was no secret that at this time she took Lord Piscarilius as her consort who fathered her daughter Queen Biyrene II.

At the time of the death of King Byrne II, Lord Piscarilius also held the position of Lord of Intelligence and as such responsible for the spy network in Kourend. This position he held until his death and was subsequently passed on to his son.

It is also known that Queen Biyrene I was loathe to give up the throne to her son. As she said in her speech, 'If t'were not a requirement within the law of my departed husband, I would finish the work for this kingdom that I have started.'

If we take into account Queen Biyrene I's desire to remain on the throne and her relationship with Lord Piscarilius, who had the ability to arrange an assassination through the spy network, we see an intriguing plot developing.

Finally, let us look at the death of the assassin who was caught for the murder of King Byrne III. King Byrne III was a mediocre king. He was not in power long enough to create any strong sense of adoration and had not achieved anything of note during this short time. When combined with the lack of public display of the body of the assassin as would have been normal in those times, I am left with the conclusion that the death of the assassin never took place.