Alfred I
King
Alfred Ernest Albert was the King of Canada from the nation's inception in 1867 until his death in 1900. At Canada's proclaimation, Alfred was the reigning Duke of Edinburgh and on a Royal Tour for his mother, Queen Victoria of Great Britain. Alfred did not arrive in Canada until 1870. Until then, the posts of Prime Minister and Governor General were essentially combined.
In that same year, Alfred signed a treaty with Oregon over the territorial disputes with the Northwest Territories. Alfred believed the Canadian military could not effectively press their claims against a better entrenched Oregon.
Alfred worked to united Canada into a union. Newfoundland remained under the dominion of Britain, and Nova Scotia was arguing to succession. Alfred accepted te appointment of John A. Macdonald in 1870. Though Macdonald disagreed with the king on the Oregon question, he worked dilligently to bring the kingdom together. However, much of these efforts were detrimental to the First Nations people. While Alfred did nothing to stop these measures, it is questionable if the constituion allowed for his intervention. Macdonald would hold the position until his party lost the elections of 1873.
In 1874, Alfred married Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Romanov. This was against the protests of not only Canada, but also Britain and Russia.
At the outbreak of the Ukrainian War, Alfred recognized Ukraine as an indpendent Tsardom, offering diplomatic relations with his brother-in-law, Alexander I.
With the suicide of his only son, also named Alfred, in 1899, the Canadian government scrambled to declare a new successor to the throne. Alfred supported the claims of his daughters, and his second daughter, Victoria, was eventually accepted. Alfred passed away shortly after the crisis was resolved, and was succeeded by Victoria as the first Queen Regnant in the Americas.
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