Marten II

Marten II (Marten Jan Albrecht van Draak, 1923-2011) is the former King of Brunant and 17th monarch. He had been at the throne from 1967 to 2011.

Early life
Prince Marten was born at Grijzestad Palace in Grijzestad to King Johan II and Queen Elisabeth on the 12th of June, 1923. Most of his early years were spent being taught at home. He did his secondary education at the prestigious Collegio Champagnat Santa Clara, the first royal heir to receive non-tutored education. He studied at the Cape Cross Military Institute in the 1930s. There he was a model cadet and entered the Realmarine in 1941 upon the start of WWII.

Military career and marriage
During the early hours German Invasion of Brunant, he was on the ship R.S. Hendrik Neyt and was involved in bringing down a Stuka divebomber. He and his family went in exile at his mother's home country, Lovia, where they would stay until early 1945. He married Queen Aleksandra, an Oceana girl he met during his exile in Lovia. They had a simple civil wedding in Noble City, and after the war the had a large religious one at Dortmund Cathedral (it was held much later, in 1948). In 1944, against his parent's wishes, he escaped to join the forces participating in the liberation of Brunant and he just barely managed to escape capture or arrest. After the war, he was awarded the Defense of Brunant Medal and the 1945 War Medal. They had three children, Prince Anthony (born 1951), Princess Marie (born 1953), and Prince Wilhelm (born 1955). In the 1948 Olympics he took part in several shooting events and in 1952 he formed part of the Brunanter fencing team who went to Helsinki. In 1949, he was made an officer of the Realmarine and achieved the rank of Admiral in 1965.

Reign
He came to the throne on June 16, 1967, after his father, King Johan II's death that year. At that time Brunant's economy was doing great and he was well received by the public, although the peace movement of the late 1960s was not too pleased with his military history. Marten was much liked by Brunanters, and he was like an extra uncle to them.

He was awarded the Order of Valdemar of Strasland in 1969.

Later life
In June 2010 the king was hospitalized for hip problems. Since then, the king's health had deteriorated and in February 2011 the Crown Prince took over official duties, representing His Majesty abroad at official events. The king was unable to attend the wedding of his son and Lindsay Mansell due to his condition. After a period of hospitalization, the king was starting to recover. He retreated to Grijzestad (Grijzestad Palace), to "take in the summer air". He was doing better by mid-June, but acquired bronchitis and a string of lung problems later in September. By September 23 doctors announced his chances of recovery were slim. The Crown Prince and Princess came to see him later that month and the family were preparing for his death.

Death
On October 9, 2011 Marten died at 8:58 PM, at the age of 88. He was surrounded by his children, grandchildren and nephews. His funeral was attended by various heads of state and foreign dignitaries, and thousands of Brunanters poured out onto the streets of Koningstad to see the procession.