Queen Lydia I is a ruler of the Progressive Era. She is the queen of the provinces of Uxrow and Gaelford.
Allied with Tsar Piotr of Gorski and General Jean Joffre of Omoien, she wages a war against the central powers of the continent, led by Generalfeldmarschall Schledorf and Kaiser Joseph Franz. If on peace terms, she will treat you friendly and politely, wishing to discuss with you the ways of bringing prosperity to both realms. If attacked, however, she will express hostility towards you in a disdainful way. After acquiring Havre, you have several possible ways of treating the Queen:
- You may join her and her allies in the war waged against the central powers by attacking Kriegreich. This grants you the gratitude of the western allies, who send some rewards to you along the way.
- You may join the central powers by attacking either Uxrow or Omoien. Going this path grants you the gratitude of Schledorf and of the Kaiser, as well as different rewards.
- You may become a third belligerent party, fighting against both alliances at the same time by attacking both Kriegreich and Uxrow/Omoien. Again, this changes the mission rewards.
- You may start a peacebringing process by taking foreign provinces by negotiation, rather than by force. The peacebringing storyline has the player combat the horrors of war, trying to bring all leaders to the negotiating table.
Even if you choose peace, you are eventually forced into war against the continent after a smear propaganda campaign and a bombing at a peace conference hosted by you (depending on your quest route, rulers either declare an ordinary war or decide to wage a total war against you together). After discovering the war to be a plot of the revolution-fearing Tsar, the player defeats Queen Lydia by taking Uxford and Gaelford, dismantling the western alliance along the way.
Queen Lydia I is based on Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Her in-universe realm seems to be similar to British Isles in shape, too, with Uxrow representing England and Wales, and Gaelford representing Scotland and Ireland. However, Queen Victoria died in 1901, before World War I - the British Empire was led by King George V over the course of the war instead. Unlike the ceremonial monarch of the United Kingdom, Queen Lydia I is presumed to be an absolute ruler, with no Prime Minister or government mentioned.