Editing Richard Humphreys (31st c.)

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| name                = Richard Humphreys
| birthdate           = [[2998]]<ref name=BW57>''Historical: Brush Wars'', p. 57 - "The Devil's Brood"</ref>
| died                = 
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Humphreys]]
| profession          = Noble
| parents             = [[Catherine Humphreys]] (mother)
| siblings            = [[Michael Humphreys]]<br/>[[James Humphreys (31st c.)|James Humphreys]]<br/>[[Mildred Humphreys]]<br/>[[Conrad Humphreys]]<br/>[[Laurence Humphreys]]<br/>[[Louise Humphreys]]
| spouse              = 
| children            =[[Dalma Humphreys]]<br>[[Steven Humphreys]]<ref>Full name (with Humphreys surname) stated in ''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 80, where he is also referred to as Dame Dalma Humphreys' brother.</ref><br>[[Danai Centrella]] (rumored)<ref name=BW57/>
}}
'''Richard Humphreys''' was the sixth of seven children (and youngest son) of Dame [[Catherine Humphreys]] of the [[Duchy of Andurien]].

==History==
He fathered [[Dalma Humphreys]], the future leader of [[Andurien]] and [[House Humphreys]], at a very young age, though it remains unclear in what year exactly Dalma was born.<ref>Dalma Humphreys' own bio in ''[[Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers]]'', p. 72, describes her as born in 3011 and 61 years old in 3076, which is obviously in error as the numbers do not add up. The [[apocryphal]] novels ''Präludium'' and ''Gier'' describe Dalma as ten years old in 3029.</ref>

Just before the [[Andurien Secession]] in [[3030]], Richard—then Dame Catherine Humphreys' only unmarried son—was supposed to marry [[Emma Centrella]], daughter to the [[Magestrix]] of the [[Magistracy of Canopus]], in a political marriage to strengthen the Andurien/Canopus alliance. However, the wedding fell through, reportedly because of a mutual hatred between Richard and Emma. Richard was unflatteringly described as a playboy and hedonist with little aptitude for a political, military or scientific career who seduced a succession of women with his looks and family connections.<ref name=BW57/>

{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
According to the ([[apocryphal]]) German-only novels ''[[Präludium]]'' and ''[[Gier]]'', Richard was in truth a calm, intelligent, gentlemanly, charismatic and resourceful person, and a capable leader if the situation required it; his poor reputation including his playboy image was just an act born in part out of defiance of his mother's machinations.

When Richard's childhood love [[Elala Cisne]] was pregnant with Dalma in ca. [[3019]], he and Elala planned an illegal abortion but were found out. Richard and Elala were sent into exile separately, leading to a very cool relationship between Richard and his mother. Richard was sent into the custody of his uncle Samuel on [[Kanata]], then [[Gibson]] and finally the Amish people on [[Home]].<ref>''Präludium'', pp. 178-179</ref> He made it his life's quest to reunite with Elala. Dame Catherine meanwhile raised Dalma like her own child.

Richard was recalled from exile by his mother in [[3029]] to marry Emma Centrella, and made a lasting impression on his fiancé; however, he was straightforward in that he was in love with Elala and would only marry Emma for political reasons. They became friends nonetheless (with Emma hoping for more) and, unwilling to enter a purely political marriage, engineered a faux scandal that established both Richard's playboy image and their supposed mutual dislike. During the Andurien Wars they had infrequent contact and it was ultimately Emma who helped Richard find Elala on [[Andarmax]]. Here, Richard found out that Elala, by now exiled from Andurien and her child for a decade, had become a full [[Capellan Confederation]] citizen, recently joined a [[Worm Cult|nationalistic Capellan sect]], and had married another man. Having turned her back on Andurien, she rejected Richard and called their daughter a "mistake". It was Emma who rescued a heartbroken and heavily drugged Richard from the clutches of the sect after he had joined them just to be with Elala.

Although they remained on friendly terms, Richard and Emma went separate ways afterwards. On Richard's request, Elala was allowed to live in the Confederation with her husband.
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}
After [[3031]], Richard Humphreys maintained a very low profile. He technically stood to inherit the Duchy of Andurien from his mother, who died in [[3040]] just after the Duchy had been reconquered by the [[Free Worlds League]]. However, following the war the Duchy was put under a federally appointed governor until [[3048]]. It was Richard's daughter Dalma who resumed House Humphreys' authority over Andurien in that year.<ref name=BW82>''Historical: Brush Wars'', p. 82</ref>

Richard had faded into obscurity by that time. In fact, the Humphreys clan had effectively forced him into seclusion because he was considered to be too closely linked to the "Canopus affair", the Andurien/Canopus alliance and their ill-fated joint attack on the Confederation in the wake of the Andurien secession.<ref name=BW82/>

Richard Humphreys played a significant but unspecified role (said to demonstrate his ambitions) in the short-lived [[Styk Commonality]] that existed for a few years after [[3057]].<ref name=BW82/> This minor [[Chaos March]] state received support from House Humphreys of Andurien for no other reason than to oppose [[House Marik]].<ref>''Shattered Sphere'', p. 104</ref>

Richard Humphreys apparently had at least one other child, Dalma's brother [[Steven Humphreys]].<br />Rumors also suggested that Dalma Humphreys and Emma Centrella's daughter [[Danai Centrella|Danai]] were in fact half-sisters.<ref name=BW57/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Brush Wars]]''
* ''[[Era Report: 3145]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]
* ''[[Gier]]''
* ''[[Historical: Brush Wars]]''
* ''[[House Marik (The Free Worlds League)]]''
* ''[[Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers]]''
* ''[[Präludium]]''
* ''[[Shattered Sphere]]''

[[Category:Free Worlds League Characters|Humphreys, Richard (30th c.)]]