Catherine Montaigne
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Catherine Montaigne is the former Countess of the Tor, and currently a member of Manticore's House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament in the Star Kingdom of Manticore in the fictional Honorverse. She is also one of the foremost galactic leaders of the campaign to abolish genetic slavery, and thus a bitter enemy of Mesa, and especially of Manpower, Inc.
She was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth III, but they grew apart due to political differences. She became prominent in the Liberal party, but was officially excluded from the House of Lords after one fiery speech too many. (As of From the Highlands, only three peers had been excluded from the Lords in recent decades: the Countess of the Tor, the Earl of Seaview (after conviction for unspecified gross personal crimes), and Honor Harrington, for using her maiden speech to challenge Lord Pavel Young to a duel.)
She exiled herself on Earth for some time, where she met Anton Zilwicki, who became her lover, political partner, and security adviser. After her return to Manticore, she renounced her noble title in order to run for the House of Commons. After Countess New Kiev (leader of the Liberal Party) fell from power when Baron High Ridge's government collapsed, Catherine became the formal leader of one of the two major remnants of the Liberal Party.
Her adopted daughter, Berry, is also Queen Berry I of the planet Torch. She was convinced to accept the Crown, or at least offer herself for acceptance by the citizens of Torch, by Professor WEB du Havel and Jeremy X. With her associates, Princess Ruth, her father, Victor Cachet, Thandi Palane, assorted Solarian League schemers (military and civilian), and many liberated genetic slaves, the planet of Congo was liberated from Manpower and declared its independence as Torch.
